School districts across the state have designated magnet programs, but New London has a magnet-wide school district. It provides unique academic opportunities.<\/p>\n
NEW LONDON, Conn. \u2014 <\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a while since New London Public<\/a> Schools became Connecticut’s first completely magnet school district.<\/p>\n However, Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie says they\u2019re still not fully magnetized, with a new program still to be completed. The process has been long and not always the smoothest, but it\u2019s always been rewarding.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We are at a super proud moment right now. It\u2019s like a rebirth of a school district,\u201d said Ritchie. \u00a0<\/p>\n Ritchie has been superintendent of New London Public Schools for eight years. She says the process of transforming the district into an all-magnet school wasn\u2019t always easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: New London teacher named 2024 Teacher of the Year in Connecticut<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n “When I first came in, there was a magnet plan that included five different pathways, five different schools under one school, and there was some confusion and not a set direction for how it was going to look,\u201d said Ritchie. \u201cWe set a new vision to be united in excellence and thinking about all the assets around us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead of five different pathways, the district leaders narrowed them down to three: The STEM, ARTS, and International Education pathways.\u00a0<\/p>\n The STEM pathway is what started it all, celebrating its 20th year anniversary this year, and Janet Farquhar remembers when it just got off the ground.<\/p>\n “At that point, we didn\u2019t have results to share,\u201d said Farquhar. \u201cIt was word of mouth and staff talking about the programs we had. As students came, the success that they had was just amazing. We had students that were going on to become doctors and nurses and engineers with jobs in the government that they couldn\u2019t even say what they did because it was too secret.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As the success story spread across the state, students and families felt encouraged to apply to New London Magnet Schools. One of them was Jacoby Lefleur and his mother Meagan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters:\u00a0<\/strong>Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite part about this school is that I can use my ambition to go for any program I want,\u201d said Jacoby. \u201cThis school has so many opportunities. I\u2019m a representative for student government, I\u2019m in robotics, and of course, baseball has always been there. I really give my time to all the clubs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere was definitely more opportunities than the school where we lived,\u201d said Meagan. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in school choice. Students should be able to go with what best fits them. As an adult, we get to pick where we want to work, and kids should have the same experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n An opportunity Jacoby is taking advantage of is JROTC. It\u2019s helped him and his peers like Mez Boyd gain valuable life skills they may not have gotten.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I joined originally because I just wanted something else to put on my college application,\u201d said Boyd. \u201cOver the years, I\u2019ve gotten more into it. It\u2019s really helped me grow into a more disciplined person and develop leadership skills.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n JROTC instructor and 30-year Navy veteran Carl Matteucci says they\u2019ve been able to teach the students about hard work and accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: Pending approval, state allocates $1.3 million in funding for New London innovation workspace<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n “You give the cadets all these opportunities, and they start to see this is a really good thing,\u201d said Matteucci. \u201cThey get community service hours like helping the food bank, and they start to see through hard work, determination and motivation they can conquer anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As the magnet program expands, the district hopes to continue providing remarkable learning opportunities to strengthen the school to career pipeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We have really great students, great staff and great programs,\u201d said Meagan. \u201cUs making this choice I don\u2019t look at it as a negative, I think it\u2019s 100% a positive and would recommend it to every single person I know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The district is still taking applications for the upcoming school year. Oct. 1 is when applications will open for the 2026 school year for sixth through 12th grades, and elementary applications open Nov. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more information on how to register your student, head to New London Public Schools website here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jamel Johnson is a Multi-Skilled Journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at\u00a0jjohnson@fox61.com<\/a>. Follow him on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at\u00a0newstips@fox61.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n Download the FOX61 News APP<\/p>\n iTunes:\u00a0<\/strong>Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Google Play:\u00a0<\/strong>Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Stream Live on ROKU:\u00a0<\/strong>Add the channel from the ROKU store<\/a> or by searching FOX61.<\/p>\n Steam Live on FIRE TV:<\/strong> Search \u2018FOX61\u2019 and click \u2018Get\u2019 to download.<\/p>\n \u00a0FOLLOW US ON\u00a0<\/strong>X<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>FACEBOOK<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0<\/strong>INSTAGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n