About Us | HS

COMMUNITY
Regional School District No. 7 is composed of four rural-suburban towns: Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford and Norfolk. The district, consisting of 157 square miles, is located twenty miles west of Hartford and has a population of approximately 12,700.

SCHOOL & FACULTY
Northwestern Regional High School is a comprehensive public school which operates under a house plan. Opened in September, 1958, the school is accredited by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. The school campus of 42 acres includes two 9-12 Houses. Enrollment in grades 9-12 is currently 661. Ninety five percent of the professional staff have a masters degree or equivalent.The average class size in the academic program is 20. Students in grade ten in Connecticut public schools participate in a mastery test (Connecticut Academic Performance Test)developed by the State Department of Education.

PROGRAM & OFFERINGS
The school curriculum is both flexible and encompassing, offering numerous one-semester, as well as full-year courses at intriductory through advanced levels. The school operates on a fully rotating schedule which includes a 67 minute period for each class once every seven days, with the remaining periods being 43 minutes in duration. Classes meet five times weekly for thirty-six weeks per one credit course: 1/2 credit is given for a one-semester subject and a 1/4 credit for each year of physical education/health. Marking periods are every 9 weeks.  The school also has an Agricultural Education Program.

CREDITS & GRADES
Students must earn 25 credits for graduation. These include 4 credits in English, one each in physical education and health, 3 each in mathematics, and in social studies (which must include 1 credit in U.S. History and 1/2 credit of Civics), 2 in science (which must include 1 credit in Biology), and one in the arts or vocational education. Students receiving honors must maintain a "B" average. All failing grades are reported on the school transcript. Only students who withdraw from a semester course in the beginning five weeks or from a full year course in the beginning ten weeks receive a "W" for withdrawal. Thereafter, withdrawals are reported as a "WF" on the transcript.

CLASS RANK
Our system recognizes pluses and minuses, and differentiates in weight between honors, college preparatory, general and remedial level course work. Both the weighted GPA and unweighted GPA are reported on the high school transcript with class rank reported in deciles.

Honors and /or Advanced Placement courses are offered in every major discipline. Honors courses are signified by an "H" following a course title. A "C" or "G" following a course title indicates college preparatory or general level of difficulty respectively. University of Connecticut courses are signified by a "UC". Advanced Placement courses are designated by "AP."

NEASC Final Report 2013

https://vimeo.com/611660687

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September 21, 2021

Dear Northwestern Faculty, Staff, Students, and Families:

On behalf of the RSD7 Board of Education and High School Principal Gary Franklin, it is my pleasure to announce that Northwestern High School has been named a 2021 National Blue Ribbon School for exemplary high performance.  This is the highest recognition in public education and a tremendous credit to our faculty, staff, students, and families.  Our exceptional teachers and support staff consistently work with our students to help them reach their full potential.

The following is an excerpt from the State of Connecticut’s press release:

“Northwestern takes a proactive approach to easing the transition for students and building community through Link Crew, a student leadership program, before the school year begins. Supporting each other and the broader community are core values at Northwestern. In 2015, the district implemented a program called Kindness in Motion. This unique program has been recognized by InspirEd, Facebook, and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Kindness in Motion is a mini-grant program that empowers students and staff to design and implement projects that spread kindness within and beyond their community.

Over the last four accountability reporting cycles, Northwestern has shown improvement across key indicators. Overall performance has earned the school placement in Category 1, the highest grouping in the system, the last time accountability reports were issued. Northwestern is one of only nine high schools in Category 1 and one of six to be identified as a School of Distinction.”

On behalf of the entire RSD7 Administrative team (Mr. Bakulski, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Amara, and Dr. Carvalho)  Mr. Franklin and I would like to express our appreciation for your support of Northwestern High School.  We would also like to acknowledge Mr. Ken Chichester, retired HS Principal, for his countless contributions to Northwestern High School.   

A very special thanks to the Regional School District No. 7 Board of Education for their consistent support:  Molly Sexton Read, Chair; Rob Jerram, Vice-Chair; Noel Gauthier, Secretary; Terri Kenneson, Deb Bell, Kim Crone, Lisa Ann Fragale, and Mimi Duran.  

I would also like to thank the elected officials from our four towns for their support, including; Barkhamsted First Selectman, Don Stein; Colebrook First Selectman, Tom McKeon; New Hartford First Selectman, Dan Jerram; and Norfolk First Selectman, Matt Riiska .

Further, I would like to acknowledge the Northwestern Middle School faculty and staff for their ongoing work in preparing our students for high school.  This award is a credit to everyone here in RSD7.  We share this award with the leadership, faculty, staff, and students of our elementary school districts and the Hartland School, for their work in building our students’ educational foundation.  We also share this award with students and families from Winchester and Torrington who attend Northwestern’s Agricultural Education program.  

Please see the attached the video if you are interested in additional information about this national award.

Here is the link to the 2021 United States Department of Education  National Blue Ribbon Award Winners.

Sincerely,

Judy Palmer

 

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