James G. Petela
James G. Petela was born on January 27, 1963 to Mary and Stan Petela, joining his sister, Janet and brother, Gregory, to form a strong family unit that also included a stable of Branford leaders. Among them was his aunt, Mary who, along with Jim's father, preceded him into Branford's Education Hall of Fame.
Jim attended St. Mary's School, K-6, the Branford Intermediate School, 7-8 and Branford High School. At BHS he achieved in academics (third in class) and athletics (All League, All-State and All-American in basketball) and set a dozen basketball scoring records for the BHS Hornets.
Jim matriculated at Yale where he continued his academic and athletic excellence, graduating with a 3.22 G.P.A., being tapped into the oldest and most prestigious senior society and being named the 1982 Ivy League Runner-Up Rookie of the Year in basketball.
Following his graduation from Yale, Jim entered the business world in sales, followed by holding ancillary educational positions as a teacher and coach. In 1989, Jim received his teaching certification at Wesleyan. He taught history and coached at the Hopkins School, 1988-1991 and at Hamden Hall, 1991-1993 before joining the teaching staff at Branford High School in the social studies department. At BHS Jim took over the Advanced Placement program in United States History and has continued to present in this role. Jim has earned state-wide and regional recognition for the quality of this program and for his students' high achievement on the A.P. exam, scoring beyond the national average obtaining scores of 5 and 4, the two top ratings. In 2009, Jim's A.P. students scored a historic twenty-four, 5's and twenty-two, 4's. This achievement was more than four times the national average. In addition to teaching A.P. United States History, Jim teaches Honors Worldviews, which developed from his Honors Eastern Philosophy course. In 1994, Jim founded the BHS Model Congress program. Since then he has taken over 2,000 students to a total of eighty-five conferences that have been held mostly on Ivy League campuses and in Washington, D.C. His Model Congress students have continually performed exceptionally well, winning a number of awards at each conference and, in the process, have been afforded opportunities to observe, up close, academic and social life at some of America's finest universities. Scores of non-school hours have been devoted by Jim to training students in debate and parliamentary procedures and in providing coaching in writing briefs and preparing arguments for competition. In addition to Model Congress trips, Jim has taken BHS students on more than fifty field trips and has established a tradition of inviting prominent leaders to his class as guest speakers.
In conjunction with the Model Congress program, Jim has conducted many successful fundraisers, including fourteen annual concerts with the Yale Whiffenpoofs and the BHS Music Makers to support scholarships and cover travel expenses. Jim is a member of the Branford Sports Hall of Fame, the New Haven Tap Off Club Hall of Fame and now, Branford's Education Hall of Fame.
Jim attended St. Mary's School, K-6, the Branford Intermediate School, 7-8 and Branford High School. At BHS he achieved in academics (third in class) and athletics (All League, All-State and All-American in basketball) and set a dozen basketball scoring records for the BHS Hornets.
Jim matriculated at Yale where he continued his academic and athletic excellence, graduating with a 3.22 G.P.A., being tapped into the oldest and most prestigious senior society and being named the 1982 Ivy League Runner-Up Rookie of the Year in basketball.
Following his graduation from Yale, Jim entered the business world in sales, followed by holding ancillary educational positions as a teacher and coach. In 1989, Jim received his teaching certification at Wesleyan. He taught history and coached at the Hopkins School, 1988-1991 and at Hamden Hall, 1991-1993 before joining the teaching staff at Branford High School in the social studies department. At BHS Jim took over the Advanced Placement program in United States History and has continued to present in this role. Jim has earned state-wide and regional recognition for the quality of this program and for his students' high achievement on the A.P. exam, scoring beyond the national average obtaining scores of 5 and 4, the two top ratings. In 2009, Jim's A.P. students scored a historic twenty-four, 5's and twenty-two, 4's. This achievement was more than four times the national average. In addition to teaching A.P. United States History, Jim teaches Honors Worldviews, which developed from his Honors Eastern Philosophy course. In 1994, Jim founded the BHS Model Congress program. Since then he has taken over 2,000 students to a total of eighty-five conferences that have been held mostly on Ivy League campuses and in Washington, D.C. His Model Congress students have continually performed exceptionally well, winning a number of awards at each conference and, in the process, have been afforded opportunities to observe, up close, academic and social life at some of America's finest universities. Scores of non-school hours have been devoted by Jim to training students in debate and parliamentary procedures and in providing coaching in writing briefs and preparing arguments for competition. In addition to Model Congress trips, Jim has taken BHS students on more than fifty field trips and has established a tradition of inviting prominent leaders to his class as guest speakers.
In conjunction with the Model Congress program, Jim has conducted many successful fundraisers, including fourteen annual concerts with the Yale Whiffenpoofs and the BHS Music Makers to support scholarships and cover travel expenses. Jim is a member of the Branford Sports Hall of Fame, the New Haven Tap Off Club Hall of Fame and now, Branford's Education Hall of Fame.