Student Spotlights

Each month, we feature a standout student from one of our amazing schools. Principals and school staff nominate a student who is excelling inside and outside of the classroom or making a difference in their community. See our Student Spotlight below and come back every month to see more of our exemplary students!

May 2024 - Zoey Thomas, 7th Grade, Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts

Congratulation to Kinsella's very own Zoey Thomas who won the 2024 Middle School Girls State Wrestling Championship in the 102 lbs division. Zoey works hard both in the classroom and outside the classroom.

Zoey states, "A time when I had to overcome a challenge is when I first started wrestling and wasn't really grasping the techniques but the more I worked the better I got. I learned that if you keep trying you will get it. I inspire other young girls to become wrestlers and my peers to work hard. Being part of a wrestling team has made me physically and mentally stronger. I am more disciplined both in and out of school."

Her favorite activity at school is drama production because she likes figuring out all of the different tech positions. She is most proud of bringing her reading level to a 9th grade level. She is #KinsellaStrong! Congratulations, Zoey!

April 2024 - Axel C., 4th Grade Student at Burns Latino Studies Academy

4th grader, Axel is a prime example of what it means to be a Burns Latino Studies Academy student. He follows the 3R's (Respects Himself, Respects Others and Respects the Environment) and shows other students how important it is to come to school and give your best effort in everything you do.

Axel always completes his work with a positive attitude and shows up to school every day ready and willing to learn. The other students look up to him and see how much his hard work pays off and how challenging yourself can lead to accomplishing great things. Not only is Axel a whiz at math, he is a great reader as well. Axel is a proud Fillipino and loves to share about his culture and home with the class.

His favorite activity at school is Zearn because it keeps his brain active; he has completed 112 lessons in Zearn this year! He also loves math and art class. He also takes pride in his perfect attendance awards for three months in a row!

Anais Rosario, Axel's 4th grade teacher recalls, " I make sure to update Axel's parents on his successes and how he continues to work hard in all his academics. In our school, we consistently reward students for coming to school and push our students to go above and beyond in their work. Axel's success comes from not only his internal motivation but the support and love that he gets from his family and Burns community."

Axel recalls, "I learned to keep trying even when things are difficult or challenging for me because it will help me to become better in the things I do. I have had a positive impact on my peers by being friendly to everyone and spending time with my classmates. I support classmates by helping them with the math work and helping them fill out their self-assessment forms if they need help with the writing. I have a positive impact on my school by following the respect agreement and showing other students examples of positive behavior, like coming to school, following directions, and completing my work."

Ms. Rosario adds, "Axel is a very bright student and I make sure to provide him with the tools and skills he needs to continue being successful in school. Since Axel already does so well academically on his own, I give him multiple opportunities to challenge himself as well as self assess his own work so he can learn from his mistakes and continue to grow."

Axel recalls, "I was doing the Tower of Power in Zearn and I could not get through it. I kept getting the answers wrong. After trying many times and not giving up, I finally got through it."

Axel shares, "My goal in life is to succeed and be a doctor so I can help people. The activities I do now are going to help me move closer to my goal because math is everywhere in all the things you do. When I do Zearn and math it helps me to use math in real life outside of school."

March 2024 - Alexa Adgers: Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy, 5th Grade

Alexa, a 5th grader at Renzulli Academy, was named one of 7 finalists in the 2023 race for Connecticut's Kid Governor, and now serves as a cabinet member. Alexa's campaign focused on improving the physical and mental health of her peers. As cabinet member, she works to implement more health initiatives for students across the state.

This promising state representative also helps the Hartford community by volunteering with a non-profit organization called Angel of Edgewood. She recalls, "I have worked events such as the annual back to school extravaganza, Coats and Coco, and the Thanksgiving breakfast. These events provide groceries, cloths, and school supplies to families in need."

Alexa, who loves being a team player, also realizes that hard work pays off. "In gymnastics I was having trouble doing a cartwheel on the balance beam; with some help from coaches and finding confidence I am now able to do it consistently. The activities I do have shown me that hard work does pay off. It may not look like it in the moment, but I have witnessed through the efforts of myself and my teammates, that determination and dedication get you to where you want to be."

