A new era for Notre Dame High School
January 13, 2012 • by Karen Kovacs Dydzuhn
Posted in Local News

Having made its mark as the first Catholic high school in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Notre Dame High School in Fairfield is once again making historic strides with the announcement of a strategic plan for growth and a new partnership with Sacred Heart University.

The newly unveiled strategic plan offers a vision for the next five years, including a boost in enrollment, academic excellence and new partnerships to expand over all academic, sports and social resources.

“We want people to know Notre Dame is alive and well and we’re pleased to offer strengthened academics, an upgrade in facilities and better connections with our alumni,” says Principal Chris Cipriano. “The next five years are really going to be an exciting time of growth for us and we hope people will want to be part of this process.”

The diocesan high school provides a rigorous college preparatory education to almost 400 students from 35 cities and towns in Connecticut. With 20 athletic teams, 25 extracurricular clubs and organizations, and 50 community service initiatives, NDHS is a dynamic and growing campus with activities and programs for a wide range of interests.

One of the major planks of the strategic plan is the growing partnership with Sacred Heart University that will provide capital improvements to the high school and academic assistance to the students and faculty. Under an agreement announced on December 19, Sacred Heart and Notre Dame will be working together to bring wireless technology to its classrooms, while Notre Dame students, faculty and staff will also have use of the newly renovated Ryan Matura Library at Sacred Heart University.

Sacred Heart will provide a 50% tuition discount to academically qualified Notre Dame graduates who attend SHU full time.

In addition, the partnerships will enhance the high school’s athletic fields. As part of the agreement, Sacred Heart has purchased a 2-acre parcel of NDHS land off of Park Avenue for $600,000. The parcel abuts property the University owns at 5401 Park Avenue.

“This infusion of academic resources and capital investment will have an immediate and huge impact on our campus,” said Notre Dame High School president, Fr. Bill Sangiovanni. “This represents a new era for NDHS— students, faculty and alumni will all benefit—now and far into the 21st century.”

The history of the two schools extends back to 1964, when Notre Dame High School’s building and property turned into Sacred Heart University. For nine years, Notre Dame High School was separated by gender; before the schools merged in 1973, the Notre Dame School for Girls was located in Bridgeport and Notre Dame School for Boys operated in Fairfield. Today, Notre Dame includes 11,000 graduates spanning over 50 years.

Strengthening these longstanding ties with SHU is just one of several new changes planned for Notre Dame High School as called for in the strategic plan developed by a committee comprised of faculty, students, parents and board members over the past year.

George Estrada, a member of Notre Dame High School’s Class of 1979, and on the school’s Advisory Board, was the chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee. He explained that the committee diligently so input from a variety of sources before attempting to tackle the strategic plan. The result is a document filled with many exciting new programs and learning opportunities.

Like Cipriano, Estrada emphasized the school’s challenging academic courses as its core. “The most exciting components of the new strategic plan, ones critical to the Notre Dame High School’s mission, are the new creative methods we’ve added for delving into the academic subjects,” Estrada notes.

For example, the traditional four semester academic school has been restructured to include a break between the second and third semesters. This time will be used by students to participate in innovative, short-term areas of studies, specialized classes and internships that would offer the opportunity to gain insight into possible career paths.

The 2011-2012 academic year marks Cipriano’s second year at the helm of Notre Dame High School. Beginning his tenure 14 years ago as a classroom teacher, Cipriano has assumed several positions, including athletic director and dean. Most recently, he served as its assistant principal. “I’ve essentially spent my whole career at Notre Dame High School,” he says.

Founded in 1955 on the principles of high academic standards, a strong Catholic identity and a diverse student body population, Notre Dame High School’s core values haven’t changed. “We sought to add more depth and rigor to what’s already in place,” Cipriano points out.

The strategic plan also calls for a greater emphasis on writing research papers, expository writing and grammar. The utilization of technology, such as Smart Boards, which are already in place, and the implementation of wireless technology will also serve as a learning tool and a resource for students. According to the strategic plan, more electives will be introduced in the curriculum. Administrators also hope to increase the number of Advanced Placement (AP) courses with the anticipation that a greater number of students will take the AP test in the springtime.

“What we do, we do very well. We just want to do it even better,” Cipriano continues. “Our goal is to increase our enrollment annually, and our Strategic Plan really sets a clear vision for where we are planning to take Notre Dame in the future.”

(The 22-acre campus of Notre Dame High School is located at 220 Jefferson St., just a minute off the Merritt Parkway, equally distant from exists 46 and 47. For enrollment information call 203.372.6521 or visit the web at www.notredame.org.)

 

 

 

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