As both a proud parent and former employee of New Beginnings Family Academy, I can wholeheartedly say that this school holds a special place in my heart. NBFA is more than just a place for academic learning—it’s a nurturing community that supports the whole child and their family.
My children have not only gained a strong foundation in math and literacy but have also grown tremendously in their social and emotional development, thanks in large part to the school’s thoughtful incorporation of the BEAR (Behavior, Emotional Awareness, and Regulation) Program. This initiative has helped my children build self-awareness, manage emotions, and develop empathy and resilience—skills that are just as important as academic success.
I’m especially grateful for the school's commitment to parent education. The workshops and resources they offer have helped me become a more present and engaged parent. I’ve learned to better recognize signs to watch out for in my children's emotional and behavioral well-being, and I truly feel empowered and supported as part of the NBFA family.
What I love most, though, are the events that bring families and staff together. Celebrations like Multicultural Night and Muffins with Mom are not only fun, but they also strengthen the school community by honoring our diverse backgrounds and encouraging meaningful time together. These experiences have made lasting memories for both me and my children.
Watching NBFA grow over the years has filled me with immense pride. The dedication of the staff, the inclusive environment, and the school's unwavering mission to support children and families make it a standout educational experience. I am deeply thankful to be part of such a vibrant and caring community.
New Beginnings Family Academy (NBFA) is more than just a charter school—it’s a community that creates a lifelong bond between staff and students. With a strong focus on academic excellence and social-emotional development, NBFA creates a nurturing environment where every child is seen, heard, and supported. The dedication that staff gives, go above and beyond to meet students where they are, helping them build confidence, character, and a love for learning. For many families, NBFA is a turning point—a place where students not only succeed in the classroom but grow into compassionate, empowered leaders ready to shape a better future.
I was in the first graduating class of NBFA, and I am now a firefighter for the city of Bridgeport. NBFA instilled characteristics in me that lead me to the position I am today. Characteristics liking being proud, being honest and striving to challenge myself to be the best I can be.
I have been a parent of new beginnings since 2012. My daughters, grandchildren and great nephew had and have attended this school. I must say amazing staff. Staff members show so much compassion and kindness to our children.. they go that extra mile to ensure your child gets the best in their education.
NBFA offers a unique environment for personal and professional development. I am thrilled to be part of a workplace that values cultural diversity, as I believe it enhances the learning journey for everyone. Additionally, I appreciate the supportive and cooperative culture at NBFA, where teaching is a team effort dedicated to nurturing students' progress and advancement. The NBFA community is committed to offering a comprehensive, caring, and successful academic, social, and emotional journey for every student.
NBFA is by far the best charter school in the City of Bridgeport. I spend time at the school and see first hand how much of an impact these teachers and educators make in the lives of these children.
Every dollar donated is invested in giving the students their best chance of receiving a solid education which will allow for better opprotunites for these young minds.
New Beginnings Family Academy is a charter school located in the South End of Bridgeport CT. It offers small classroom sizes which help with differentiated learning, while allowing students to receive individual attention from classroom teachers and instructional assistants. It incorporates a social/emotional curriculum into its teachings, which I feel is wildly importantly in todays world. Keep up the good work.
I have been a lower grade teacher for 4 years now. I began when Covid-19 was in it's prime which affected many teachers, students, and their families. Navigating a new environment along with a new way of teaching remotely, in-person, and hybrid didn't come without bruises! However, with the help and collaboration with many amazing colleagues, I made it through the 2020-2021 school year. Since then, I have grown to love my students and their families and developed a great rapport with the NBFA staff. Teaching here is not for everyone, but it is a special calling for those who want to make an impact in the lives of children who need unconditional love, motivation, life skills, challenging academic rigor, and consistency. I do feel stressed at times, but seeing each child's growth results from the beginning of the year to the end of the year makes it all worth it!
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NBFA is a unique and diverse ERP school which has dedicated teachers and staff serving a community of brilliant students from diverse backgrounds. I continuously see students and families who genuinely love coming to our school which is safe, professional and compassionate. Teachers go above and beyond to provide quality instruction and social emotional learning skills for our students.
Hello, I just want to say that NBFA is a great school. My kids attend this school and I must admit I love it and it's free. Everyone that works here has been really great to my kids and family. My kids love this school and I'm glad that I send them here.
As this being our first year at NBFA we feel truly blessed! We love that our son is making such progress that he had not been able to make in the previous schools. This lets us know that he is comfortable and is becoming more confident in regard to his speech concern's. We love that the school as a whole works together to ensure that every child is supported and encouraged to be their very best. Our son looks forward to going to NBFA every day.
I love NBFA because all of the teachers here are nice and I love all the activities I get to experience. The RCs and Ms. Barker help me to do what’s right.