Alexa with the CT Kid Governor's cabinet, and with some pretty big supporters including CT Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker, CT Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, and CT Attorney General William Tong

FEBRUARY 2024 - Angie Escobar: Sanchez School, 5th Grade

Angie Escobar is an exemplary 5th grade student at María C. Colón Sánchez Elementary School. She is on Crew Council, Celebratory Crew, and Morning Announcements. In addition, she had the highest score on the Math Interim Assessment for fifth grade!

Her Resource Teacher and Crew Council Advisor, Rich McHugh reflects, "I have worked with Angie in 4th grade as a member of Crew Council, in 5th grade as a member of Crew Council, 5th grade Morning Announcement team, and 5th grade Celebration Crew (who lead out Student of the Month Community Meetings.) She demonstrates willingness, cooperation, honesty, trustworthiness, and respect while at Sanchez School. She is a leader and a role model for the Sanchez Community, not just in her involvement with community work for the school, but in her academic efforts as well."

School Principal Evelyn Mendoza-Overton states, "Sanchez School allows for various leadership opportunities to encourage our 5th graders to get involved in community activities. We offer various leadership roles to choose from. Sanchez Crew Council is well known and well respected at the district level. It is a great honor to run for and be elected as a member of Crew Council by class peers as Crew Council is taken very seriously and students understand how important the role is to the school. They are our student council, and they advocate for the student body and community. These are the students who come to me to let me know what needs to change at Sanchez."

In December 2023, Angie was one of three Sanchez "crew" honored for their exceptional community and academic work at Hartford's esteemed, annual Maria Sanchez Awards (left)! (At Sanchez, all students, teachers and staff are "Crew"; everyone rows together.) Keep up the great work, Angie! We are so proud of you! Qui-qui-ri-qui!

JANUARY 2024 - Yaneli Mendez-Velez, Bintu Mansaray, Lalia Say and Angelin Gomez-Velez: Bulkeley High School Journalists and Webmasters

Bulkeley High School whose campus is under renovation, is currently housed in two different school sites; “Two Schools, One Community”, with half of the staff and students attending school in the North End and half of the staff and students attending in the South End. This unique set of circumstances created immense challenge in maintaining a sense of school community. It has also made it much more difficult to collaborate across the two buildings. Helping to build that community are the four student journalists and webmasters, 11th grade students, Yaneli Mendez-Velez, Bintu Mansaray, Lalia Say and Angelin Gomez-Velez. They volunteer for this work because they know that it has a positive impact on their community. They work with and connect multiple groups within the school: Athletics, Family and Community Support Services, Yearbook, Planning Committee, Student Council.

The four students agree that one of this biggest challenges in being a school journalist is managing your time; ensuring studies are complete before working on volunteer assignments or covering that sports game. They cover school events and sports matches, publishing photos and articles on the school website and managing the school's social media platforms. They also agree that having this extra challenge has helped them grow as individuals.

Bintu Mansaray recalls, "As lots of my peers, I struggled a lot with my time management which led to my assignments not being completed or I couldn't get a desired grade. It was quite frustrating and scary which led me to wanting to quit. [I found] an extracurricular activity during the summer at a program called UConn Cap. My teachers and some friends at the program talked me through and showed me some strategies. I learned to prioritize things that were important so I could finish all my work and it did help me focus. I was determined to graduate that summer program with good grades which I did, and learned the importance of time management which I'm still improving to date."

Lalia Say, an avid sports fan and member of the Bulkeley High School soccer team loves digital photography and positively motivating his teammates, reflects on time management, stating, " I do things that needed to be done, and when I'm done doing the work that's in front of me, it's like a step closer to my goal."

Andrew Welch, Bulkeley teacher and mentor to the student journalists reflects, "The Student Website Managers have shown great strength through their independence; outside of our meetings they coordinate on their own to complete tasks. Despite these challenges, these students devote themselves to overcoming these obstacles to create powerful, positive experiences and memories for their fellow students. They attend regular team meetings and work hard to successfully balance this additional work with their challenging 11th grade honors and AP classes."

Yaneli Mendez-Velez remembers, "A challenge I had to face was that having different ideas, opinions, or wanting to do different things is something that you have to work with your team first before doing anything because if you don't, this can cause anger or differences with your teammates. I have learned a lot from this experience, I have gained more knowledge in working as a team and working with a team."

