BIA Viewbook

BRIDGEPORT INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY where students experience a global community

MISSION Bridgeport International Academy is a college preparatory high school committed to a high standard of academic excellence, shared values, the advancement of cross-cultural and interreligious understanding, and the development of character and personal integrity.

THE ACADEMY FULFILLS ITS MISSION BY: Offering a holistic educational experience, emphasizing the study of core academic subjects, oral and written communication skills, character education, community service, technological skills, fine arts, and physical fitness; and seeking to instill in each student a passion for learning while promoting respect for and harmonious relations with other people and cultures in a safe, nurturing, and positive educational environment.

PHILOSOPHY: Academic subjects are taught as an integral part of a body of knowledge so that students recognize relationships among the disciplines. The study of world history and culture reflects the international, interdisciplinary focus of the academy. The school emphasizes the importance of effective communication by fostering the development of writing and public speaking skills. Teachers use a variety of instructional techniques to stimulate each student’s creativity and motivation to learn.

As part of their high school journey, students explore common religious and ethical values.

Character education and ethical reflection encourage students to nurture their own identities as young men or women oriented toward community service and social conscience. Students are encouraged to obtain the guidance of teachers, parents, and mentors as they develop ideals and values.

PRINCIPAL’S LETTER Students, Families, and Friends: Thank you for your interest in Bridgeport International Academy!

BIA is a learning community where students grow in heart and mind as they gain an excellent academic foundation for their college careers. Our holistic approach to education helps students develop the ability to use knowledge responsibly, choose and incorporate information most essential to their life goals, distinguish between useful or harmful exposures, and understand universally-recognized values. The multinational composition of the school community provides students with the opportunity to gain cultural competence and a broad understanding of the world in which they live.

BIA provides a safe and encouraging environment, with a low student to teacher ratio, where students can move freely through their educational experiences. Honesty, respect, and integrity are expected, fostering community spirit based on positive behavior. Because creativity is highly valued, many academic and extracurricular activities provide opportunities for individual expression.

Domestic and international students take a wide variety of college preparatory courses where their creative abilities are challenged, and qualifying juniors and seniors may take four university courses per year for high school and college credit. Some students also complete internships for credit. While the school maintains a rigorous academic curriculum, students are encouraged to customize their educational experience through elective courses and activities.

Please contact us at (203) 334-3434 or (203) 260-6801 to arrange a visit to our campus. BIA has a rolling admissions policy, accepting applications throughout the year.

Nora M. Spurgin, MSW Principal

ACCREDITATION On March 15, 2007 the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, widely regarded as the premier accrediting body in New England, granted accreditation for ten years to Bridgeport International Academy.

“This stamp of approval by the NEASC is a huge boost to our school,” said Nora Spurgin, principal of BIA. “It recognizes the standard of excellence in education to which we have devoted ourselves since BIA’s inception. With this accreditation, the credibility of our students’ significant achievements is immediately affirmed, and it builds on our previous approvals from the state of Connecticut, which were also extended in March 2007.”

A four year college preparatory high school, the Academy was founded in 1997, based on small class size, high academic standards, a character education program and international reach. At BIA, students are able to experience the world while still in high school, since the faculty and student body are from nearly every continent of the world as well as various states in America.

In August 2007, BIA moved into new a new classroom facility in Seaside Institute, which is presently under construction. “It is all coming together for us now,” said Mrs. Spurgin.

“But the key was achieving the NEASC standard. It gives students and their parents the confidence that they are getting a very high level of education and it solidifies everything we have been working for since the inception of the school.”

NEASC follows a rigorous process which includes an extensive self-study, a financial audit, an on-site visit by a committee of educators, classroom observations, examination of documents, interviews and evaluations based on the application.

OUR FACILITIES

On August 1, 2007,

BIA moved the entire school from two facilities at the University of Bridgeport into the Seaside Institute building, which serves as the headquarters for BIA and is adjacent to the university campus. The move allowed the school to expand, as student enrollment steadily increased.

