Open Choice Scholarships

Mary Carroll-Kennedy Scholarship and Marjorie Little Book Award

Kristina Star Jordan Social Justice Scholarship

About Our Scholarship Namesakes

About Mary Carroll Kennedy

Mrs. Kennedy began her career in Connecticut as an Educator in 1964. In 1966, Project Concern was developed and managed by the Hartford Board of Education. In 1968, she accepted a position with the Hartford Board of Education as a support teacher for the Project Concern Program.

In 1982, as a result of her dedication and passion for serving children, Mrs. Kennedy was appointed Director of The Project Concern Program and successfully managed her office staff and paraprofessionals, who worked as bus aids and support staff in the suburban public schools to support Choice students and their families.

Mrs. Kennedy continued to be a faithful and effective advocate for Hartford students during the times when Project Concern was the hot project in the Legislature and in years when funding for the project was declining. Throughout those years, Mrs. Kennedy continued her work to give Hartford students an opportunity for educational success and a bright future.

In 1997, Project Concern became part of a statewide Open Choice Program as a solution of the Sheff vs. O'Neil court case and is funded by the State of Connecticut. That year, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), who was appointed by the state to manage the Open Choice Program, hired Mrs. Kennedy as the Program Director. She worked hard to ensure that the transition from Project Concern to Open Choice was seamless. During her tenure the Choice Program's enrollment expanded from approximately 540 students to serving over 900 students.

The Mary Carroll Kennedy College Scholarship & Award was launched on June 19, 2002 when Mrs. Kennedy retired from the Choice Program. A total of $3,200 was initially raised for the scholarship.

About Marjorie Little

Established in 2016, during the 50th Anniversary of the Hartford Region Open Choice Program, formally Project Concern, the Marjorie Little Book Award has been established in recognition of parent and former employee, Marjorie Little, who was committed to offering Hartford residents a better educational opportunity.

Mrs. Little began serving Project Concern as a parent advocate and helped in developing community support for the program in 1964 at the encouragement of Dr. Alexander Plant and Trudy Johnson-Mero, co-founders of Project Concern. In 1966, she accepted a position with the Hartford Board of Education as a Para-professional for Project Concern in South Windsor. In 1968 Mrs. Little was promoted to the position of Coordinator of Teacher Aids. This role assisted Project Concern high school students in exploring college/university options and researching scholarship opportunities. Mrs. Little worked for Project Concern for 29 years and successfully helped to give 100’s of Hartford students an opportunity for a brighter future. These included four of Mrs. Little’s five children who graduated from South Windsor High School, Plainville High School, East Catholic High School and Mount St. Joseph’s Academy. Mrs. Little also had two grandchildren who graduated from South Windsor High School as program participants. When Mrs. Little retired in December 1994, 1,000 students had graduated from the program.

About Kristina Star Jordan

For over 25 years, Kristina Star Jordan was an educational leader promoting racial equity and social justice for systematically marginalized individuals. At the time of her passing, Kristina was the Director of School Choice at CREC. Kristina was courageous, graceful, and unapologetic in working toward social justice and equity in her communities, especially for children in the New London and Hartford regions.

As Director of School Choice, Kristina built authentic relationships, changed systems, improved environments, established new practices, and ensured equitable access for students and families. She secured substantial funding to ensure that School Choice would continue having a skilled, supportive team to engage with regional partner districts. The message she lived up to was ensuring students feel proud of who they are and where they come from.

This scholarship in Kristina’s name recognizes the efforts of a student who participates in the Hartford Region Open Choice Program and is a champion and leader in their district for equity, social justice, and inclusion.