Tina Marsan Named All-Star Educator of the Year
Mar 20, 2025By Michael Fornabaio (@fornabaioctp)
Tina Marsan was planning to come to Sunday's Bridgeport Islanders game already. She will have a much bigger role than she figured when she got the tickets for Autism Appreciation Night.
Marsan, who teaches American Sign Language at Fairfield Warde High School, is the Islanders' All-Star Educator presented by CT Lottery for 2024-25. The team chose her earlier this week off a nomination sent in by Marsan's husband, Mike. She'll conduct the ceremonial puck drop before the game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 3 p.m.
"Her (nomination) really stood out to us," said Haley Castellari, the Islanders' manager of digital marketing and community relations. "It was really unique in the sense that she's been teaching students who are hard of hearing for 26 years. That's something pretty rare."
Marsan is in her third year at Warde after 21 years in Stratford Public Schools teaching and serving deaf and hard of hearing students. Castellari said she talked to several people about Marsan, coworkers, administrators, and every one said Marsan was a great pick.
"I didn't really know what was sort of happening," Marsan said. "Haley called me and explained it -- I was a little in shock. It's exciting."
Bridgeport teams have had nights honoring first responders, the military, other local heroes. The All-Star Educator, in its third year, lets them honor another. The team has good relationships with local schools, too: Bridgeport teams have played successful morning games since 2003, almost all of them with large crowds of local students. There's another one coming up April 2.
"Teachers as well, I don't think, get a lot of recognition," Castellari said.
The American Sign Language program in Fairfield's public schools began three years ago. They had two teachers; now there are three. They're working on a curriculum now for a fourth level. It's important to Marsan that native signers are involved. "It's a real forward-thinking thing making Fairfield Public Schools stand out," she said.
"It's a great opportunity for a world language," Marsan said. "If the spoken-language option isn't exactly working for them, it gives them a visual option. Some kids do very well, as visual learners."
Mike Marsan is assistant coordinator of student support services at the American School for the Deaf. He is himself deaf.
"No, there's no romantic story, like, 'I learned sign language for him,'" Marsan said with a laugh. She'd gone to graduate school at what's now McDaniel College in Maryland for their deaf-education program. It was an immersive experience, she said, with deaf and hearing students together.
"When I started out, my dreams were to be a math teacher in a school for the deaf," Marsan said. "It shifted as the years went on. I became a mom."
The Marsans have three sons. Two are on the autism spectrum.
Coincidentally, the family already had tickets for Autism Appreciation Night through the Sun, Moon and Stars program, which is based in Watertown.
"They've been a fantastic program for us, in our community. I'm excited they're going to be there," Marsan said.
Christine Faressa founded Sun, Moon and Stars in 2016.
"Our vision is to empower individuals on the autism spectrum and their families by fostering a supportive and inclusive community," its website says. "We are dedicated to promoting understanding, acceptance, and personal growth through education, resources, and meaningful connections."
Marsan serves as an ambassador for the program, a resource for new families in town (hers is Prospect).
But she can run down a list of programs and women who have helped her and her family. There's Liza Alers' Connecticut Deaf Community Alliance. There's Ashley McClain's LINKED-Autism Safety Project, training and giving resources to first responders on interacting with kids with autism. Helen Taylor and The Social Chase, with support for "underserved and/or uninformed neurodivergent teens and young adults." Courtney Santoro's Game Club in Prospect.
"(Marsan's) support of that community was really eye-opening," Castellari said.
Marsan mentions Unified Sports, the Special Olympics. She was a Cub Scout den leader and is eager to help scouts earn merit badges for sign language. And then there's Woodland High School's Touchdown Club; her son Colby is a lineman, a wrestler and a javelin thrower for the Hawks.
Ask her how she finds time to do everything, and she remembers something else.
"They're programs, organizations that are very, very close to my heart," Marsan said. "They do wonderful things for the community."
When Castellari called Marsan, she said, the teacher's humility shone through.
"Talking on the phone, she was like, 'wow, I didn't deserve it,'" Castellari said. "I don't think she realizes what she's done and the impact she's had on the community."
Marsan does love watching seniors go out into the world with a good base in ASL, taking that to their next schools and extending the reach even further.
"As a teacher," she said, "to be able to share that knowledge and experience with the kids and talk with them -- some of my seniors have chosen to continue to study ASL -- that's what makes it great."
Autism Appreciation Night this Sunday will feature a sensory-friendly atmosphere, including lowered volumes in the arena and concourse, static graphics on videoboard and LEDs, consistent lightning, and a sensory-friendly room located inside the Harbor Club for comfort and relaxation.