NBFA 4th grade student
This school has helped my child and never let her fail. The love from the teachers and their dedication they put into their students is amazing.
I help the staff of NBFA with their retirement benefits. Every time I walk into NBFA, I am always amazed at the dedication and care that every staff member has towards all the students. As a former teacher myself, I am amazed at the strong learning environment present in NBFA. The staff always goes above and beyond in addressing the students’ individual learning needs and providing a comfortable learning environment for all. Thank you NBFA for all the help and support you provide for the community.
I have been a member of the NBFA Board for several years. I am constantly amazed at the dedication of the administration, teachers, and staff. To a person, they understand the school’s mission and the need for quality progressive education. NBFA focuses on educating the whole child and his/her social and emotional needs. This focus is lacking in most school systems and thus the need for NBFA. For those families with students under NBFA’s care, this school is an invaluable resource and so deserving of the community’s support.
New Beginnings Family Academy’s whole child approach gives its students a high-quality education while also serving their social-emotional needs. The teachers and staff are well-trained and have expert care for every student. I’m proud to support NBFA on their over 20-year-long mission to positively impact the lives of Bridgeport students!
New Beginnings Family Academy serves families in Bridgeport by helping their children get a great education. Small class size, researched-based reading and math programs with lots of small group and individualized academic supports help students achieve their best. The emotionally responsive practice helps students learn to regulate emotions to be more available for learning.
NBFA is an extraordinary school comprised of exemplary educators who care deeply for the students they serve. In addition to social and emotional learning SEL, curated pedagogy includes innovative, multi-culturally enriched, engaging lessons to enable students to gain new content learning. Project-based experiential activities identify the why students need to learn in order to reach academic and career goals. What I have enjoyed about seeing these children grow in their learning is the passion and drive they find when they can actually see themselves in the shoes of real role models. I often think of the George Bernard Shaw quote often cited by Bobby Kennedy, "Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say, why not?" It speaks to the endless possibilities out here when we believe in these children who are often underserved. CEO Ronelle Swaggerty has instilled a courage and positive resolve among the educators who work at NBFA. It is my hope that NBFA will continue to grow and be the paradigm of excellence for not only charter schools but mainstream public educational institutions.
I just want to say that with the limited resources and staffing available to NBFA, this team of educators do the best that they can each year. No matter the limitations, the school does what it can to ensure my kids got the best support they needed. Furthermore, I truly felt like we were a part of a family ( disagreements and all), but what I and my children have felt the most for over 18 years is the school’s unwavering care. I’ll miss you all. Thank you NBFA !
Maribel Alequin
My son has been attending NBFA since kindergarten. He has grown so much, and is excelling not only educationally but also physically, mentally and maturing so well.
Thank you NBFA for being such a positive influence to my son. The teachers are invaluable, my son and I will miss you guys so.
Continue to be the kind, caring and nurturing educators that you all are.
God bless you !
I really want to thank God for all of the NBFA Staff. Everyone there does an amazing job.
My child's teacher displays professionalism daily with her , kindness, patience, knowledge and help. Over the years, I have watched my child become a better reader because of the extra academic support provided to her by the reading team and other support staff. Each day, the assistant principal is there to greet families in the mornings during arrival and other administrators wish children and their families well at dismissal. I am truly thankful for being a part of this ambitious and supportive school community.
Rose Philistin Abellard
I am a volunteer that was part of a pilot program which partnered me with a student for 30 minutes weekly and we would read to each other. I believe this was a safe space and helped build confidence and enabled the student to learn and be comfortable in a small setting. I enjoyed my time with the student I was partnered with and I hope I was able to help her read more effectively. Thanks to NBFA for this opportunity.
Everyone here works really hard to support the students. I know the funds I've donated are being used for the benefit of the students!
I have been a supporter of New Beginnings Family Academy for four years now. NBFA is such a special place! Congratulations on your 20th Academic Year!
This school is always moving forward, using funds for good people and improved facilities. NBFA is student-focused - always.
I am happy to see the school trying to make a difference in children’s lives (academically, socially, etc). Love to hear there is a garden. So many lessons can be taught with the use of a garden. Was also very excited to hear about the new kitchen. Good nutrition is a major key to expanding young minds. Keep up the great work!
New Beginnings Family Academy is filled with a staff that truly takes the time to learn the individual needs of students and what will be best for their unique educational journey. This environment is one where students thrive without constant ridicule and struggle and that relates back specifically to their administration from the top down. I feel better knowing that New Beginnings is making a difference for Connecticut students.
We have had a great partnership with NBFA over the past few years. It has been excellent to see the staffs interaction with the students and the students interaction with me. A positive and respectful environment.
NBFA truly puts it's all into the education and development of their students.
What a fantastic school!!!
