Every day at Mark DeLay School is a busy one, as more than 540 children below the age of 9 attend the school from a wide swath of Darien. With more than 30 different ethnicities represented by the school's students, children learn to embrace and celebrate diversity from the time they enter pre-kindergarten. Second graders are taught to be role models for the younger kids, partnering with them as reading buddies.

Many of the teachers live in the community, which is just one way the school engages with the city of Darien. Retired community members come into the school a couple of times a week to work with students on everything from poetry to playing cowboys. Parents also volunteer by helping to stock the library, making copies for teachers and raising money to fund new technology initiatives.