Administration

Principal's Message

It is our goal to provide our students with a high quality education while individualizing each student’s learning experience. To that end, we have organized our school into small learning communities and gave implemented an Advisory Program.

Small Learning Communities

Small Learning Communities create a close, personal environment in which teachers can work collaboratively with each other and with a smaller number of students to increase student achievement and to promote academic success. The goal of the Achievement Academies is to successfully transition students to high school and to lay the foundation for academic success. The goal of the Career Academies is to prepare students for post-high school success in college and in careers. Achievement and Career Academies Students in grades 9 and 10 are members of the Achievement Academies in which the focus areas are academic skill development, transition to high school and the acquisition of CAPT skills. In Grade 9, students learn about the Career Academy High School Program, start career exploration and begin to acquire integrated literacy skills. Grade 9 students and their teachers are “looped” into the same teams for Grade 10. The goals of the Achievement Academy in Grade 10 are to help students to bring their academic skills to grade level and to prepare students for the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (taken by all Connecticut sophomores), to learn about the Career Academies and pathways, and participate in the Job Shadowing Program.

Career Academies

All 11th and 12th grade students focus on preparation for post-secondary success. Students select courses within and develop knowledge related to their chosen career paths. Students begin to demonstrate self-directed learning.

Career Academies include
Arts & Media
Business & Finance
Government & Human Services
Science & Technology

The Arts & Media Academy is open to Juniors and Seniors with an interest in the Arts and Communications fields. Teachers use school and community resources to encourage individual student growth. This Academy is designed to support student achievement in all subjects. The Arts & Media Academy offers students a smaller learning community tailored to their individual interests and studies show that smaller communities help students achieve academic growth. According to the College Board students educated in the arts do better on the SAT.

The Business & Finance Academy provides opportunities to develop leadership skills within the school and business community. The Academy provides students with opportunities to experience authentic learning within the context of business and finance, including internships through a business-community collaboration. This Academy is a learning community designed to support student achievement in all subjects. Academy students can also earn up to nine college credits while in high school through a partnership between Bassick and Sacred Heart University. Students can also earn a CISCO networking certificate, an internationally recognized computer networking certification.

The Government & Human Services Academy is open to all Juniors and Seniors with an interest in this field of study. The Academy is a learning community designed to encourage high levels of student achievement in all subjects. Students gain knowledge and skills in school and through community service and volunteer work and participate in activities that connect classroom learning to real world experiences that prepare students to pursue a broad spectrum of careers in the service of others.

The Science & Technology Academy is open to upperclassmen with an interest in the sciences and technologic areas of study. Teachers use school and community resources to support student achievement in all subject areas. All students in the Academy participate in activities that connect classroom learning to real world experiences in careers in the Science & Technology field. Students visit job sites, serve internships, create career portfolios, and have opportunities to interact with science and technology professionals in order to understand the requirements for success in this career path.

Advisory

Within the Advisory Program, all students meet daily with staff mentors. In small groups, students discuss topics of interest to them that relate to success in school and in life. The goal of Advisory is to ensure that each student is known well by at least one adult staff member. Studies have shown that these types of connections promote both student satisfaction with school and academic success. This is the fourth year of our Advisory Program.