Bill Hanson
Westport National Bank
I support NBFA's trauma-sensitive, social-emotional approach. I believe that it truly makes a positive difference for the students.
NBFA is a very special place. It welcomes children as they are and provides them the support they need to grow. Children feel emotionally safe at school and the faculty is continually trained to respond sensitively to the challenges students face outside of school. Students are provided with excellent, progressive curriculum that seeks to educate the whole child. In this era of test scores above all else, NBFA is a breath of fresh air!
The administration here is thoughtful, committed and always looking for ways to learn more and improve their school.
I am a professor and the Director of the Elementary Education Program at Fairfield University. Fairfield University and the New Beginnings Family Academy have developed a powerful reciprocal partnership that helps our teacher candidates at Fairfield gain important field experiences in early literacy, while simultaneously helping the students at New Beginnings Family Academy develop their foundational early literacy skills. The Fairfield education students meet with elementary students at New Beginnings and work with them on a regular basis on phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension, supporting the instruction that the elementary students are receiving from their classroom teachers at New Beginnings. Our Fairfield education students have gained such valuable experiences during their fieldwork at New Beginnings. The teachers at New Beginnings have been mentors to the teacher candidates, and the students at New Beginnings have helped the teacher candidates to hone their skills as early literacy educators. The administration has been so supportive of our partnership from day one, which is the main reason why our collaboration has been such a success for everyone involved.
I am a professor at Fairfield University for the Graduate School of Education. Last semester Collette Fearon granted permission for 3 graduate students to complete virtual fieldwork at NFBA. With the guidance of her amazing faculty our Fairfield U. students were able to create individualized reading plans for students grades K-3 based on previous assessments, shared online resources and one-on-one meetings with the reading specialist and classroom teachers. NFBA students met with Fairfield U. students virtually on-on-one and small group and the assessments at the end of the semester demonstrated successful progress. This proved to be an amazing and successful partnership and is the reason why we are in the midst of planning for this semester! Thank you NFBA for entering into this productive partnership!
I love working for this organization and I am excited for it's future. Others may not see it, but I can see New Beginnings Family Academy blossoming as a beacon for children in the community where they are not just an academic statistic, but actual participants in their environments. The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child approach is ever present in our day to day tasks and will continue to be as long as we continue to work together to put our children first.
NBFA is a tremendously well run Charter school. NBFA offers a top notch academic program with many enrichment activities for students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to such stellar education. The school has an all-star team at the helm. It’s been a pleasure working with NBFA over the past ~10 years!
Maxine and Ira Stone have volunteered at NBFA for 8 years and find it to be one of the most powerful and hopeful non profits. The school respects the "whole child" and makes a significant contribution to the education, well being and success of each student and the community.
Attached is a video link of a song we wrote. The children learned to sing and to sign the lyrics. We believe NBFA should be recognized again as a top rated non-profit.
New Beginnings Family Academy (NBFA) is having a positive impact on student success in our community. NBFA is ensuring that students in Pre-K through 8th grade are provided with the tools and resources to achieve foundational developmental milestones for social and emotional well-being and learning. NBFA has been a leader in Social-emotional learning, and has expanded its commitment by adopting a progressive education model with emotional responsive practice, and is now operating its fifth year as a Trauma-Sensitive School, which is more important now more than ever, with COVID-19 and racial injustice exacerbating the trauma that students often experience in their lives as a result of poverty and violence in the community. The school is also committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and has a staff, faculty, and leaders who represent the student population they serve. Our Foundation has been a proud , consistent supporter of the important work of NBFA for the past 12 consecutive years.
I worked as a volunteer mentoring 2 young girls for a total of 3 years. Everyone I encountered during each of my visits were friendly, supportive and encouraging. The kids all had smiles on their faces and they positively lit up whenever I walked in the room regardless if I wasn't there to see them. I think New Beginnings is a wonderful place for children to learn and grow.
NBFA goes above and beyond to teach the whole child! Staff at NBFA are committed to understanding not only the academic needs of students, but also nurturing the social emotional needs of students in a developmentally appropriate way.
New Beginnings Family Academy provides students with a meaningful education while developing their social, emotional and critical-thinking skills. As a parent and a board member I can say I have established a relationship with the educators, administrators and other faculty members. I must say they all strive to fulfill the mission of NBFA and they do so with such compassion and ambition. I am happy to be apart of such a caring, diverse, respectful and committed community.
The Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice at Bank Street College has had an ongoing relationship with NBFA for five years. We have been impressed, overall, at the school's commitment to children's well-being, particularly as they balance the stressors of score-driven accountabilities that charter schools face. NBFA is one of a small number of charter schools that has made the emotional well being of its children a priority, so important in
these stressful times. This school knows that children learn best when they feel safe. NBFA is committed to integrating Emotionally Responsive Practices into both virtual and in- person classroom experience, to enhance a feeling of social and emotional connection in the community of children and families it serves. Through thick and thin, and changing circumstances over the years, the administration has held tight to the ideal of children's well-being, and the teachers have internalized this value.
