The Journalism and Media Academy (JMA) in Hartford is not your traditional high school, and Dan Pichette \u201904 MA, \u201911 6th Year is not your typical administrator. Nestled between the biology labs and math classrooms at the magnet school are green rooms, a radio station, a TV studio with camera equipment, and audio editing bays. Students are able to take the traditional math, science, English, and history classes while dabbling in electives such as blog writing, animation, and sports journalism, taught by industry professionals.<\/p>\n
Pichette, who was appointed the dean of students at JMA this past August, is wrapping up his first year as an administrator. He graduated from the Neag School of Education\u2019s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) program in 2004 and the University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a sense of pride that comes with successfully completing the TCPCG and UCAPP programs,\u201d Pichette says, who taught history at East Hartford High from 2004 up until he became JMA\u2019s dean of students. \u201cThe depth of knowledge that Neag professors and staff bring to the programs is unparalleled, blending real life and research together.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, he never expected to end up at a school like JMA. \u201cTwelve years ago while I was in TCPCG, there weren\u2019t many magnet schools; it was still a far-fetched idea,\u201d says Pichette, who recalls members of his cohort at the Neag School having conversations about how these types of schools were on the horizon. \u201cThat type of discussion allowed me to see beyond what was the norm at the time, which was the traditional high school,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Taking the Leap \u201c<\/strong>Dr. Fallon brought a lot of insight into how you work in a school system, no matter if it is small or large. He taught me how to handle myself professionally and how to really work through the ins and outs of a school. To this day, I take his words. They were invaluable,\u201d Pichette says.<\/p>\n \u201cI see full circle how dedicated the faculty, staff, and administration are to their students, programs, and alumni at Neag,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe Neag School of Education has truly been such a huge part of my family and our history; I couldn\u2019t imagine going any place else.\u201d<\/p>\n Pichette also mentions the value of having learned firsthand about Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports (PBIS) from Neag School Professor George Sugai. \u201cThe resources that UConn brings are tremendous,\u201d says Pichette, who serves as chair of the PBIS committee at JMA. \u201cI got to learn about PBIS from the guy who created PBIS \u2013 how can it be better than that?\u201d<\/p>\n Shaping a Progressive Curriculum \u201cWe hope to draw people to JMA through the variety of thematic programs, which give students the opportunity to specialize in a field tailored to their interests and passions,\u201d Pichette says. \u201cWe are constantly monitoring the needs of our students and adjusting to ensure that our students have access to the best educational opportunities in the state, and even in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n JMA also provides students with hands-on experience working in media production, both written and broadcast. The school partners with the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN), which offers students in their senior year the chance to work alongside industry experts at CPBN\u2019s satellite campus to create a professional media portfolio. Going forward, Pichette says he would also like to \u201cwork with area colleges and universities to develop a progressive curriculum that suits the ever-changing needs of the students in a media-focused school.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to its media-related focus, JMA brings together a diverse student body, with students hailing from 43 different districts in the state. \u201cThese students represent a myriad of cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses,\u201d Pichette says. \u201cWe strongly believe that the city of Hartford and the suburbs of Hartford can grow with each other, and build on positive experiences to have a community that continues to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Driver of Change\u2019 Serving in a role at JMA that he says is similar to that of an assistant principal, Pichette now focuses on teacher evaluations, student discipline, and policy. \u201cIt\u2019s been really refreshing to sit and have conversations with teachers about their work and to share my experiences with them,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve been working with first-year teachers \u2013 just sharing some of the strategies I\u2019ve used that worked when I was a teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Pichette says, he would like to become a principal. \u201cI would like to move into that role, to be able to be the driver of change,\u201d he says, looking forward to the opportunity to spend the summer being a part of the planning process for the next academic year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve made some really great strides this year, but we want to keep that ball moving and keep the quality of the education as our No. 1 priority,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dan Pichette, who was appointed the dean of students at Journalism and Media Academy this past August, is wrapping up his first year as an administrator. He graduated from the Neag School of Education\u2019s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) program in 2004 and the University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) in 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":202818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2427,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2455],"class_list":["post-202816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-educational-leadership","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-11 05:39:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202819,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202816\/revisions\/202819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/202818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202816"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=202816"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=202816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>Pichette saw the opportunity to work at JMA \u2013 which had opened its doors in 2013 \u2013 and decided to \u201ctake the leap.\u201d Despite his lack of experience working in a magnet school setting, Pichette thought back to his TCPCG supervisor, Dr. James Fallon, whose advice Pichette applies to his role at JMA.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>At JMA, students have access to a wide array of technology and media courses that can provide a competitive advantage during this time of media and technology dependence. Aside from the traditional courses like math, science, history, and English, JMA also has themed courses such as TV Production, Radio Production, and Digital Storytelling.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Although he misses the kinds of connection he had with students as a classroom teacher, Pichette says his first year as an administrator offers an education all its own. \u201cI\u2019m still learning; I\u2019m learning every day,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery day I walk in here, I\u2019m faced with a something new I hadn\u2019t been faced with before.\u201d<\/p>\n