In June, Ben Bronz Academy in West Hartford held a graduation ceremony and also recognized students transitioning out of the special education school.

Submitted by Jim Welch, Marketing and Development Coordinator

A crowd of about 150 supporters, including West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor, joined the celebration as four students graduated from Ben Bronz Academy on Friday, June 13, 2025, in the Northwest Catholic auditorium. An additional 10 students were recognized for completing their education at Ben Bronz with plans to transition either back to their district or a private school of their choice in the fall. 

In addition to being honored at Ben Bronz, graduates earned their high school diploma from their school district. 

Ben Bronz Academy is a state-approved independent special education school celebrating its 40th anniversary in West Hartford, serving students grades 2-12 from across the state who struggle to learn. The students have been identified with various learning disabilities, including: Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Executive Function Difficulties, ADHD, CAPD, and ASD (mild/Asperger’s). 

Graduates Kevin Garcia Colon, of Hartford; Matthew Meier, of Oxford; Rocco Spirito, of Bristol, and Dave-Von Walker, of Hartford, had the opportunity to thank teachers and staff at Ben Bronz before calling their family up on stage to thank them. 

Earlier in the ceremony, students in the auditorium stood to be individually recognized for their academic success and improved test scores, including the following results from the 2024-2025 school year.

After instruction in reading, decoding, comprehension, and fluency, Ben Bronz students demonstrated progress on the i-Ready Benchmark:

• 72% of BBA students made at least a year’s growth
• 15% of BBA students made at least 2 year’s growth 
• 16% of BBA students made 3 or more year’s growth.

In mathematics, our students work to develop their Number and Operations, Algebraic Thinking, Measurement and Data, and Geometry skills

• 82% of BBA students made at least a year’s growth
• 18% of BBA students made at least 2 year’s growth 
• 15% of BBA students made 3 or more year’s growth

Founded in 1985 on the campus of the American School for The Deaf, Ben Bronz continues to help students at the school now at 11 Wampanoag Drive. 

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BBA_Grad_1: Kevin Garcia Colon, Ben Bronz Executive Director Dr. Gail Lanza, Dave-Von Walker and Matthew Meier pose before the graduation ceremony at Northwest Catholic.

 

BBA_Grad_2: Ben Bronz Education Director Christina Lamphere, Dave-Von Walker, Matthew Meier, Kevin Garcia Colon and Education Director Cynthia Fries pose in the Northwest Catholic cafeteria. 

 

BBA_Grad_3: Kevin Garcia Colon, of Hartford, on stage during Ben Bronz Academy’s graduation and awards ceremony.

 

BBA_Grad_4: Education Director Cynthia Fries presents Khloe Ferrara, of Cromwell, with the Ben Bronz Award. Khloe plans to attend Mercy High School.

 

BBA_Grad_5: Dave-Von Walker, of Hartford, thanks the teachers and staff 

 

About 150 supporters joined Ben Bronz Academy’s five graduates during a celebration in June at Northwest Catholic. An additional ten students were recognized for completing their education at Ben Bronz with plans to transition either back to their district or private schools. The graduates were Kevin Garcia Colon and Dave-Von Walker, both of Hartford; Matthew Meier, of Oxford; Rocco Spirito, of Bristol. Ben Bronz is an independent special education school in West Hartford.