While passing through a classroom at the Maritime Odyssey Preschool, School Director Monisha Gibson said hello to a student she identified as Riley. She then immediately realized it is actually the young student’s twin, Skyler. It was approximately the tenth child she had identified by name in only a few minutes. One thing was immediately clear: she knows her students, and wants to see them happy.

For Gibson, running the preschool is not just her job but also her passion, something evident simply in the way she gushed about all the aspects of the school that makes it stand out among other impressive area schools. (To sign up for Norwalk breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

“When you come here and you see these kids, they’re learning what kindergarten, first and second graders are learning, but at a developmentally appropriate level,” Gibson said. “It’s just absolutely amazing.” 

The Odyssey Preschool, located in the Nathaniel Ely School building on Ingalls Avenue, officially opened its doors to students in August 2016. It is the result of a unique partnership between Odyssey Early Learning, the lead educational provider, the Maritime Aquarium, which provides science-education content expertise, and Grace Baptist Church, which hosts workshops for families.

The school teaches a STEM-based curriculum and offers a number of unique opportunities for both students and parents. The school’s 214 students will make visits to the aquarium eight times a year thanks to their unique partnership, and are also given free family memberships to the facility for further learning opportunities. 

“I would say the school and the aquarium are probably the best collaborative working entities in the world. I’m not even going to say the state,” Gibson said. “We have a such a wonderful relationship, because they are the experts as it relates to marine life, STEM and engineering technology, and they’re great at understanding the needs of the preschool.”

According to Gibson, who has worked at schools both in New Canaan and the Bronx, a large percentage of the school’s students come from low-income families, which makes the opportunities afforded by the aquarium all the more remarkable. 

“This is the largest program that services the poorest children in the community,” Gibson said, “so the aquarium doesn’t just focus on the STEM component; they also work with us to ensure our kids are getting what they need. We meet regularly to discuss concerns that may come about.”

(Photo credit: RJ Scofield).

One exciting facility the school offers students is a STEM lab, where kids wear little lab coats and learn about “next-generation science standard components.” Here students are taught fundamental concepts, such as the scientific method and what scientists do. 

They are also given “choice time” on certain days, during which they can spend time playing with magnets, interact with the class pet or take part in other fun learning-based activities. 

“We didn’t want everything to be so structured, because scientists explore,” Gibson said, “they formulate ideas, they get to ask questions.” 

Instruction at the STEM lab is conducted by Maritime Aquarium specialists, with a lot of emphasis placed on teaching kids about marine life.

“We work very well together, understanding that we want kids to learn about how to be safer in the environment and how to respect animals,” Gibson said. “We want the aquarium infused into our curriculum, so the expectation is that all teachers are also trained by members of the Maritime Aquarium…to learn about STEM education and everything that comes with it.” 

As the school’s goal is to have kids ready for kindergarten, teachers focus not only on literacy, language and development, but also on math skills, patterns and other concepts learned in the STEM lab. 

That work seems to be paying off. The school is already fully accredited, a process which Gibson said usually takes five years but has only taken them a couple, and all of their 4-year old students going into kindergarten have outperformed the district in every area of the Preschool Early Literacy Indicator (PELI) assessment. 

“It’s amazing because these are kids who historically were at the bottom…there’s no other way to describe it, because we’re changing lives,” Gibson said. “This is how we make the world a better place. We’re going to start here with the poorest children and we’re going to make sure we do this right for them and their future.”

The school takes that initiative one step further by offering services for parents, including its BIC Lab, which was provided by the BIC company after representatives visited the school and “fell in love with it.” The space houses the Parent Institute, where the school offers training and development for parents, as well as workshops for the community. 

The idea is that parents can take classes in cooking, resume writing, and a number of other things in the same building as their children, adding a factor of convenience. 

The school even goes as far as offering dental visits for students whose parents may not have the time or ability to take them to the dentist.

“The fact that we’re able to provide so many services within one building, it just makes it really convenient for families,” Director of the Family Executive Center Prema Winn said. “It feels like a family here. Parents are able to come in, familiar with the staff and the teachers, and have a space to share what their needs are with us and feel secure in doing that. I think the fact that we can provide such a holistic approach to services within one space is unique to other programs.”

(Photo credit: RJ Scofield). 

With so many things going on at the school, it is difficult for Gibson to center on that she finds most rewarding about her job. Nevertheless, there is one aspect that stands out above the rest. 

“What I find most rewarding is the love our partners have in helping families and children improve their lives,” Gibson said. “It’s been an exciting journey, and we’re looking forward to more great things to come.”

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