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About

Welcome to the Center for Global Studies

An Inter-District Magnet School With a Focus on Global Studies

The Center for Global Studies (CGS) is an inter-district magnet school for grades 9-12 housed in Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. Students choose to attend CGS from all over Fairfield County including Darien, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk.

CGS students are passionate about learning languages and gaining cultural understanding. The CGS curriculum emphasizes international awareness through experiential learning. With nine sister schools in China, Japan, Qatar, Egypt and Morocco, students have the opportunity to travel for a two-week home stay and study tour. Students live with families, attend classes, and spend time traveling to historic and cultural sites related to the CGS curriculum.

CGS families may also host high school students from sister schools. These students stay in CGS family homes and attend classes alongside their CGS hosts.

Students may also elect a project-based social/cultural trip to India, eco-trip to Rwanda, or a service trip to Guatemala. Financial assistance is available for travel programs.

All CGS students are also eligible to participate in the IB Diploma program. The IB Diploma program is a two-year liberal arts course of study that begins in grade 11 and serves as rigorous preparation for college. Students enrolled in the full program take seven college-level courses over the course of two years; complete a 4,000-word extended essay; and complete extra-curricular work through a Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) project.

CGS students are also eligible for a Connecticut Certificate of Global Engagement.

Our Mission & Vision:

OUR MISSION: The Center for Global Studies will enable students to understand and embrace the differences that they will encounter in our increasingly global society. Four factors uniquely position CGS students to bridge international and cultural distances.

  • Immersion in the study of global cultures, which builds understanding of and compassion for diverse values and beliefs

  • Participation in study tours and home stays, which affords students the opportunity to deepen their appreciation of cultural differences by immersing themselves in unfamiliar perspectives

  • Benefits of experiential learning and service learning

  • Opportunities within the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, which promotes a rigorous holistic education for all students.

OUR VISION: We create global citizens who are the critical thinkers, movers and shakers that will lead the world tomorrow with empathy and collaboration.

An interdistrict magnet high school in Norwalk, CT, we focus on teaching the languages, culture, history, and literature of China, Japan, and the Middle East. Through the study of Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese, through our language and cultural immersion study tours overseas, and through our love of learning through experiences, we provide our students opportunities to become informed, active, and compassionate scholars and global citizens.

Please contact Tonia Taylor for more information about our school. 

  • Phone: 203-852-9488 option 2
  • Email: taylort@norwalkps.org