I have had the pleasure of visiting New Beginnings Family Academy in my home town of Bridgeport CT several times. Every time I visit the academy I am more and more impressed, not only by the great academic opportunity that the kids receive but by the overall culture of the school community. There is a real commitment to the success of the children throughout everything NBFA does. NBFA provides a great opportunity for many families in Bridgeport where quality educational options are very limited.
Over my career, I've served on numerous boards, but none where the mission is more critical and the successful outcomes more satisfying.
NBFA students are from among the more underserved communities of the State. This presents challenges and calls for even more dedication from the Board, the staff, the teachers and the volunteers and donors who together fill so many deep emotional, physical, psychological and fiscal needs that are largely unmet.
And no one fails NBFA.
With limited tools, the NBFA staff and faculty have enthusiastically met the obstacles and mastered the skills of teaching both in person and virtually during a crisis when even broadband is not widely available across our communities. The emotional needs of the students are being addressed with the interests of the families uppermost. The staff has executive skills that are the match, and possibly the envy, of many of the management teams with whom I have served because they bring and live an enthusiasm for NBFA's mission. The Board, though few, are devoted and committed beyond their numbers. And then there are the donors and volunteers who have sacrificed and freely given with all our gratitude so that, in a meaningful and concrete way, they know they are addressing real societal issues. Together, all this makes it possible for 500 young and aspiring students to successfully prepare for and continue on thru high school and college at a rate that makes comparisons embarrassing to many other comparable students in the communities that NBFA serves.
NBFA has a mission and plans; PLEASE HELP!
I am a volunteer, mentor , at the school and my observation with this program is very good. I really think they are doing a great job in promoting the emotional side of a child as he enters the school each day. A child that is under distress can't properly learn in a classroom but as the school identifies with each child his or hers emotional state and deals with them then they can re-enter the classroom healthier and more productive. I've seen other schools in Bridgeport discipline a child by putting them in a detention type situation as punishment and its not a good approach, the child needs care and get back in the class learning asap.
I have supported NBFA for several years. The level of care that the teachers and faculty give to students is very impressive.
NBFA is doing an excellent job reaching their students on an academic, social and emotional level. They value all aspects of a student's educational experience and look to recruit the whole family in an effort to incorporate holistic developmental skills into a childs education.
NBFA has to struggle to help students overcome incredibly challenging situations at home and must rely on a great deal of donation funding to do so. Their community of students looks to the school as a true home away from home, often getting their most reliable meals of the day at school and bolstering their emotional life with support from the warm, understanding faculty and staff.
In our current circumstances, non-profits like this school need even more help from grant opportunities than before, as individual donors are distracted by their own financial and societal concerns. I hope NBFA continues to thrive and provide the invaluable services it offers to its surrounding community.
This is an exceptional school and it that way for a reason. The leadership cares deeply for the students and they care about them on a number of levels. They care about their intellectual development but importantly they care for their emotional development. They work the balance between love and scholarship, very unique for charter schools in which many have abandoned the caring aspect.
The aspect of the school that I notice and that says it all is the scholars are happy and they return after graduating to see their teachers and the staff. They also want to see if they can help and give what they have gotten to the young scholars. A remarkable place.
I have loved working with the administrators and teachers at New Beginnings Family Academy. Their dedication to their MISSION is so clear and their focus on students is a breath of fresh air. I have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with their principal to support the literacy instruction throughout the school. I know that the hard work will pay off in terms of students' reading proficiency.
NBFA works with the whole child to help each child succeed.
Lessons look at the individual needs of the children to build self confidence.
Their staff is very caring and supportive.
The faculty and staff of this school have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that its students have the equipment they need to deal with the remote education challenges brought on by the covid-19 pandemic. Everyone involved in the school is dedicated to ensuring that these under-served children receive the best possible education, both in terms of academics and in terms of social-emotional learning. The goal is to enable them to succeed in their future endeavors and be exemplary friends, neighbors and citizens. While working under severe budget constraints, the organization squeezes the most out of every dollar received.
I've been with New Beginnings since 2016. My employer uses a volunteer program that lists all volunteer opportunities in our community. Since I went to school to become a teacher, I felt that a reading volunteer would be a great match. After a few readings, I was also bringing my co workers to join me. When I walked into NBFA it was a different vibe from other schools. I've previously led Junior Achievement seminars in different public schools, but NBFA was different. When I was asked to be a board member, I didn't think twice. The board is very proactive with the school, and they all dedicate their time with other activities (volunteering themselves to classrooms). In my time with NBFA, I've enjoyed working the staff and administration.