Established in 1886 as a boarding school for teenage girls, the Seaside Institute was converted during the 1980s into thirty apartments plus a commercial area.

BIA restored that building to its original purpose, by converting those apartments into classrooms, offices, a dormitory, and residences for teachers and staff.

Renovation of the Seaside facility included construction of a science classroom with storage for chemicals, seven other

classrooms, a state-of-the-art server room, computer labs, a health center, an assembly room, a student lounge, a lunch room, a records room, a conference room for faculty and staff, nurse’s office, and a suite of five administrative offices with a reception area. The classrooms are equipped with phones, whiteboards, networked computers, printers, multimedia projectors, and SMART boards.

The history and ELL classrooms have maps of the history of America and the world.

In addition, the dormitory “Seaview House” overlooks the Long Island Sound.

In 2004, BIA purchased the Seaview property and converted the structure into a state-licensed dormitory that meets all codes, laws, and ordinances.

STUDENT LIFE

The Principal & Residential

Life Coordinators coordinate student life, overseeing student leadership, counseling services, community service, and character education activities. The Academy provides opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular events including debate contests, science fairs, athletic events, art shows, and educational outings. Events are scheduled for cultural and educational purposes. Additionally, club and sports activities are available.

BIA promotes core values and a social milieu in which students make a commitment to personal growth through positive behaviors and academic achievement. Students are also encouraged to develop meaningful and constructive relationships with peers, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community.

BIA’s policy of abstinence from drugs, alcohol, smoking, and premature sex allows students the freedom to pursue their studies and for their personal lives to be unencumbered by excessive peer pressure. Instead of engaging in exclusive romantic relationships, students are socially active in groups and are encouraged to relate to each other as brothers and sisters. Each student and his/her parent or guardian must agree to comply with these policies as a condition of entering the academy. Students discuss the school’s core values in various forums throughout the year during character education class.

7 PILLARS OF BIA 1. RESPECT. Respect for God, parents, teachers and humanity.

Always be open to learn. Respect authority and everyone around you. Be courteous, appreciative, tolerant, and accepting of individual differences. Avoid abusing, demeaning, or mistreating anyone, including yourself.

Do not use, manipulate, exploit, or take advantage of others. Respect the right of individuals to make decisions about their own lives.

2. LIVE FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS. If you can be inspired to give and to be compassionate, you will experience joy. Show you care about others through consideration, kindness, and sharing. Live by the Golden Rule by treating others as you would like to be treated. Selfishness, meanness, cruelty, or insensitivity to the feelings of others is not becoming to a BIA student. Be charitable and giving of yourself; volunteer to help your community and school.

3. RESPECT YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Whether it is God’s creation, the places you live, or things you use every day, care for the environment around you: Do not deface property. Leave your environment the same or better than it was when you found it. Protect the environment by conserving natural resources.

4. BE TRUSTWORTHY. Tell the truth. Be sincere. Deceiving, misleading or betraying a trust will destroy your relationship with others. Walk your talk and be your best self by demonstrating commitment, courage, and selfdiscipline.

5. BE A MORAL PERSON. Be aware of fundamental human values and develop conscience, self-control, empathy, and humility.

Make decisions based on positive values, not impulses. Postpone exclusive relationships with the opposite sex to preserve emotional well-being and prevent jealousy and inappropriate behavior.

Relate to peers as brothers and sisters by treating everyone as equals. Refrain from using substances that are psychologically or physically harmful, such as alcohol, illegal drugs, and tobacco.

6. STRIVE FOR UNITY OF MIND AND BODY. Be focused and balanced. Play by the rules. Obey laws. Do your share. Stay informed and participate in your community. Protect yourself and those around you. Express an appreciation of community and social values through actions that match your best idea of yourself.

7. BE RESPONSIBLE Learn to respond to the needs of others, and treat all people fairly. Be open-minded. Listen to others and try to understand what they are saying and feeling. Make decisions which will benefit everyone equally. Think win-win. Do not take unfair advantage of others’ mistakes. Take only your fair share.

