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STAMFORD, Conn. Interim Superintendent Winifred Hamilton is happy with the progress Stamford schools have made, even if ConnCAN isnt. The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, an organization that advocates for school improvements and to reduce the achievement gap, has rated the district below average in its annual report card.
The alternative is staying stagnant or moving backward, Hamilton said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon about the improvements in Stamford's schools.
Five years ago, no one would have expected every school in the city to have more than 70 percent of the students at proficient levels on state tests, she said. Now, some are at 90 percent, and all are above 70 percent, Hamilton said.
Were making progress, moving upward and forward on the achievement gap, she said. Were not there yet, and we got a long way to go.
ConnCAN uses standardized test scores to assign its annual grades, based on the percentage of students that meet state goals in math, reading, writing and science. In its ratings, the public high schools received a D for the second straight year, though their overall rank moved from 104 to 90 among 134 schools. The elementary schools fell to a C from a C+ last year but moved up from 132 to 108 out of 167 schools. The middle schools received a C for the second straight year and also improved their rank to 119 from 141 among 171 schools.
Only five schools finished above the state average: Westover and Newfield at the elementary level, Rogers International and Scofield Magnet at the middle school level and the Academy of Information, Technology & Engineering at the high school level. Rogers International was split between middle school and elementary school students. Westover was also put on the success story list for its ability to cut the achievement gap.
These schools set the bar for the rest of us, Hamilton said of the five that finished above the state average.
Every year, ConnCAN assigns letter grades to more than 1,000 schools across the state at the elementary, middle and high school level. In addition to the grades they also rank the top 10 schools by level in various categories.
Below are the overall grades each school in Stamford received this year. For the complete report card, click on the school's name.
Academy of Information, Technology, and Engineering: C-
Rippowam Magnet Middle School: C-
Rogers International School (middle): B-
Scofield Magnet Middle School: B-
Turn of River Middle School: C
Hart School: C-
Newfield School: B-
Rogers International School (elementary): C
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