Why Hamden Hall

"Kate's Hamden Hall journey started when she entered Kindergarten at age 4, and she has enjoyed every day since. Immersed in Hamden Hall's interknit community, Kate was able to forge close relationships with her teachers (she still visits her Lower School teachers every week) and bloom into a kind, intelligent, and strong young lady."

From the location of the campus to the inviting classrooms and nurturing environment, Dr. Abi Afolalu was hooked on her first visit to Hamden Hall.

With education a “top priority” in the Letizia family, John and Laurie Ann opted for the Hamden Hall Experience for all three of their children. 

Like many of our families, Pnina and Alan Weiss first learned about Hamden Hall through friends whose children had attended the school. Checking it out for themselves, the Weisses soon discovered the many benefits inherent in a Hamden Hall education.

“We were drawn by the nurturing atmosphere with small classes and individual attention to the students,” maintained Dr. Pnina Weiss, a pediatric pulmonologist at Yale. Her husband, Alan, is the president and founder of Regent Wealth Management Group in Woodbridge.

From their first jaunt onto campus nearly a decade ago, Joe and Kathy Sapiente experienced a palpable connection with the Hamden Hall school community and its members.

They knew they had found the right learning environment for their three children and that the entire family had become part of something much more than just a school.

“Anyone who knows anything about Hamden Hall always mentions its community. When you first walk on this campus, you feel it. You see it in the faces of the students and faculty as they walk from building to building. You experience it during sporting events and activities. When we first stepped foot on the campus in 2007 we sensed it, we saw it, we felt it, and we knew we wanted more of it,” said family patriarch Joseph R. Sapiente.

Pictured, from left, Dr. Keith Johns, Kevin Johns 2016, Ms. Kyle Ballou-Johns, and Keith Johns 2011.

"Many times we have told our children and others, one of the only things that you can attain in life that will never be taken from you is your education. We feel strongly that the best use of our time, effort and finances is to get the best education possible for our children. Hamden Hall proved to be the best place for both of them to achieve that goal. Not only is the education excellent, the nurturing environment is more than we had anticipated."

John and his wife, Rebecca, are the parents of John 2018 and Nicolina 2021.

"The parental axiom my wife and I often quote is, 'Children will live up to your expectations for them.' At Hamden Hall, we found like-minded parents and teachers. We also found children who do live up to those expectations.

The intersection of science and art struck an innovative chord with Class of 1983 alumnus Michael Astrachan as he merged the logical left side of his brain with the creative right to establish XVIVO Scientific Animation.

Class of 1999 alumnus Josh Soboslai continues to be on the pursuit of mindfulness and deeper understanding as he has opened Gandiva Yoga, a boutique yoga studio located in New Haven that focuses on different meditation practices.

Class of 2014 alumna Alex Acquarulo and longtime boyfriend Alexander King will be getting married at the Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich Port, Mass., on July 20, 2025.