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Ben Staron: The Best Fit

Ben Staron is the lead physical education (PE) and health teacher at Green Acres Elementary School, and if students and staff have anything to say about his handling of the physical and emotional wellbeing of the Kindergarten through 5th graders, Ben is considered nothing less than a superstar in their eyes.

A native of Southhold, New York, the waterfront hamlet on the eastern tip of Long Island and residence for a time to such historical figures as Walt Whitman and Helen Keller, Ben earned his bachelor’s degree in movement studies (which he says is essentially physical education) in 2007 at Springfield College.

After college, Ben moved back home to Long Island for the summer to work in construction.

“It’s the kind of job you do right after college,” explains Ben. “You know you have a degree, and you should use it, but you still have to pay the bills. My dad said to me, ‘You know, you gotta use that degree.’ He didn't want to see me get stuck in a job where even if I was making good money, I’d realize all of a sudden that I was in a job where I wasn’t happy.

“I was certificated [to teach PE] in the tri-state area,” continues Ben. “So, I looked for openings and applied everywhere in Connecticut that had an opening, as well as New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York. I made the decision to move wherever a career would bring me and that happened to be North Haven.”

A few years after settling into Green Acres Elementary School, Ben went back to school to earn his master’s in special education. He wanted an advanced degree in something he felt would be most useful to the students and staff.

“Since I worked with all the students in the school I thought, what would be the most useful degree that I can have where students can benefit from this degree as well and myself,” explains Ben, “so I got my master’s in special education since I worked with all the grades in the school and students with different needs, so it’s been a great fit. Green Acres is my one and only job right out of college,” notes Ben, who will enter his 15th year of teaching PE when classes begin again in the fall.

“Maybe someday down the line, I'll pursue another degree. I like the leadership roles and I like being an influential part of teams, but at the same time, I like supporting people. I support my people in whatever way that may be,” notes Ben.

Ben’s co-workers agree that he puts the needs and emotions of children before his own in his service to the 430 students at Green Acres, ages 3 to 11. Whether it is playing follow-the-leader with the 3-year-olds, or teaching skills and teamwork in soccer to the 5th graders, Ben's lessons always leave a positive impression on the children both physically and emotionally.

Ben also is the school’s head teacher who, on a daily basis, pops into each classroom doorway to "check in" and see how he can support a student, a curriculum task, or even fetch a coffee for a teacher, Ben is always there to make everyone’s day a little easier and brighter.

And Ben’s lessons reach beyond the set hours of any school day. He greets every family with a smile and encouraging words during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. He has also, for the past 15 years, supervised the 5th-grade camping trips into nature's classroom, which provides students with an outdoor team-building experience and wondrous memories.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and schools were forced into remote learning, Ben found ways to reach children through Google by running gym classes from his living room. And one of the programs Ben started, Green Acres Field Day, will return now that the effects of the pandemic have waned. Ben recently coordinated over 100 parents and community volunteers to bring back Green Acres Field Day.

Ben is also part of the town safety committee, representing Green Acres Elementary School, which focuses on incident reports of what happens in the schools and keeping students and staff aware of school safety concerns.

“North Haven has become my home away from home,” says Ben when describing his past 15 years in Connecticut. “I don’t know what it is about North Haven, but the people, the families, I really enjoy the people and getting to know them. The more that you connect with a family as an educator, the more you can connect with a kid, and the next thing you know you are like family. North Haven is my family.”

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Ben, however. There was a time when, just six years ago, Ben’s continued employment at Green Acres came into question.

“When I was about eight or nine years into teaching, there was a reduction in the workforce, and I had to reinterview for the job I had had for the [prior] years,” Ben explains. “I remember having the thought about how North Haven was my place now. I had picked up and left Long Island, I left my friends, and I left my family there to come here. That was a big thing in my life,” and he wanted to keep his job and his connections in the North Haven community that he’d formed.

That’s when the families his kindness and support had touched spoke up to support Ben in his bid to save his job. “So, I got to stay, and it’s been another six years so far,” says Ben, and he’s very happy about the school and the town.

“The town that I grew up in [Southold, New York] was working-class families,” continues Ben. “North Haven is a very similar community, and it feels like home. It’s a home away from home and a perfect fit. I’ve been in North Haven for so long now I get asked to sit on these review committees. And you hate to see coworkers leave but sometimes professional decisions mean they have to move on to a different grade level. The move is right for them but it's like you change a member of your family, but then you have the opportunity to invite someone else into such a great school like Green Acres or any of the other schools in North Haven.

“When you come to North Haven you’re coming to a really special place,” continues Ben. “North Haven does a great job at everything, from First Selectman Mike Freda to Superintendent of Schools Patrick Stirk, everyone makes great decisions that are in the best interests of everybody in town, and it's nice when you have a supportive community because it makes work not even feel like work.”

While Ben and his wife Lauren have no children of their own, the 430 students at Green Acres Elementary School act like an extended family in Ben’s eyes. “When I’m asked if I have kids, I say yes, ages 3 to 11. And when they ask, ‘How many?’ I say 430,” Ben says with a laugh.