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.