When Kelly was first starting out in the Special Education field in Franklin County, Vermont, she encountered a young man who struggled in the traditional classroom setting. Much like our students here today, Adam struggled in a traditional school setting and found the system was not able to meet his needs. It was thought that a one-on-one mentoring relationship would be beneficial for Adam. As he had a desire to build a bench for his mother, Kelly enlisted the help of her father, who had a workshop. She then made a deal with Adam; she would provide the materials, and Adam would build the bench for his mother. Then, he would then help Kelly’s father make a bench for her.
The benches were not the only things being built during that time: trust, belonging, and community were forged during the interactions between student, mentor, and teacher, which then grew to include other members of the Bushey family. The outcome of this arrangement was a guiding insight into the power of providing students with individualized programs and opportunities to build trusting relationships. The seed of Connected Circles was planted.
Given all this bench has represented, Kelly moved it to the Connected Circles campus in July 2022, located in Berlin, Vermont. The staff and students who have since had a hand in sanding and freshening up the paint have brought this bench full-circle.