Hamden Middle School

Attention 8^th grade parents and guardians: 

You may or may not have heard about HECA, Hamden High School's state of the art STEM Academy.  HECA welcomed 35 students into our inaugural cohort in 2019-2020, and we are now recruiting for applicants for our 2020-2021 cohort.

Please join me and our talented HECA teacher, Gabe Jenkins, on February 20^th for a detailed information session about HECA, and what you can expect for your child if they enroll.  You can choose to attend either our morning or evening session.

February 20th  Informational Sessions:
8:00 am:  HHS LMC
7:00 pm:  HHS LMC

Please RSVP to Rose McKee if you plan on attending. 

*Snow Date is February 27^th. 

HECA is a dual enrollment program with our partners at Gateway Community College, the New Haven Manufacturing Association, and the Town of Hamden Office of Economic Development whereby students will have the opportunity to earn an Associate of Science Degree in Manufacturing Engineering (68 college credits) while enrolled as a student at Hamden High School!  Students can use this training to gain direct entry into Connecticut’s booming high tech and high skill manufacturing sector, or they can choose to transfer the Associates Degree to satisfy the first half of a four-year Bachelor’s Degree. 

The Associate’s Degree pathway in HECA is designed as a rigorous and demanding program that will push the boundaries of the school day and the school year.  There will be summer classroom and externing requirements, and there may be semesters with an extended school day.  Within HECA, pathways exist for Associate’s Degree completion in a 4^th year, a 5^th year, and also for 21 college credit manufacturing certificates.  These certificates (in CAD and Quality Control) meet workforce readiness standards, and the credits are also transferable to four year colleges.   

Hamden Public Schools, along with our partners, are proud of this bold initiative and have worked closely to bring this tremendous opportunity to the students and families of our town.  We envision HECA reflecting our community, and want students enrolled who represent the broad fabric of Hamden.  Applications will be open on March 1^st for fourteen days, and selection will be lottery based.

I look forward to seeing and meeting you on February 20^th!

Kindest regards,

Dan Cocchiola 
Coordinator of Counseling and Career Pathways