Metropolitan Learning Center
Encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Learning Center is a magnet school
that is based in Bloomfield, Connecticut
. The school is part of the Capitol Region Education Council
.
Designed to feel like a corporate workplace, the main building is made up of two stories, each containing four grade-area pods. The library (MediaCenter) is centered on the first floor among the four pods, along with the main and guidance offices.
The art and tech rooms are centered among the pods on the second floor. The secondary building is home to the cafeteria, gymnasium, exercise room, auditorium (Conference Area), and the music department.
All rooms have wireless internet connections to work with the students' laptops, and all classrooms have Smartboards that work with the teachers' desktop computers.
CREC transports students to more than 40 towns and 140 schools on more than 200 routes. CREC contracts with M&J Bus, Specialty Transportation, and Rainbow Bus to provide transportation for the Choice Program and CREC’s magnet schools.
The transportation office works with Hartford and Logisticare to provide transportation to their magnet schools.
The process of providing inter-district transportation is a very complex task. CREC helps facilitate coordination between the students, families, schools, and bus providers. CREC’s Transportation Office friendly staff is available to assist parents with concerns they may have and to help acclimate students and their families to the inter-district transportation process.
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
that is based in Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bloomfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,626 at the 2009 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.2 square miles is water.Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor to the...
. The school is part of the Capitol Region Education Council
Capitol Region Education Council
Capitol Region Education Council or CREC provides programs and services to meet the educational needs of children in the Capitol Region of Connecticut...
.
History
The school was founded in 1996. Educators from CREC and the original participating communities of Bloomfield, East Windsor, Hartford, Windsor and Windsor Locks planned this global studies school. In 1997, the Connecticut State Legislature approved the appropriation of $32 million for the construction of a grades 6 - 12 Metropolitan Learning Center, a School for Global and International Studies, which opened in September 1998 in the old Bloomfield Junior High School Building. Enfield later joined the program in 2000. In the fall of 2001, with grades 6 - 9, the school was moved to its new building at 1551 Blue Hills Avenue Bloomfield. It now serves nearly 700 students in grades 6 - 12 from Bloomfield, Hartford, Enfield, Windsor, East Windsor, and Windsor Locks. Public Act 07-3 allowed students in non-participating districts to apply for a seat in an inter-district magnet school if seats are available. With this legislative change, students in any town are allowed to apply to MLC and may be granted a seat.Facility
The MLC building was completed in the fall of 2001, after two years of construction.Designed to feel like a corporate workplace, the main building is made up of two stories, each containing four grade-area pods. The library (MediaCenter) is centered on the first floor among the four pods, along with the main and guidance offices.
The art and tech rooms are centered among the pods on the second floor. The secondary building is home to the cafeteria, gymnasium, exercise room, auditorium (Conference Area), and the music department.
All rooms have wireless internet connections to work with the students' laptops, and all classrooms have Smartboards that work with the teachers' desktop computers.
Transportation
CREC’s Transportation Office is responsible for the coordination of outstanding transportation services for students participating in the Choice Program, CREC’s magnet schools, and the suburban students attending magnet schools managed by Hartford Public Schools. CREC will also transport out-of-district special education students.CREC transports students to more than 40 towns and 140 schools on more than 200 routes. CREC contracts with M&J Bus, Specialty Transportation, and Rainbow Bus to provide transportation for the Choice Program and CREC’s magnet schools.
The transportation office works with Hartford and Logisticare to provide transportation to their magnet schools.
The process of providing inter-district transportation is a very complex task. CREC helps facilitate coordination between the students, families, schools, and bus providers. CREC’s Transportation Office friendly staff is available to assist parents with concerns they may have and to help acclimate students and their families to the inter-district transportation process.