ACADEMICS + FACULTY

ENGLISH LITERATURE + COMPOSITION:

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION:

Students will achieve a high level of competency in the four skill areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking; will become familiar with both world and American literature; and will have the ability and confidence to communicate in a wide variety of public and private situations.

Students will gain the ability to communicate in a second language in four skill areas.

TECHNOLOGY: Students will gain a fundamental mastery of computer use and research skills and be able to integrate these skills into every academic area. They will understand technology trends and career applications of such trends.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER (ELL) According to assessed need, international students begin with a full English Language Learner program and advance to an intermediate program with content courses in basic English before moving into mainstream coursework.

International students experience school in a carefully planned transitional program. They are integrated into the school in three phases:

PHASE 1

PHASE 2

PHASE 3

INTRODUCTORY INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAM

INTERMEDIATE ACADEMIC CONTENT COURSES

THE REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM

This program prepares non-English speaking students to participate in the regular school. Students practice English vocabulary skills in grammar, reading, writing, and mathematics by working with text books, workbooks, computer games, sports and activities. During the summer, trips to historic and popular tourist sites are part of the program.

Students follow the school schedule, taking classes such as math, physical education, the arts, and activities. They also participate in a special curriculum, which includes ESL science, ESL history, ESL math, ESL literature. Classes focus on academic content of core subjects using basic English.

Though this intermediate program, students will earn the necessary credits to be fully mainstreamed into the regular school curriculum.

International students will be helped to polish reading and writing skills and to complete all requirements to graduate from the Academy and apply to colleges.

MATHEMATICS: Students will master advanced, as well as basic mathematics and understand the role and application of mathematics in various aspects of everyday life.

SCIENCE: Students will understand scientific perspectives focusing on the major experimental sciences and addressing their responsibility to care for the environment and natural resources.

HISTORY + CULTURE: Students will gain fundamental knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the historical and cultural experience of America and of other world cultures. They will be oriented to the significance of geography, transportation, economics, communications, and politics.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Students will take a health course and gain a well-rounded experience of team and individual sports. They will learn the value of physical fitness, good physical and mental health, and a healthy and principled lifestyle as the foundation for personal and familial happiness.

THE ARTS: Students will gain aesthetic understanding and appreciation of music, dance, drama, and other forms such as film, video, digital arts, and multimedia arts.

2012

2011

THE ARTS

Connecticut Academy of Art and Design is a burgeoning international art program developed by Bridgeport International Academy, designed as a progressive “art immersion� environment for domestic and foreign students interested in an education and a career in the field of art in the digital age.

The CAD program

within our international preparatory academy is dedicated to both a traditional high school curriculum, followed by a rigorous afternoon of dedicated art studies and portfolio preparation. International students mingle with our domestic students to improve their English language skills while at the same time training in the digital arts, such as digital film making, graphic design 3D modeling, web design, digital printing just to name a few.

CURRICULUM 2011-2012 •

Digital Photography

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Adobe Photoshop

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Adobe Illustrator

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Digital Filmmaking - Final Cut Pro

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3d modeling - Google Sketch Up

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Digital Publishing

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Web Design

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Portfolio Creation

ADVANCED CLASSES •

Adobe after effects

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Cinema 4D

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Realistic Rendering

CORE VALUE OVERVIEW

(content below modified from http://digitalyouthnetwork.org)

The convergence of technology, information, and media has reinvigorated and transformed conceptions of media literacy. “Schools and afterschool programs must devote more attention to fostering what we call the new media literacies: a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape” (Jenkins, 2006: 4). These competencies and skills include: play, performance, simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distributed cognition, collective intelligence, judgment, transmedia navigation, networking, and negotiation. Two of these literacies— appropriation and transmedia migration— are largely specific to new media. The remaining competencies and skills can be understood as novel aspects of cognition and disposition that have become more essential in the new media landscape (Pinkard & Sweet, 2009). CAD has developed a short list of five core values designed to capture the essential cognitive skills and dispositions required to become productive and prosperous citizens in the 21st century.

