Drawing upon more than 45 years of eminent experience in the field of education, Josephine Catherine Coluccio is a former primary and elementary school educator who currently runs a preschool and day care out of her home in Toms River, New Jersey. Prior to this endeavor, she served as the owner, operator and founder of Little Yellow House from 1983 to 1990, an in-home learning preschool/day care located in Toms River. During this time, Ms. Coluccio notably owned and directed Little Explorers, an Ed-U-Care program that was recognized by former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush.
During her academic career, Ms. Coluccio was a day care group teacher for the Congress of Italian American Organizations between 1979 and 1980, and for the following two years, she served as a mathematics teacher on a departmental level. Earlier, she was an elementary mathematics and science teacher and coordinator at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and subsequently served briefly as a public relations coordinator for McDonald’s in Staten Island, New York. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Education in 1974.
Prior to her career ventures, Ms. Coluccio was inspired by her great uncle, who was a missionary priest who built schools and an orphanage, as well as prepared young men for seminary school in Panama. Since she was very young, she has always enjoys helping others, and teaching was the perfect fit for her skillset. Alongside these feats, Ms. Coluccio has written poetry collections and was a contributing writer to the Artistic Newsletter in 2004. Most impressively, she has composed children’s songs and wrote lyrical adaptations and music to “The Pledge of Allegiance.”
Among the highlights of her career, Ms. Coluccio is especially proud of writing and publishing “The Soldier’s Prayer,” a poem that was sent overseas to soldiers in the military. She also sent VHS tapes, DVDs and murals that were composed by the children whom she taught, which provided recreational therapy to wounded veterans who were recuperating at military hospitals. In light of her influence, she was recognized by the Department of the Navy, who accepted her videos and had commanders bring them to their posts and children in the State of New Jersey.
Additionally, Ms. Coluccio is a noted philanthropist and humanitarian who has donated actively to various charity drives. As a testament to her endeavors, she received a Catholic Charities Award for Community Partnership in 2007 and several Letters of Commendation from the military. She was also honored for her dedication to education and the military with the American flag flown over Afghanistan. Looking forward, she would like to publish more books and teach children the wonderments of literature.