Educating the Next Generation One Student at a Time

Even on an overcast and rainy December morning, the sweeping views leading to Long Island Sound from Pear Tree Point in David Trigaux’s office are simply spectacular.

One can draw a metaphor from the meandering waters leading to the Sound, eventually to pour into the Atlantic, to the challenge of nurturing and educating children and preparing them for our turbulent and ever changing world.

Trigaux has been headmaster at the , an independent elementary school in Darien, for 13 years. Formerly the superintendent of Schools in Weston, and deputy superintendent of the Greenwich School District, Trigaux, who lives in Darien, experienced an early calling to the teaching profession.

“It comes from a deep interest in learning,” he says, “I’ve had good fortune in that my teachers were inspiring.  I began working at a summer program at the Coburn School, a special education school that was in Norwalk, and that was a very powerful experience—teaching seemed to be a natural fit.”

An Alternative Approach to Education

In 1999 he became headmaster of Pear Tree Point, where he walks through the halls, greeting child after child by name. To achieve academic excellence, Trigaux said, Pear Tree focuses on nurturing the potential of every student and meeting their individual needs.  

“There is a science and an art to education,” he says, “but some things don’t change. You have to be able to read, write, do calculations … we prepare our students academically through the Core Knowledge program,” a curriculum that Trigaux describes as, “rich, deep, international and forward looking.”

He says the program is text free — so the educators are able to select the best materials for the school and feels that it challenges young minds because it doesn’t underestimate the abilities of children. It appears to be working — Pear Tree Point has been identified by Johns Hopkins University as a “Top School” in Connecticut.

To this academic mix, Trigaux has added Spanish and Mandarin in every grade, pre-Kindergarten through 5^th. “Research shows that children are best suited to learning languages when they are exposed to them at a young age, we have native speakers teaching our language classes who bring the culture, holidays and traditions to the classroom — it provides insight to the student that is significant.”

New Gymnasium

Trigaux draws a parallel to his transition from the arena of public education to an independent school by discussing the building of a new gymnasium at the Pear Tree Point campus.

When the board decided to replace the old gym, an enclosed pavilion that required significant repair, they were able to move quickly toward their goal, he said. The process of getting approval from various town departments, however, was slower. 

“At public school[s], superintendents must think many years ahead and work with many committees and boards and go through a lot of processes,” he says. “At Pear Tree Point School, we can make decisions based on our needs within a tighter time frame. It’s a more individualized experience and a different way of looking at the teaching and learning process.”

Despite the red tape, Trigaux said that the overall experience of building the new gym was positive, and throughout the process, the town officials provided excellent suggestions and advice. The new gym was designed to evoke images of a barn with soaring ceilings and skylights that allow natural light to fill the space. 

“The students just love it!” he said. “They walk through the door and it’s just inspiring and reminiscent of churches and cathedrals.” 

In addition to being the physical fitness hub of the school, the gym serves as the main gathering place for the student body as well as a theater, “It’s been fitted with theater lighting and sound, as well as video projection — it’s a great fit for our population.”