Parent Praises Better Schools Bonanza

Westchester County elementary schools are getting a chance to compete in this year's Better Schools Bonanza from Main Street Connect. At stake is $10,000 for school programs and supplies.

What does that sort of money mean for a school? For Audra Good, a mother of students attending last year's winning school in Fairfield County, it means a lot.

“When we won the $10,000 we were so excited, it was such a sense of accomplishment,” says Audra Good of Norwalk, Conn. “We were able to announce it just before Thanksgiving vacation, which gave us a great morale boost that lasted throughout the school year.” Supporting Brookside Elementary has been of key importance to Good for nine years. All three of her children walked its halls. She serves as the vice president of the Parent Teacher Organization and the Council Representative for Brookside. She's also a priority aid at the school. The rewards started small for Brookside, with the students earning an ice cream party after winning the initial $500 prize. The $10,000 prize they ended up winning bought a lot more than just a day of frozen treats.

“Our first purchase was for new risers for our concerts. We have a wonderful chorus and strings programs and the risers we had were unsafe for the children,” Good says. The safety upgrade didn't eat up all of the funds and the school was able to also purchase new technology for the classrooms. Westchester County elementary schools are welcome to participate and at the contest close Main Street Connect will announce one $10,000 and one $1,000 winner. All prizes will be paid to the winning school's PTA or PTO.

Additionally, every school gathering at least 500 votes on the contest website will receive $500. Even though this is the first year for the contest in Westchester County and the second Fairfield County, it was William B. Ward Elementary School in New Rochelle that earned the first $500 check.

The Westchester Better Schools Bonanza contest is being held separate from Fairfield County and is sponsored by Entergy locally. The Connecticut contest is sponsored by Arthur Murray Grande Ballroom of Greenwich. There will be different grand and second prize winners for each county.

“We are very appreciative to the www.TheDailyNorwalk.com for the boost to our school both in morale and financially, and we are spreading the word again to try to win this year's contest. There is still so much more we could use the money for to help our students,” Good says.

 

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