Best Public Schools in Prospect, CT

Prospect, Connecticut, is served by two public schools within Regional School District 16: Prospect Elementary School (PK–5, 572 students) and Long River Middle School (6–8, 434 students), with no high school located in the city itself.

Both schools are high performers, ranking in the top 20% of their school types statewide. Prospect Elementary School ranks 100th out of 491 elementary schools (80th percentile) and shines in early-grade math, with 80.4% of 3rd graders proficient in math versus 52.2% statewide. It also posts an exceptionally low chronic absenteeism rate of 2.4% — far below the state’s 16.4%. Long River Middle School ranks 49th out of 258 middle schools (81st percentile) and has been improving steadily, climbing from the 68th to the 81st percentile over three years. Its 8th-grade math proficiency jumped 12.5 points in one year to 64.7%, and its chronic absenteeism is just 4.3%. The middle school also offers a slightly better student-teacher ratio (11.1) compared with the elementary school’s 13.1, despite nearly identical per-student spending.

Academically, the elementary school edges out the middle school in average SBAC proficiency (roughly 71.9% ELA and 71.5% math versus 66.7% ELA and 62.7% math), but both are far ahead of state averages. The middle school serves a somewhat higher share of students eligible for free/reduced lunch (29.7% versus 23.8%), yet maintains its high performance. The district as a whole ranks 27th out of 153 Connecticut districts (82nd percentile, 4 stars). Taken together, these two schools form a cohesive, academically strong feeder pattern with excellent attendance and impressive year-over-year gains at the middle school level, making Prospect a standout choice for families seeking a rigorous K–8 education.