Area Cooperative Educational Services

Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) is a regional educational service center in Connecticut serving 1,097 students across three very different schools: ACES Chase Academy (grades 6–10, 556 students), Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School (grades K–8, 509 students), and The Bridge at ACES (grades 6–12, 32 students). The district overall ranks 142nd out of 153 Connecticut districts (7th percentile), but that low ranking masks dramatic variation among the three schools.

ACES Chase Academy is the clear academic leader. It is the only school in the district with a 2-star rating, landing at the 43rd percentile of Connecticut middle schools. Chase has healthy attendance, with 11.5% chronic absenteeism — better than the state average of 16.4% — and it exceeded the state average in 8th grade science (57.4% vs. 50.9%). By contrast, Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School struggles significantly despite its magnet designation. It holds a 0-star rating, sits at the 9th percentile, and shows alarmingly low math proficiency: 3rd grade math was just 9.8% proficient versus a 52.2% state average. Wintergreen's chronic absenteeism is 23.9%, well above the state average, and it actually spends more per student ($27,106 vs. $25,029) yet performs far worse than Chase in every subject.

The Bridge at ACES is a tiny, highly specialized program serving just 32 students in grades 6–12. It has the district's highest poverty rate (71.9% free/reduced lunch) and a staggering 87.5% chronic absenteeism rate — nearly 9 in 10 students are regularly missing school. With a 1.7-to-1 student-teacher ratio, it is clearly designed for students with very high needs, but no test scores or rankings are reported. In short, ACES contains three very different stories: Chase Academy is a moderately performing school that stands out as the district's bright spot, Wintergreen is a large school facing serious academic and attendance challenges, and The Bridge serves an extremely at-risk population where attendance is the immediate crisis.