All About Us

Brief History of Bassa High School

The institution known as Bassa High School today was constructed in 1905 and operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church Overseas in cooperation with their Liberian counterpart. It was called Hatzel Academy. In 1926 the institution was turned over to the Liberian Government under a joint agreement signed between the foreign board of the Methodist Church and the Government of Liberia. In short, the funding aspect was still supported by the Church while the operational duties were the responsibility of the Liberian Government. 

The funding gradually transitioned from the Methodist Church to the Liberian Government over the years. By the end of the school year 1943 a request was made to change the name from Hatzel Academy to the Bassa High School, a move aimed at establishing the first and only public high school in Grand Bassa County. 

In February of 1944, the Department of Public Instruction of Liberia, now the Ministry of Education, approved the request. At the end of the academic year 1944, Mr. Henry Kparkay Weah became the first graduate of Bassa High School. He was a class of one.

Since 1944, the Bassa High School has been on an upward thrust, forging ahead in spite of many mounting difficulties and shedding its rays of literacy in every direction of human interest and concern. Today, the Bassa High School Association, USA has joined forces with the Principal, faculty, staff, and student body, to continue to be that beacon of light known as Turris Lucis, (Latin for Tower of Light). ​

The physical structure that housed the institution was originally a frame building located near where the current facility is.

It partially collapsed during a graduation program, causing several persons to sustain injuries. The school then moved into the John Dunnnon Building nearby. In 1957 the school moved into G. Flamma Sherman’s residence until mid-1959 when the current main building was completed under the administration of Joshua Harmon as Superintendent of Grand Bassa County. The building was a three-storey structure with the third floor being a terrace. It was during the administration of Charles H. Williams that the terrace was converted into the auditorium, principal, and registrar offices in 1966.

​Over the years, the institution has graduated scores of individuals who have risen to positions of prominence at home and abroad. In appreciation of the solid foundation laid by the institution, graduates and former students residing in the United States united themselves to pool and mobilize resources to aid in making the Bassa High School second to none among public and private schools in Grand Bassa County and the Republic of Liberia as a whole.

Mission

The Association’s missions include but are not limited to:

  • To unite and assist the institution in its endeavor to continue imparting useful knowledge to the young people of Liberia;

  • To prepare these young people to be active participants in today’s complex, sophisticated, and interwoven world rather than mere spectators;

  • To support its utmost potential the motto of the school: is “Turris Lucis” (Latin for “Tower of Light”), so that Bassa High School will once again shine its light and illuminate the entire community.

Support for the Bassa High School Association is comprised mainly of funds raised from the organization’s constituents. These funds are used to carry out projects such as the purchasing of 300 desks and chairs for students as well as the installation of an iron gate to the main entrance of the school building.

We have a growing team of committed individuals who will settle for nothing less than total success.

 

The Bassa High School Association USA is an organization comprising graduates, former students, and faculty members, as well as friends and well-wishers who have the heart to help the less fortunate. It is geared to supplement government assistance to the oldest public high school in all of Grand Bassa County, Liberia, West coast of Africa. The current roster of active members is a handful of dedicated individuals, determined to make a difference in the lives of students. The dedication of the few has been to strong that it is beginning to attract others with no affiliation with the institution to come aboard and proudly work to help others who cannot otherwise help themselves at this juncture of their lives. ​

The association was born in 2002 and has made a significant difference over a short span of time.