Unsung Hero

Ms. Coates and her husband had enrolled their two older children in private Catholic school, but that eventually became a financial impossibility. Instead of moving out of Bridgeport, where most schools in the city were rated far lower than those in surrounding areas, she decided to tackle the situation head on. Ms. Coates showed up at a Bridgeport Board of Education meeting, where she witnessed parents at odds with each other and a system that was not working for her kids.

One of nominees for the Yankee Institute’s 2016 Unsung Hero Award, Alex worked with a fellow Wilton resident to form “Sensible Wilton” in the summer of 2014. Sensible Wilton’s goal was to stop a renovation of the Miller-Driscoll school that started as a $3 million facelift but ballooned into a $50 million teardown and reconstruction project.

There are only 20 days left to nominate someone. If you know of a liberty-minded person who has volunteered his or her time to fight for freedom and fairness, with the intention of making Connecticut a better place for us all, now is your chance to honor them. The 2016 award recipient will receive a $1,000 cash prize and recognition at Yankee’s gala, Connecticut’s Champions of Freedom, on Dec. 1 at the Palace Theatre in Stamford.