Rosalie was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She graduated from Southern Connecticut University in 1957 with a BA in education, and worked as an elementary school teacher at various schools until her retirement in 1999. She and others lobbied the Connecticut Legislature for 5 years to implement a gifted program for the elementary schools. They finally succeeded in 1980 and Rosalie earned her Masters Degree in Gifted Education in 1981. She was the first elementary school teacher to become president of the local chapter of the Teacher’s Union/Hamden Education Association during the 1990s

 “I loved teaching. I learned more than the kids.” She took the kids to many museums, and had creative and knowledgeable people come in to share their expertise. “We had a lot of freedom. We could write our own curriculum.”

Rosalie Cohen

And write their own curriculum they did, for the second and third graders at Dunbar Hill Elementary School, Hamden, Connecticut. Rosalie and 2 other teachers co-authored 5 books, 3 hard cover and 2 work books comprising all the disciplines: geography, science, math, social studies, and history. Connecticut is rife with history of the early English settlers and American Indians. They did most of their historical research at the Yale Library in New Haven and wrote the first book in long hand. It took them 5 years (1988 – 1993) of working nights, week ends and vacations to complete the project. These books are still in use today.

As the writing project drew to a close, Rosalie instituted a student council which she continued to mentor until the spring of 2005. The students, grades 4 – 6, wrote the constitution and by-laws which included election procedures and regulations concerning meetings, decision making, fund raising, etc. – everything a successful organization needed to function smoothly. They used the P.T.A. by-laws, the Hamden Education by-laws and the U.S. Constitution as models. Each year the students raised over $1,000.00 which they donated to many charities and the school.

“My greatest pleasure was in seeing so many children involved, assuming responsibilities, being in control and caring for their community, their school, their families and each other.”

She met her second husband, Al, in 1977 and they were married in 1981. Together they have 2 girls, 1 son and 3 grandchildren. All the children live out of state. Rosalie and Al bought a condo in Delray in 1988 and lived as snow birds until 2006 when they bought a home in Boynton Beach and became full time residents.

After her retirement in 1999 Rosalie worked in the retail sector as owner and employee in various businesses and subsequent to that volunteered at schools and libraries in Connecticut and Florida. She has been a volunteer at Green Cay since January 2006. You will find her in the Gift Shop on Saturdays from 2:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. “The people here are friendly, courteous and pleasant to be with,” says Rosalie.

She has always been a lover of nature having lived in small farming towns in Connecticut and having vacationed in the woods of Vermont. “I walk here at Green Cay every morning. It’s absolutely beautiful. I’m learning all the time about the animals that live here.”