July 31, 2025
At this year’s HOT Schools Summer Gathering, themed Arts Education & Citizenship, attendees were treated to a moving and insightful reflection from our featured student speaker: eleven-year-old Finley Dreyer, a former student at Roxbury Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut. Now attending Scofield Middle School, Finley’s time at Roxbury—a proud member of the HOT Schools Cohort—left a lasting impression.
In their own words, Finley shared how The HOT Approach transformed their school community, nurtured student leadership, and gave them the confidence to use their voice. With clarity, warmth, and wisdom beyond their years, Finley offered a powerful glimpse into what’s possible when students are given the tools, trust, and opportunities to lead. Their remarks are a vivid reminder of why this work matters.
We’re proud to share Finley’s full speech below.
Good afternoon, my name is Finley Dreyer, and I am eleven years old. I currently go to Scofield Middle School in Stamford, Connecticut, but I previously went to Roxbury Elementary School. This is also in Stamford, Connecticut. Although Scofield is not a HOT school, Roxbury was. My experience with the HOT Schools program at Roxbury was special.
Right after COVID, Roxbury formally became a Higher Order Thinking school. After we became a HOTS school, I started to notice our school community began to feel smaller and more connected. I began to feel like I knew more than just the few classes in my grade, I started to interact with the older kids in grades above and younger kids in grades below. I began to create friendships with kids in all different grades. I think this change happened because the whole school started doing fun activities that everyone enjoyed. We started having our School-Wide Performances, artists came to our school and we began our ECHOs (Enhanced Curricular HOT Opportunities) days. This gave us common ground to have conversations with each other and be able to connect with one another.
Once we started our ECHOs I really noticed a change in our school. The first year we did ECHOs, we were able to experience activities we were interested in. We had dance, stage crew, yoga and my favorite Student Senate. After each ECHO we had our Town Meeting. We were able to hear about what other kids had learned from their ECHOs and also heard about what they did. Kids were able to share their dance, or art project. They also were able to share about what was happening in their classroom. Everyone was able to share if they wanted, but it didn’t have to be perfect. It was about the process of learning and we were able to come together as a community through this. The best part was that it was all about students sharing with students. Kids were able to let their voices be heard and show pride in what was happening in their classes or ECHOs. This is another way my school started to feel smaller. I started to feel more connected and part of a school family.
Before we became a Higher Order Thinking school I had a lot of trouble speaking up for myself and standing up for myself. I knew that I wanted to have a voice but I thought I needed to have some sort of permission to say my thoughts. I was worried that my voice and my ideas wouldn’t be heard unless I had a title to say what I wanted to say. I thought that it wasn’t my place to speak up and I didn’t know how to do it. When I saw that there was going to be a Student Senate, I really wanted to join and come together with a group of people who also wanted to learn to speak up and make a difference.
The Student Senate at Roxbury was a place where we were able to express our ideas on how we can help make our school and community a better place. But it was more than that. The Senate gave us a voice. I was able to come out of my comfort zone and I decided to run for Senate President. I had to create a speech, make posters and talk to all students about why they should vote for me. This was hard but ended up being a great experience for all of us who ran for Senate positions. The Student Senate became the leaders and the people who supported the school and our surrounding communities. We ran food drives, toiletry drives, raised money for shelters, made blankets for animal shelters to name just a few things we did. We led most of the school events, gave tours and helped out with Kindergarten orientation and other events for the school. The Town Meetings were completely run by Student Senators. Each member had an opportunity to MC the meetings, participate in writing the script and helping students when they shared. We became the role models of the school. That was the responsibility that Senators had. In order to be a member of the Senate, we had to make sure we were always doing the right thing and presenting ourselves as leaders and role models for all the students.
Roxbury being a Higher Order Thinking school helped me and my fellow Senators thrive. I now have the confidence and experience to speak in front of large groups of people. I know I can make a difference and help our community. My experience with the HOT Schools program has helped me grow and I know that experience will help me in my future. I am a more confident person who has the skills to be a leader and make a difference. All of this would not be possible without Roxbury being a HOTS school. Thank you for listening to the way the HOTS program at my school helped shape the person I am today.
Finley Dreyer
HOT Schools Summer Gathering, June 23, 2025