Bintu agrees. "I try being part of groups that help the community in any way possible. I joined my school website management that helps give out information to be accessed by everyone, Also the Hartford Youth Advisory Board where we advocate and talk about opportunities and developments concerning youth in Hartford. I'm involved with my peers and I think being there for them is also a positive thing. I'm certain all the activities at my school and after-school programs that I've joined have helped me greatly in achieving my goals, in getting good grades, in communicating better, having good friends and fun experiences which I'm thankful for."

Angelin states, "My activities have helped me grow and change to become a more involved person, especially when it comes to trying out new things or joining programs, it has helped me step out of my comfort zone."

Yaneli adds, "My activities have helped me grow as a person in being independent, learning how much ability I have in doing so much more, and knowing that I am an important figure at my school in what I do and can do. My team has helped even more with their support; we work as a team, take time to understand each other. It's been great working with them and I hope we get to continue what we do. "

Learn more about Bulkeley High School here.

DECEMBER 2023 - Dhruv S., Grade 5, Breakthrough Magnet School - North

Dhruv S. is a 5th grade student at Breakthrough Magnet School - North. His reading/social studies teacher, Erin Kiniry says, "Dhruv exemplifies our character theme and is a leader in our school community. He leads with kindness in all he does. He is committed to growing himself academically and socially/emotionally. He ran for both student council president and Kid Governor, and participates in many opportunities throughout our school."

Dhruv recently ran in Connecticut's race for Kid Governor. His campaign was anti-bullying; Dhruv has such strong integrity and is a wonderful role model. Even though he did not make it forward in Kid Governor, he was elected as the 5th grade student body president. Through this role he will be able to continue his platform against bullying and have a positive impact on his school's community by encouraging unity.

Principal Lisa Massaro states, "Breakthrough Magnet School North is unique in that we are a school of Character. We teach a character curriculum that encourages to turn breakdowns into breakthroughs, remain responsible for our actions, thoughts and feelings, use integrity to keep our word, and help others in our school, home, and community. Dhruv is the first person to offer help and guidance to anyone. He is such a kind hearted person who wants the best for everyone."

When asked about his focus on positivity, no matter what the obstacle, Dhruv recounts, "I am proud that I was selected to run for Kid Governor. I learned in this to never give up and to be persistent. In soccer, our team was down 3-0 but we never gave up. In the second half we decided not to worry about the score but to try our best and we came back and won 4-3!"

Dhruv also says that he loves reading, "I love getting more into the text and even getting more information from informational texts and historical fiction. I also like the pictures in these texts. Considering that I read a lot at home, I have improved on my reading, vocabulary, and comprehension. My school goal is to be at a 7th grade reading level and vocabulary by the end of my 5th grade year. Another goal I have is to become stronger and build up my stamina which I am working towards by eating healthier and working out more."

When asked how his school supports his work, he says, "I was the integrity coach in my class; [trying] to be a good role model, positively coaching my peers, and helping friends stay on track in work and doing the right thing. My long term goal is to have a good impact on the world."

Learn more about Breakthrough Magnet School North here.

NOVEMBER 2023 - Edita Guster, Grade 12, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy

Edita has been at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy since the 6th grade and has always been known as a kind, hard-working and dedicated scholar. She is a strong academic student who was accepted into multiple colleges for the upcoming 2024 fall semester. Edita is an avid Volleyball player who was selected as the all-conference player of the year for Volleyball with 235 kills, 492 receives, 47 aces, and 292 digs.

She also planned the first Pep Rally of the year at SMSA that was inclusive of all grade levels, 6-12. School principal, Kimberly Ambroise stated, "This was the most well-organized Pep Rally that I have attended in 15 years. She planned out the entire event that represented all students at SMSA and the theme of Sport and Medical Sciences. She also included staff in on the fun! When I provided her feedback about the event, she received it well and made quick adjustments to meet the needs of all learners at SMSA. It was a huge success."

When she learned about Edita's Student Spotlight, Edita's mother stated, "I'm very appreciative of all that SMSA has done for Edita. The teachers have been so wonderful to her and have helped her get to where she is now."

Learn more about Sport and Medical Sciences Academy here.