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InquireWelcome to Northwest Catholic
Since our founding in 1961, NWC has been forming young men and women into leaders who view their gifts and talents as meaningful expressions of faith. Our students are challenged to embrace diversity and pursue excellence, and our graduates measure success by how deeply they have rooted their lives in service that promotes justice in an increasingly complex global society.
Faith and service at Northwest Catholic grow out of our rigorous academic program and focus on leadership formation. Our students are challenged to reach beyond their known limits. Whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, on the stage, or serving in a local shelter, school, or nursing home, Northwest Catholic students put servant leadership into practice daily.
We invite you to stop by and feel the creative energy at work in our community. Nothing can replace the experience of visiting and talking with our students, faculty, parents, and graduates. The “Northwest Catholic family” you often hear about is real and provides the nurturing environment in which students thrive, gain confidence, and support one another. It is this amazing spirit of faith and light that has distinguished the NWC community for over half a century. We hope you and your family will join us here at Northwest Catholic High School.
Our Mission & Core Values
We Are Northwest Catholic High School
We are a diverse, Catholic, co-ed, college preparatory community.
We educate the whole person, mind, body, spirit, and imagination.
We develop leaders who faithfully serve God and others.
At Northwest Catholic we challenge and guide students in the pursuit of excellence, and we cultivate in them the desire to serve God and others. We provide an environment of hospitality and caring in which young people are encouraged to become who they are called to be. We prepare students for higher education and invite them to participate in spiritual, social, artistic, and athletic activities through which gifts of mind, body, spirit, and imagination can be realized.
Northwest Catholic is an Archdiocesan high school, established and maintained in the Catholic educational tradition. We are committed to academic excellence as well as to the principles of peace, justice, and service. We develop leaders, and we know our diversity provides a rich environment for learning and living. Working and playing with people from varied backgrounds foster the skills needed for success in every sense of the word.
Northwest Catholic's highly qualified teachers and administrators aim to inspire students by exemplifying our core values in their daily living, giving witness to the pursuit of life-long learning, and demonstrating concern for students within and outside the classroom.
We invite you to learn more about the depth and breadth of a Northwest Catholic education, and we welcome you to be part of the Northwest Catholic family.
WE STAND BY OUR BELIEFS
From our rigorous academic curriculum, to our exceptional athletic teams and arts programs, to our inspiring student life and character-building activities, Northwest Catholic provides opportunities for all students to learn and grow in a remarkable educational setting, grounded in Christian faith and moral values.
To create this environment, we hold fast to our core values. These values are the cornerstones on which all decisions are made. From programmatic and scheduling decisions to student formation and discipline decisions, we look to our core values for guidance.
We believe that an education that does not take into account a student's spiritual life is incomplete. That's why we value FAITH, and we invite our students to explore what faith means to them and how they can live out their faith through acts of service.
We value RESPECT – respect for self, for one another, and for the environment. Our daily morning prayer reminds us to respect and protect one another. All are welcome at NWC. All are valued.
Our DIVERSE COMMUNITY provides a rich environment for the cultivation of leadership and collaboration, with students representing broad cultural, economic, racial, and ethnic differences. Working with people from varied backgrounds fosters the skills needed for relationship-building, now and in the future.
LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE are hallmarks of a Northwest Catholic education. Our one-of-a-kind LEADS curriculum guides students through four years of coursework based on the philosophy and practice of leadership. An integral part of our students' lives is our focus on leadership through curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular opportunities.
We EDUCATE THE WHOLE PERSON. Our welcoming and safe community allows students to become who they are meant to be. Our challenging academic program is designed to prepare students for higher education as well as every field imaginable. At the same time, we foster students' spiritual, social, athletic, and artistic lives.
A NORTHWEST CATHOLIC GRADUATE ASPIRES TO BE ...
Intellectually curious
Spiritually aware
A compassionate leader
Community focused
A whole person
Our History
A Private Catholic School Built on the Shoulders of Giants
In 1958 the Archdiocese of Hartford purchased 30 acres of land on Wampanoag Drive, West Hartford with an eye to future development. Two years later the Most Rev. Henry J. O'Brien, D.D., Archbishop of Hartford, announced that a high school would be built on this tract of land to serve the students in the surrounding parishes.
On September 24, 1961, the Most Rev. John F. Hackett, D.D., officiated at the formal dedication of Northwest Catholic High School. Eight members of the order of Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs were among the first faculty. The first class graduated in June 1965.
The Rev. Bradford Colton was principal from 1961-68 and guided the school during its founding years. He was succeeded by Rev. William F. O'Keefe in 1968 and Sr. Doris Regan, O.P., in 1977. In 1985 Rev. Henry C. Frascadore was named the first president of Northwest Catholic. Dr. Michael S. Griffin, Mrs. Margaret Williamson, Mr. Matthew Fitzsimons, Mr. David C. Eustis, Jr., and Mr. Christian Cashman have led the charge since then.
In 2020 Fr. Michael Dolan was appointed Interim President of Northwest Catholic.
For the Long Haul
In December 1971 the Commission on Independent Secondary Schools granted Northwest Catholic institutional membership in the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (NEASC). This accreditation has since been renewed in 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011. The 2021 accreditation was postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic. We care currently in the process of re-accreditation this year.
Our Motto
In lumine tuo videbimus lumen. In Your light we shall see light.
Our motto is a reminder that the years spent at Northwest Catholic are years of serious study. The purpose of study is the attainment of truth in every field of human knowledge. The light of God's help directs our study so that we recognize truth as it really is, in His light.
School Shield
The shield of Northwest Catholic features a torch (an image of enlightenment and knowledge) and a cross (representing our Catholic identity and spiritual mission), superimposed upon an open book — a symbol of education and learning. This shield, which has its roots in the shield of the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, captures the stability, strength and discernment that are the hallmarks of the academic and spiritual mission of Northwest Catholic High School.
