West Haven, Conn., May 18, 2007 - State legislators, representatives and leaders in education and engineering from across the state today offered overwhelming support for University of New Haven (UNH) President Steven H. Kaplan's vision to help meet Connecticut's demand for highly motivated and qualified engineers by building the state's first public magnet school to focus on the critical areas of science and engineering for grades 6 through 12.
Kaplan was joined by Connecticut's Speaker of the House, State Representative James Amann, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., West Haven Mayor John M. Picard, New Haven Superintendent of Schools Dr. Reginald Mayo, and West Haven Superintendent of Schools Dr. JoAnn Andrees for a press conference to outline plans for the new University of New Haven Science and Engineering Magnet School, to be located in West Haven near the UNH campus.
Though the project is contingent on state funding, Kaplan and his educational partners in West Haven and New Haven expressed optimism that the tremendous need for qualified engineers in Connecticut will persuade legislators to approve funding for the $59 million project. "We are optimistic that the funding will be forthcoming," Kaplan said. He added that he will be meeting with West Haven officials in the near future to gather more input on the needs of the community.
Approximately 75 representatives from the business community, area legislators, New Haven aldermen, West Haven City Council and both Boards of Education attended the press conference. "It is clear that in order to keep this region competitive there needs to be concerted and collaborative effort to prepare students for global competition," Kaplan said, noting that UNH will create "a significant scholarship program for the students who attend the University of New Haven Science and Engineering Magnet School."
The school will begin operations in the fall of 2008 in a temporary location, which is currently under consideration. It will grow by one grade each year, beginning with grade six, with a phase in of an additional grade each year over seven years. In 2014-2015, it will have a total enrollment of 616 students, grades 6 through12, with 88 students per grade and each grade consisting of four classes. The school will serve 400 students from New Haven, 125 students from West Haven, and 91 students from participating districts in the greater New Haven area; all of the towns will participate on an advisory committee throughout the planning process.
The University of New Haven Science and Engineering Magnet School will be designed and built through the $1.5 billion New Haven Citywide School Construction Program, which has completed a total of 24 schools to date. The program is the largest per capita in the nation.
The primary focus of the University of New Haven Science and Engineering Magnet School is to effectively prepare graduates for pursuing further education and careers in a range of scientific, engineering, and technological fields. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Reginald Mayo said the New Haven Public Schools has a track record of excellence in establishing magnet schools that draw a healthy mix of both urban and suburban students around a central theme. The school will provide students in grades 6 through 8 with a math/science curriculum designed to prepare them for a demanding high school program, and it will offer an "early college" program to high school students, awarding simultaneous high school and college credit.
A leader in experiential learning, the University of New Haven provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. A private University founded in 1920, UNH has a full-time undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,400 students-with 70 percent residing on its 80-acre main campus-and a graduate school enrollment that exceeds 1,700. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its four colleges, in fields such as sports management, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science, fire science and criminal justice. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.
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