HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC) – The Hartford School Board held a public hearing Thursday night on the closures of two schools to consolidate at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.
High School Inc. and the Journalism and Media Academy will merge into the new Weaver High School. The new school will continue the themes of the previous stand-alone schools, which include insurance, finance and media.
Hartford Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres Rodriguez says the consolidation is part of the Board’s plan to reconfigure the district.
“Essentially what it (the consolidation) would allow us to do is have seamless, predictable pathways from kindergarten all the way through high school in our neighborhood schools, which is what our community told us loud and clear,” said Torres-Rodriguez.
She noted it can be challenging with the transition process of bringing together multiple school communities, but added the benefit of both institutions already being housed under one building.
Continuing the integrity of the previous, stand-alone school’s themes will be key factors moving forward with the consolidation, which Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez said is part of the Board's overall goal.
“The bigger goal moving forward is making sure our students have access to high quality teaching and learning in state-of-the-art facilities.”