User:Shhough/University High School of Science and Engineering

University High School of Science and Engineering is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math magnet high school located in Hartford, Connecticut. University High School of Science and Engineering is affiliated with the University of Hartford through a partnership. This public school was started in 2004, with a small body of faculty, headed by principal Elizabeth Colli, and a freshman class of one hundred students. The school has changed locations since its inception. It was previously located on the Asylum campus of the University of Hartford, but is now in a brand new facility on the main campus.

Today, the school is more than six years old and has graduated two classes. Students graduating from University High School, or UHS,have gone on to schools such as SUNY Stonybrook, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Connecticut Honors program.

University High is renowned for its emphasis on three things: Engineering, Science, and the Early College Model experience. UHS tends to attract students who excel at and are primarily interested in these subject areas. However, there are many students who have gone on to art majors and other fields of study in the humanities in college.

Engineering
The school's engineering focus shines through immensely. Two years of engineering are required for graduation. These classes can range anywhere from a University of Hartford engineering class, to a an AutoCAD design class, and even to a biotechnology course.

Science
UHS is also very focused on science. For its first six years in operation, the school has seen many talented science teachers. Mrs. Susan Matthews, a general and AP biology teacher, has won various awards in Hartford for her adept teaching methods. Early college chemistry, biology, and other sciences are all offered to students as early as sophomore year.

Early College Model
University High offers students myriad opportunities to acquire college credits for free while in high school. The first way is through standard Advanced Placement classes. Students in these classes have the option of taking the AP test at the end of the year, and should they score 4 or better, showing that to a college for either credit or placement their freshman year.

The second option is Early College Experience (ECE) credits. These classes are available through the University of Connecticut, the University of New Haven, and the University of Hartford. Note that the University of Hartford ECE classes are not the same as the University of Hartford classes which students may take at the college. Credits in these classes are awarded based on performance in the class, and, most often, the final exam for that course. Instructors who teach ECE classes are certified adjunct faculty members of the aforementioned universities. Official transcripts from the respective universities may be requested when a student applies to college. Depending on the university, these credits will often transfer or offer advanced placement.

The last method is what makes University High School of Science and Engineering one of the most unique institutions in the United States of America. Through their relationship with the University of Hartford, students are allowed to take up to twelve credits worth of classes at the university, starting for some as early as sophomore year. These classes are taken alongside undergraduate students with professors on the main campus. These credits are considered to be transferable to almost every university, pending a grade of B- or better. Single semester classes at the university are counted as a full-year of credit at UHS.

In addition, classes at the university are not limited to science, math, and engineering courses. Students have taken courses in art, religion, French, and Spanish. As long as students meet grade requirements and pre-requisites for classes, they can take any course in the course catalog at the college. Students who have taken classes at the college have largely been very successful in their classes, earning A's and B's.

Classes in AP, ECE, or at the University of Hartford are all classified as advanced courses, and are weighted appropriately in student GPA's.

Liberal Arts
Despite it's technical focus, there is also a strong liberal arts base in the school. Mrs. Theresa Vara-Dannen, an AP/ECE English teacher at UHS, has given students many opportunities to contribute to literary magazines, enter competitions, and even get an article published in prestigious journals. Three credits of history are also a requirement for graduation, giving students the foundation which they can build their math and science skills off of. Often, students will be challenged with interdisciplinary projects, where they will need to apply, for example, an engineering concept to an event in history.

Physical Education
Physical education is also very important at UHS. Every year, the athletic department is improved- at the newly constructed high school, students have a gym and full physical fitness center at their disposal. Gym is a requirement for graduation- students must have one and a half credits of physical education. This requirement is usually filled by scheduling the class alternating with a science lab (i.e. an AP biology lab period).

After-school sports include Basketball, Baseball, and varsity Track and Field. Club sports include Table Tennis and Ultimate Frisbee, among others.

The Hawk mascot for University High School mirrors its University of Hartford partner.

Multicultural
One of the undefinable features of University High School is the closeness of the UHS family. Due to its small class size, everyone in the school knows each other and respects one another. A major source of comraderie in the school comes from the diverse people that make up the student body.

UHSSE has managed to strike a balance between the many cultures, races, ethnicity, and religions which make up the student body. After the first week, students from very different socioeconomic backgrounds all begin working together- they break their tensions and stereotypes they might have brought with them from junior high and build upon the already-strong community.

Organizations and Club
There are many clubs and organizations at University High School. They are each headed by a member of faculty, and many include office positions (i.e. a president, vice president, etc.).


 * National Honor Society, Walter Harrison Chapter
 * Writer's Bloc Literary Magazine
 * Student Government
 * FIRST Robotics
 * VEX Robotics
 * Science Bowl
 * Podcast Club*-Yoga Club
 * Hiking Club
 * Ultimate Frisbee Club
 * Table Tennis Club
 * Arts and Crafts Club
 * Fuel Cell Club
 * Brain Bee
 * Career Beginnings

If a club is not listed that any student wants to create, they only need to clear it with an administrator. They will need a description of the club and required materials, a faculty advisor, and initial members.


 * Bolded clubs usually meet on Friday afternoons during Clubs, but may also meet at other times during the week.

National Honor Society
The newly formed Walter Harrison Chapter of the National Honor Society at University High School has been running for three years now. Students who are ranked in the top 15% of their class in sophomore year are offered admission to the society. Members are expected to complete forty hours of community service per year in addition to the total sixty hours required for graduation. The UHS NHS has helped with many local community service projects, including volunteering at a homeless shelter and reading to students at a nearby middle school. The activities are coordinated by a faculty advisor and the NHS officers.

The National Honor Society also provides for the school a tutoring program. Students in the NHS are asked to give extra help to all students who are struggling in their classes. Students may be referred to to extra tutoring by their teachers, or they can choose to come themselves.

Robotics
FIRST robotics in one of the most popular organizations at University High School. Students participating in robotics have gone on to national competition and are very passionate about their work. FIRST requires a lot of time commitment, but students are willing to put in the effort. The concepts learned in their engineering and science classes are very helpful in giving students a necessary background in robot construction and team organization.

Another way to satiate the need to build robots is through VEX robotics, a club which meets on Fridays. This club operates on a smaller scale, but its members are very adept and skilled and tend to overlap with members of FIRST.

Faculty
It should be noted that this institution would not be where it is today if it were not for the devotion of the incredible faculty at UHS. Teachers are devoted one hundred percent to their subject areas. They take pride in their work and pass it on to their students. Students are always able to approach a teacher when they need extra help, creating a special relationship between the student and the teacher. Every teacher has designated office hours and students are expected to use this time to their full advantage.

Accomplishments
Students from UHSSE have made a name for themselves locally, nationally, and internationally. Joshua Tagore, a member of University High's first graduating class, presented testimony before the Senate sub-committee in Washington, D.C. Another pair of students placed first in a local science fair. Still others have gotten internships at local newspapers and participated research programs in laboratories at hospitals around Connecticut. The UHS Robotics team, the Dragons, has made it to national competition. Three ECE American Studies students have had their articles accepted for publication in the African American National Biography in the Oxford University and Harvard University Presses. Students try every year to out-perform the previous class, to win awards more noteworthy and prestigious than the former. This friendly competition fosters a studious and fun-loving attitude at the high school, evidenced by their accomplishments so far.