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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT ANSON SMITH AT 203-332-5229 OR ANITA GLINIECKI AT 203-332-5061

BRIDGEPORT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ATTEND HCC COLLEGE READINESS PROGRAM

BRIDGEPORT- For Bassick High School Aisha Mohammad, Tuesday was a day of a “new experience and new opportunities.”

For her classmate Emmanuel Franceschi, it was a day to begin strengthening his background in English.

For classmate Hezha Murad, it was the beginning of an “exciting experience that will help me.”

These three are among 40 students from Bridgeport’s Harding and Bassick High Schools started classes at Housatonic Community College Tuesday as part of the college’s Middle College Pilot Program.

The students, who arrived at the college from their high schools Tuesday morning, are attending intermediate algebra and college writing courses at HCC for a year. Each course will be co-taught by an HCC professor and a teacher from one of the high schools.

“The goal of the pilot program is to have students graduate from high school college-ready,” said HCC Academic Dean Anita Gliniecki. “At the college, they’ll be offered intense tutoring support, and assistance with the transition to college-level courses.”

The intermediate algebra course is being taught by HCC Professor Jane Wampler and Harding’s Anita Bright, while the English course is being taught by HCC Professor Amy Carattini and Bassick’s Walter Brackett.

The college hopes to establish similar programs with other high schools throughout its 11-town service region, which includes Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Shelton, Trumbull, Easton, Monroe and Fairfield, Gliniecki said.

“We want all the high schools in our service area to know that HCC will provide their students with a degree or certificate that will lead them directly into the workforce or into a four-year university,” she said.

“Students and parents alike are realizing that HCC provides a cost-effective alternative to the four-year schools for a quality education,” she said. “More and more students are using HCC for the ‘two plus two’ transfer option and, indications are that more of this will happen,” she added.

Some 50 students at each of the two high schools underwent eligibility testing hoping to be selected for the program, Gliniecki said. The final selection was made by the individual high schools.

“I’m excited that they offer this program,” said Bassick’s Franceschi, who’s attending an English class with Mohammad and Murad, “It’s not my major, but it’s something I need. I’m hoping this course will make a difference.”