The Aquaculture Experience

Mission Statement

The mission of the The Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science & Technology Education Center is to provide a rigorous educational program which ensures that students are able to examine problems and make informed decisions concerning society’s relationship with the aquatic environment. The Aquaculture Center serves a community of diverse students with a broad range of social, economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds who bring to the school a variety of skills, talents and learning styles. We offer students from school systems in the greater Bridgeport region the opportunity to enhance the traditional academic high school curriculum with a specialized emphasis on science and technology instruction as related to the development of aquaculture in the State of Connecticut. The educational program is designed to provide students with learning experiences developed in collaboration with industry, government agencies, post-secondary educational institutions and community organizations from local municipalities. Our goal is to enable students to meet rigorous academic standards through selected educational experiences that require them to work with technologies used by professionals in the maritime industry and aquatic research community. The Aquaculture School has, and will strive to maintain, a unique educational program that is relevant, focused, innovative and continually evolving with an emphasis on high academic standards that will enable students to meet the needs of a changing world.

Philosophy

It is the philosophy of the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science & Technology Education Center that we provide an equal opportunity for the continued growth and development of our students. The staff believes that we must provide a supportive learning environment where students are encouraged to appreciate and respect all people, work cooperatively and strive to become contributing citizens of society. We believe that we must educate our students to be environmentally aware and to understand the relationship of man’s actions and their impact on the environment to foster an appreciation of the value of living things. We believe that our students must learn to be capable problem solvers, rational decision-makers and critical thinkers in order to be beneficial contributors to their communities. We recognize that in our changing society, it is necessary to study, on an ongoing basis, the needs of youth and to reflect these changing needs in the implementation of our evolving curriculum.

Our Facilities

The facility provides students with specialized laboratories and classrooms that compliment the marine-related curriculum of the school. Examples include a seafood science laboratory, an aquaculture finfish/shellfish lab, a marine construction shop, a marine propulsion and electronics lab and a computer-assisted design and drafting lab. The school also contains a modern telecommunications system capable of several educational functions including a computer network and a remote visual display system.

In addition, the school has a 56-foot research vessel, the Catherine Moore. The boat has the capability for classroom instruction, boat navigation and fishing operations to occur simultaneously. The activities aboard the Catherine Moore provide students with the opportunity to conduct marine biology, chemistry and ecological experiments, to engage in commercial fishing techniques and learn on-board navigation and marine electronic communication techniques. To compliment the Catherine Moore, the school operates smaller vessels for training and farm site maintenance.

Our Students

Our student body consists of students from Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Shelton, Stratford, and Trumbull. Our enrollment reflects a successful and cooperative effort by the participating school systems. The quality and diversity of curriculum, program activities and specialized facilities that our school has to offer serves as the blueprint for future school choice programs.