Anne DeGerolamo spends almost all of her time around kids.
Between her own two—Jackson (9) and Leah (6)—and the seventh graders she teaches, the North Strabane Township resident has a schedule jam-packed with youthful energy. So, while she loves raising her children and teaching others more than anything, there is one part of her day that she really treasures: her commute.
“It’s 25 minutes, and it lets me leave work and switch into mom mode,” she says.
DeGerolamo teaches language arts in the Upper St. Clair school district. She lives outside of Pittsburgh, the city she and her husband, Anthony, were born and raised in, where the two are raising Jackson, Leah and their dog, Cooper. For the DeGerolamo clan, family is everything. Both Anthony and Anne’s families still live in the area, and the two make sure that their kids know their extended relatives well.
Is it hard to switch between your mom muscles and your teacher muscles? Are they the same?
Middle school is an interesting age because they’re grown but still immature in many ways, so a lot of the things I say to my middle schoolers, I come home and say to my kids, too. But I do have to remind myself when I come home that I haven’t already told my own children to sit down or be quiet one hundred times today—I have to separate the two, because all my patience gets used up during the day sometimes.
What is one of the most rewarding experiences you have had recently as a parent?
I recently got to go to an open house at school for my own kids. I am used to being on the other side of things—on the teacher side. It was really sweet to go to the elementary school and have my kids take me around and show me their school. It was neat to experience it from the mom’s side because I know what’s going on in the teacher’s head during the open house, but now I know what is going on in the parent’s head, too. I was just so proud of my kids. They’re both really great at school, and even though they would tell you that they don’t, they love school. As a mom, I’m very in-tune with what’s going on in the school, and we do our homework every night. My kids have the misfortune of their mom being a teacher.
What is something that you have learned since becoming a parent that you would never have known before having kids?
Make time for the things that you have loved since before you had kids. Make time to do things for yourself, because as a parent, your schedule is so consumed with your kids, and you have to remember that there is still a piece of me that isn’t a mom or a teacher or a wife, but just me. That doesn’t always happen, and it takes work and planning, but those things fill your cup back up.
Why is Pittsburgh a good place to raise a family?
I just love Pittsburgh. I was born and raised here. Two years ago, we didn’t have any vacations planned as a family, and we decided that we were going to do a “Pittsburgh Summer.” We ended up having one of our busiest summers because there are so many good things to do here, whether it’s the Science Center, the Children’s Museum, Kennywood, the zoo or something else. It was so nice because we didn’t have to drive anywhere or get hotel rooms—it’s cliche, but everything is right in our own backyard!
Family Favorites
Weekend Activity: Visiting family
Movie: “The Minions”!
Breakfast Food: Oatmeal with peanut butter and chocolate chips
Sports Team: Liverpool FC
Vacation Spot: Outer Banks
