Choate Rosemary Hall shares a strong history of growth and prosperity with the heartbeat of Wallingford—its people. By working with Wallingford organizations, Choate is able to connect with and support the people who make our town so vibrant and the causes they champion. Our partnerships with the community are a reflection of our care of those around us and our commitment to the common good.
We as a school pride ourselves on who we are—a community committed to integrity, respect, and compassion. We also know that our identity cannot be defined by these words alone—it must be supported by the actions we take each day, both as individuals and as an institution.—Alex D. Curtis, Head of School and George Colony ’72, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
2021 Strategic Plan
Beginning in 2023 The Gaylord Sports Association Wolfpack Sled Hockey Team, part of the Gaylord Sports Association, Gaylord Specialty Healthcare’s adaptive sports program based in Wallingford, calls Remsen Arena home. The team is coed and consists of about 12 adult players with a range of diagnoses including spinal cord injury, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, amputation and multiple sclerosis. The team is the only sled hockey team in Connecticut and competes in the Northeast Sled Hockey League (NESHL) from September through May.
The Gaylord Sports Association is solely funded through donations, corporate sponsors, fundraising events and grants. This year, Choate will donate practice time for the 2023-2024 season and host a NESHL tournament at Remsen Arena on January 6-7, 2024. Choate hockey players have fundraised for the program at an annual charity game hosted each year. Bringing the program to campus will provide additional opportunities to support the program and raise awareness for these athletes.
"Choate Rosemary Hall is a good corporate citizen, working diligently to address any concerns that are raised and working closely with the business community…Choate students, their families, faculty, and staff are critical drivers of commerce in Wallingford. They support the local businesses that are key to Wallingford’s economy and environment. Their students enrich the local community, and our businesses, through their internships and volunteer work." —Gary Ciarleglio, Vice President of Sales and Relationship Management Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce
In support of Spanish Community of Wallingford (SCOW)’s mission to respond to the needs of Latino community, Choate Rosemary Hall has been a proud partner of this Wallingford organization for over 15 years. In addition to underwriting and hosting SCOW fundraisers, over the years Choate students and teachers have volunteered for and supported the SCOW community through tutoring services, the Choate Teach Music program, Art Pod, SCOW and Choate Coding, the Aequora Latin Program and the ¡Adelante! America Youth Leadership Program.
Choate Rosemary Hall is the home to the Wallingford Hawks, the second-oldest Youth Hockey Association in the United States. First organized in the winter of 1946-47 by Choate Hockey Coach William Pudvah, Jr. '34 for Choate faculty children, the Hawks quickly engaged the greater Wallingford community. In 1961, the Wallingford Youth Hockey League began with 15 skaters and a budget of only $200. Since then, the organization has built out hockey programs for kids of all ages, always staying focused on character, chemistry, and work ethic. Today, the organization includes approximately 250 participants in a variety of programs that include learn-to-skate sessions, instructional clinics, in-house programs, and travel teams. Learn more about the Wallingford Hawks.
Since its establishment in 1944, the Wallingford Family YMCA and Choate Rosemary Hall have fostered community through partnership. An advocate for healthy communities, Choate School Headmaster George St. John was one of the four founding “fathers” of the YMCA and served as the first board chair of the Wallingford Y from 1944-1946. Today, The Learning Center at Bronfman, a collaborative endeavor on the Choate campus established in 1984, provides licensed quality child care ages 8 weeks to 5 years old to over 60 Wallingford children annually. Since its inception, the Learning Center has served close to 2,000 children, providing over $1M in financial assistance and subsidies over the 39-year partnership. The Y and Choate also began managing the Choate Fitness Center together in 2013, with an average of over 1,500 students and faculty visits on a monthly basis. During the pandemic, the YMCA and Choate Rosemary Hall also began to partner with aquatics and the Larry Hart Pool. YMCA certified lifeguards help keep students, athletes, and faculty safe. In 2022 Choate and the Y introduced a community swim program to allow town residents access to recreational swimming during school breaks. Choate is a regular supporter and host of YMCA fundraisers and events and Y staff and Choate volunteers often find themselves working side-by-side, including the YMCA’s annual Fishbein/YMCA Community Road Race.
Proximity of the Wallingford Public Library to the Choate campus makes the two neighbors, this is just one aspect of this important partnership. Easy access to the library makes it an extension of resources and serves as a prime location for Choate students to offer reading and tutoring services to local residents. Whether through computer tutoring, Reading Buddies, Lego Explorers Club or the Choate Mentorship Project, Choate students can often be found at the Wallingford Public Library donating their time and lending a hand. Choate GirlTech has even taught introduction to computer aided design and virtual reality at the library’s Collaboratory. Choate was proud to host the inaugural author visit for the all-town reading program One Book, One Wallingford in 2018.
Committed to the vibrancy of Wallingford Center, Choate Rosemary Hall has been a consistent contributor to WCI programs and events. Through annual sponsorship of Celebrate Wallingford and active participation on the WCI board and other town center initiatives, Choate Rosemary Hall has contributed financial assistance and operations expertise to improve parking, signage, and aesthetics of the downtown center in recent years with contributions of benches, holiday decor, parking signage, and a landscape garden.
Proud to join Wallingford in commemorating this important milestone, Choate contributed $25,000 to the festivities and proudly hosted several events including the Faith Day and Juneteenth Observance at Seymour St. John Chapel and the Jubilee Gala at Hill House Dining Hall. Choate Rosemary Hall also served as a staging area for the Jubilee Parade.
Throughout the years, Choate and Wallingford Public Schools have collaborated on numerous programs and joint ventures. Since as early as the 1970s, Choate’s Remsen Arena has served as home ice for the Sheehan hockey team. In 2013, Choate contributed $20,000 to the renovation of the Sheehan High School Planetarium. And, since 2016, kindergarteners from Moses Y. Beach Elementary have participated in the Kinderwoods Program at the Kohler Environmental Center. This collaborative, hands-on experience encourages young students to observe, listen, and draw their surroundings and to record the seasonal changes they see in one spot throughout the year. They measure temperature changes, they interact with nature by touching and smelling leaves and learning about life cycles. They walk on a streamside trail, share nature-themed stories or poems, and also have free time to play.
Founded by Choate’s director of the arts, Terence Nutter and long-time faculty member and orchestra director, Phil T. Ventre, the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra (WSO) held its inaugural concert performance at the Paul Mellon Arts Center (PMAC) in December 1974. The PMAC quickly became the symphony’s home. Since that time, Choate has welcomed the public to multiple WSO concerts per year at the arts center, more recently in the new Ann and George Colony Hall. Annual performances have included an outdoor summer concert in honor of July 4th and an annual childrens’ concert for Wallingford Public School students.
Working with partners like Choate is what helps to make our sled hockey program possible. Our team expenses include league dues, equipment for new players (specialty sleds and sticks as well as hockey gear), coaching, travel expenses and of course ice time. Thanks to Choate’s assistance, we cover the majority of the expenses for our players, most who would not be able to participate without this level of support. —Katie Joly, Sports Association Program Manager, Gaylord Specialty Healthcare
Connect with Cheryl Madden, Manager to Community Relations at cmadden@choate.edu or (203) 697-2933 to discuss opportunities and ideas.