CREATIVITY The value of creativity emphasizes the unprecedented blurring of the distinction between consumer and producer in new media.

Creativity is not limited to the arts or media, but is the basis of innovation in any domain.

Creative processes may vary across disciplines, but tend to share four essential characteristics. “First, they always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively. Second, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieving an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective� (National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education, 1999: p30).

Creativity involves new media literacies such as experimenting with one’s surroundings to solve problems (play), constructing dynamic models of real-world processes (simulation), and sampling and remixing media content (appropriation).

RESPONSIBILITY The value of responsibility emphasizes the inherently participatory and distributed nature of new media. Of course, responsibility is not a novel concept in education. The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (1991) identified responsibility—exerting a high level of effort and persevering towards goal attainment—as an essential personal quality for productive workers in the global economy. Responsibility is closely related to numerous other life and career skills such as initiative, self-direction, productivity, accountability, and leadership. According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (n.d.), these “soft” or “applied” skills are essential complements to cognitive skills and can be at least as important in determining both academic and career success. Responsibility is also related to the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources (judgment) and to the discipline to use technology, information, and media legally and ethically.

IDENTITY

COLLABORATION

The value of identity emphasizes the inherently multicultural nature of new media, as well as the increasingly fluid and malleable nature of the self. Buckingham (2008) argues that “a focus on identity requires us to pay close attention to the diverse ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life, and their consequences both for individuals and for social groups. It entails viewing young people as significant social actors in their own right, as ‘beings,’ and not simply as ‘becomings’ who should be judged in terms of their projected futures” (19). Gee (2003) points out that some identities are more valued by society than others, and many individuals may have limited access to the most valued identities. A video game may invite a player to “think of himself an active problem solver, one who persists in trying to solve problems even after making mistakes; one who, in fact, does not see mistakes as errors but as opportunities for reflection and learning” (Gee, 2003: 44). Identity involves new media literacies such as the ability to adopt alternative identities for improvisation and discovery (performance) and working with diverse communities and alternative norms (negotiation).

The value of collaboration emphasizes the importance of many different roles, as well as the inherently networked nature of new media. Collaboration is often the exception in schools, but it is just as often the rule for young people outside of school. In the new media landscape, collaboration means not just group work but long-distance and often multi-cultural learning communities.

“Participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement. The new literacies almost all involve social skills developed through collaboration and networking” (Jenkins, 2006). Collaboration involves new media literacies such as pooling knowledge with others toward a common goal (collective intelligence) and the ability to interact with technology tools that expand mental capacities (distributed cognition).

CLASS OF

2012

LIGHT OF THE WORLD PLEDGE As the thirteenth graduating class of Bridgeport International Academy we pledge to live for the sake of others.

Let the flame that is ignited here represent the light that we will forever carry in our hearts.

Let this light symbolize our desire to live lives of love & service.

BONNE DESHOTEL

CLASS OF 2012

I love BIA, I don’t know where I’d be without it. I wouldn’t be who I am today.

You meet so many different people here and I really found a second home. I love it.

I’ve especially been really influenced by the arts at BIA. It has built up my confidence and has sparked my interest in music, drama and graphic design.

GABRIEL PUGNOLI

CLASS OF 2012

I came here as a junior and these last two years have been so good at BIA. It is such a great environment to be in and everyone’s a family, everyone’s really loving. It’s one of the most welcoming atmospheres in the world...

I have learned what it was to be really open hearted, to live for the sake of others and for my community, and to be an outstanding citizen. If everyone is an outstanding citizen then the whole community is a great, amazing place to be. The school is fun and the people are just amazing.

285 LAFAYETTE BLVD BRIDGEPORT, CT 06604 1.203.334.3434