To Our Westbridge Family

Dear Westbridge Families,

As we close another school year at Westbridge, I want to share what defines this place. It isn’t the building or the brochure. It’s what happens at 8:39 AM when a student walks through the door, carrying whatever they are carrying, and what we do once they arrive.

That is the heart of Westbridge.

We are a therapeutic school. That word, therapeutic, gets misread sometimes. It doesn’t mean we go easy. It means we do the harder work, the work other places don’t have time for. We don’t measure a student only by what shows up on paper, because the paper doesn’t always tell the full story of what’s happening in their life.

You’ll read about two of our students in this issue. Keyon M. was seven years old when he started at Westbridge. He is seventeen now, plays in the band, runs the gaming tournaments, and looks out for the new students. Francisco V. came to us as a senior, with one year to figure out his next step. He is leaving with Honor Roll grades and an acceptance to UTI Bloomfield. Two different paths, same truth: students do well when adults stay with them.

REACH is the program that takes the school out of the school. Brian Coya and Nicole Miranda run it. This year our students walked the campus at Bloomfield College. They sat in an iHeart Radio studio with Xen Sams. They worked alongside Sam Pena and the Wrap Time team on automotive wraps. They learned how to inspect a first car with Rob Ida. The future begins to feel real when students are doing the work themselves.

School is not the hard part. The hard part is showing up after a difficult night. The hard part is the parent who keeps believing. The hard part is the teacher who stays late because the math finally clicked. That’s the work that matters, and that is what we do here.

To the parents reading this: we see you. The breakfasts you packed. The IEP meetings you took off work for. The conversations you had on the way home. To our staff: this work is not easy. You stay because it’s worth staying. Thank you. To our seniors leaving in June: you will always be part of this place. Come back and tell us how it is going.

Have a good summer, and take some time to rest. The awards assembly is on June 16. I look forward to seeing you there, and welcoming everyone back to Westbridge in the fall.

With gratitude,

Dr. Anthony Hadzimichalis, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Westbridge Academy