Great Path Academy

Mission Statement

The mission of Great Path Academy at Manchester Community College is to provide an innovative learning environment that supports students from diverse backgrounds in developing the values, self-discipline, work habits, academic and life skills needed to achieve success. Students at Great Path Academy are fully immersed into the college community and are encouraged to accelerate their post-secondary studies by supplementing their high school program with college coursework.

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About the Curriculum

Great Path Academy at Manchester Community College is a middle college, inter-district high magnet school for students in grades ten through twelve. The school operates under the auspices of the Board of Trustees for the Community Colleges and is managed by Capitol Region Education Council, CREC.
Students are selected to enroll in our school through a blind lottery through the Regional School Choice Office. Our students come to us from numerous towns across the Hartford Country including, but not limited to: Hartford, Manchester, East Hartford, Bloomfield, South Windsor, Vernon, Coventry and New Britain. Graduates either meet or surpass high school graduation requirements. Students enroll in college classes as their grades, Accuplacer or SAT scores, and skills allow. They may also enroll in a full complement of Career Cluster Pathways classes that enable them to meet the Associates Degree requirements in criminal justice, engineering, early childhood, media art, or computer science. Effective with the Class of 2012, students will be required to earn 25 credits to align with the Connecticut High School Reform Initiative.

Scheduling

To facilitate a successful transition to GPA and establish a solid foundation for college readiness, students in our Sophomore Academy are scheduled to take their core courses daily. To coincide with direct college courses offered through Manchester Community College, junior and senior courses meet either Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays with alternating Fridays for 80-minute sessions. The high school’s schedule follows the traditional semester model.

Class Rank

Class rank is based on academic performance for grades 9 through 12. Class rank for the Class of 2012 is based on 71 students. Class rank for the Class of 2013 is based on 111 students; Class of 2014 is based on 80 students.

Marking System

Grades are awarded under the A-F rubric and F is noted for averages below 60. Academic performance is assessed quarterly. Students and parents receive progress reports after eight weeks of school work. Half credit is awarded at the end of each semester. Report cards are mailed home at the end of each semester. Students at Great Path Academy will have an unweighted grade point average.

Student Body

The 262 students enrolled in the fall of 2011 at Great Path Academy come from 25 towns and 63 high schools around Manchester Community College. They are selected to attend Great Path Academy by entering their names into a blind lottery which is held annually by the Regional School Choice Office. Presently there is a waiting list for several towns. Support services are available to students with special needs. As a magnet school, we place value on representing cultural diversity within our student population.

School Facilities

The State of Connecticut appropriated $28 million to construct a high school on the campus of Manchester Community College. The new high school facility opened in the fall of 2009. It includes 16 classrooms, three science labs, a world language lab, a culinary arts center, a graphic design lab, a gymnasium and a student meeting center attached to the college. The school consists of a two-story building surrounding a courtyard.

School Counseling Department

Students benefits from low counselor and social worker to student ratios. A developmental guidance curriculum is followed so that students and parents are supported as they research and select postsecondary educational opportunities. The guidance office also provides assistance to parents as they navigate the college application process as well as how to meet the financial costs.

Faculty and Administration

The faculty and administration consists of:

• Two Administrators
• 1.6 Guidance Counselors
• 26 Teachers
• One Social Worker

Community

The Manchester Community College community serves over 7,000 full and part-time students of all ages, races, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds. The college library resources and collections are extensive, allowing students to research and write with contemporary resources and state of the art technology.

Contact Information

Main Office
Phone: 860-512-3560

Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, Ed.D
Principal
Phone: 860-512-3702

Chantel Gardner
Executive Assisstant
Phone: 860-512-3703

Dr. Kristi Moran
Guidance Counselor
Phone: 860-512-3712