A small, private high school located on the seaside campus of the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport International Academy has a well-rounded curriculum with the opportunity for students to take university courses. Both the faculty and the student body consist of people from nearly every continent of the world. The Academy offers a college preparatory program for grades 9 through 12 with emphasis on character education and community service. Since the Academy began in 1997, eight classes have graduated, consisting of eighty-three students, as of June 1, 2006.
Accreditation and Approvals: On March 15, 2007, Bridgeport International Academy was elected to institutional membership and was granted accreditation for ten years by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). On March 9, 2007, BIA was again granted state approval as a nonpublic school by the State of Connecticut. Also, the Academy has approval from the U.S. government to issue I-20 forms in order for international students to obtain F-1 non-immigrant, student visas.
Graduation Requirements: Students must complete a minimum of 22 credits in order to graduate. Required courses include four years of English, two years of social studies, three years of mathematics, two years of science, and two years of a foreign language. A variety of electives are offered, and an English as a Second Language (ESL) program is offered for international students. One credit is the equivalent to a one-year course that meets 200 minutes per week.
Accelerated Courses: Qualified juniors and seniors may take courses either at the University of Bridgeport (UB) or at Housatonic Community College (HCC). This is a dual credit system in which a student may receive credit simultaneously from college and from high school. Such courses are marked “UB” or “HCC” on a student’s transcript.
Ranking: BIA does not rank students.
Grading: Grade point averages indicated at the end of the transcript are calculated on a 4.0 unweighted scale (college course grades are not currently weighted on our high school transcripts).
Grading is done by the following scale:
Letter Grade
|
Percentage Equivalent
|
| |
| A |
93 to 100 |
C |
73 to 76
|
| A- |
90 to 92 |
C- |
70 to 72 |
| B+ |
87 to 89 |
D+ |
67 to 69 |
| B |
83 to 86 |
D |
63 to 66 |
| B- |
80 to 82 |
D- |
60 to 62 |
| C+ |
77 to 79 |
F |
Below 60 |
Community Service Requirement: Each student is required to perform 75 hours of community service during four years of high school. BIA students volunteer to work in local agencies, non-profits, elementary schools, or community programs. Students have worked with Habitat for Humanity to help to build houses, tutored at the head start program of Action for Bridgeport Community Development (ABCD), visited homes for the elderly, helped in local neighborhood clean up, painted houses at the University of Bridgeport, and volunteered with Groundworks Bridgeport and other local community service projects.
For more information, please contact either Dr. Hugh Spurgin
or Mrs. Nora Spurgin, the president and the principal respectively.
The mailing address is Bridgeport International Academy, 400 Linden Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604. The phone number is (203) 334-3434 or 260-6801.
