Summary:
Sterling, Connecticut's public schools consist of a single school, Sterling Community School, a PK-8 elementary school serving 301 students in the Sterling School District. Because it is the only school in the district, all of the town's public school students in grades PK-8 attend the same building, creating a unique, close-knit environment where school-level and district-level data are identical. The school has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 9.9, and roughly 44.19% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Academically, the school shows distinct strengths and weaknesses. Early math is a standout strength: 3rd grade math proficiency is 61.8%, well above the state average of 52.2%, and 8th grade math also exceeds the state average at 48.1% versus 41.9%. However, 4th and 5th grade math proficiency rates fall dramatically short at 21.9% and 17.1%, far below state averages of 51.4% and 44.9%. Middle-grades ELA is another major concern: 6th grade proficiency is 25.8% and 8th grade is 29.4%, both trailing the state by more than 20 points. Science proficiency on the 8th grade NGSS is 38.2%, below the state's 50.3%. On a positive note, chronic absenteeism is 11.0%, significantly better than the state average of 16.4%.
The school's ranking has stabilized after recent improvement. It rose from a 1-star rating in 2022-2023 (28th percentile) to a 2-star rating in 2023-2024 (42nd percentile), and held 2 stars in 2024-2025 at the 37th percentile. Per-student spending is $16,555. For parents, the key takeaways are that attendance is strong and early math instruction is effective, but upper-elementary math and middle-grades English need attention. With no other local schools to compare against, these strengths and gaps define the entire educational experience in Sterling.
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