Dwight Brings BSB Win To Fairfield

Dwight Elementary School’s PTA earned itself an early Christmas present this year -- a $500 donation from Main Street Connect. The Dragons racked up more than the 100 votes needed to earn a “Thank You” gift from our Better Schools Bonanza contest last month. Liz Neugebauer, the PTA’s president, said Dwight families got an extra gift as well.

“Once people started voting and seeing the website, there were a lot of people who hit ‘Reply All’ and said ‘This is a great website,’ ” Liz said. “So that even helped the cause further, because not only was it just people asking you to vote, we found it was actually a useful resource.”

Dwight passed the 100 vote mark with a last-minute charge, picking up most of their tallies in the final weekend of the contest. Despite being the town’s smallest public school, with an enrollment of just 314, it was the only school in Fairfield to take home the prize. Liz said the surprising win was emblematic of the school’s community.

“We’re like the little engine that could,” Liz said. “It’s truly a community effort between parents, educators, and everyone working together for the betterment of our children.”

Though the Dwight community is tight-knit, the school is big on reaching out. It has paired up with a sister school, Bridgeport’s Walterville Elementary. Along with organizing holiday coat drives and other donation projects to benefit Walterville families, they work to bring the kids of both schools together. Last year, for example, the Bridgeport students joined Dwight pupils  on a trip to the Mill River and the Discovery Museum to learn together.

The $500 donation, which Dwight received earlier this month, will go into its general funding pool. It will help pay for field trips, new equipment, or new books. But Liz said the Dwight community hasn’t picked a specific purpose yet.

“We have not discussed it,” Liz said. “We’re still celebrating that we won.”

 

Photo: Seated (left to right): Melissa Rubertino, Leslie Ford, Liz Neugebauer, principal Brenda Anziano, Gina Luczas, Stephanie Kelly; Standing (left to right): Linda Murphy, Maryam Daghoghi, Samantha Kilcoyne, Carolyn Gill, Michelle Whalen, Tara Forrest, Karen Ulmer.

 

Want to see more donations come to Fairfield? Don’t forget to vote every day for your favorite charity on Santa’s Wish List.

 

 

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