Meet Head of School Eleonora Corsi
Eleonora was born and raised in Siena, Italy. She has a B.A. in English and German Language and Literature from the University of Siena and a Master’s degree in International Tourism and Management from the University of Verona. Over the course of her career, Eleonora has managed and opened hotels, focusing on customer service, operations and management at some of the most well-known properties in Italy, New York City, and Portland. Eleonora has always had a passion for teaching children. When her daughter began preschool, she saw the demand and need in the community for a full-time, quality Italian early childhood education program in Portland and shorty thereafter cofounded StudioLingua with the desire to create a joyful space and experience for children to grow and to be immersed in a diverse cultural environment. Eleonora is the mom of two children, Alice and Leonardo, and in her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, dancing, and sailing.​
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Meet Maestra Letizia Mastromarino
Letizia is a licensed and educated early childhood education professional. She is from Latisanotta, a small town in the Friuli Venezia-Giulia, a north-east region of Italy. After completing her bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Udine and working for a couple of years, she came to Portland as an Au Pair in 2017. For two years she took care and educated two preschool age kids. During this experience she discovered her passion for being with and educating young children. She returned to Italy and completed a second bachelor’s degree in early child education from the University of Firenze, IUL. She has experience working with kids with various learning needs, including autism. Letizia previously taught at l' Étoile, the French immersion school in southwest Portland, in their preschool program. In her free time, she enjoys baking, doing crafts, spending time outside, walking, and gardening.
Meet Maestra Chiara La Pietra
Chiara comes from Milan, Italy and started as an au pair in New Jersey when she was 19. She got a bachelor and master’s degree in Modern Languages and Translation in the UK at the University of Essex and graduated this past July. She has extensive experience working with kids of different cultural backgrounds and languages. She has travelled the world and lived in five different countries, along with speaking five different languages: Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese and German. She really enjoys learning, baking, fashion and nature. Chiara is currently pursuing her studies in Early Child Education.
Meet Maestra Sara Tomasselli
Sara was born in the United States and grew up speaking Italian. Her parents are both Italian immigrants and instilled in Sara the importance of learning the Italian language and culture. Sara was able to spend several summers in Italy with family, mainly in small towns in the Province of Massa and Carrara and the Province of Avellino. In college, Sara tutored Spanish, Italian, French and English to children of all ages in the U.S and in Europe while studying abroad. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and French, has a Masters in Public Administration and worked in the nonprofit sector before finding her love for teaching pre-school. In 2023, Sara began teaching at her son's school, Scuola Italiana di Portland as a Teacher's Assistant. She was also a Lead Teacher for the Saturday program for 3-6 year olds. In the classroom, Sara brings a fun-loving environment rich in Italian conversation about day to day life. Teaching vocabulary through making crafts, playing games, singing and exploring the world has given her students the enthusiasm to learn important life skills such as respect for others and self regulation, as well as the Italian language.
At StudioLingua, Sara aspires to utilize the Reggio Emilia philosophy to become an effective and trustworthy educator for her students and their families.
Meet Maestra Rosa Gonzalez
​Rosa Gonzalez-Ruiz is currently studying to earn her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Italian. She aspires to become an elementary school teacher. Rosa’s is passionate about working with young children; being part of their learning and growth while having fun. Her first teaching experience was helping out at a church in the North Portland with First Communion preparation classes as a catechist. More recently, she volunteered at Beach Elementary School, where she assisted in a 2nd grade classroom and volunteered in their SUN after school program. She also volunteers at Randall’s Children’s Hospital helping to improve inpatient stays at the hospital. In her free time she enjoys doing arts and crafts such as crocheting and painting and exploring the world of board and card games.
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Meet Pedagogical Advisor Kira Billek
Kira will provide additional professional support to our teaching staff to help guide curriculum development, implementation, planning, and part time classroom support. Kira was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University. After spending her undergraduate years working as an aide in both a preschool and a second grade classroom, she decided to pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College. Right after graduating, she moved to the Bay Area where she taught preschool for a year and then spent the next 13 years teaching kindergarten and first grade in a public school. After having children, she decided it was time to move back to Portland to be closer to family. For the past few years she has been at home with her three young children while also being heavily involved with her children's co-op preschool, Kenilworth Community Preschool and also now with her older sons' Elementary school. She is passionate about play based learning and early literacy development through hands-on activities. When she’s not teaching, she loves being outdoors with her kids, traveling and finding all the fun family activities Portland has to offer.
