Berlin School District

The Berlin School District serves 2,593 students across 5 schools in Berlin, Connecticut, including Berlin High School (grades 9–12), Catherine M. McGee Middle School (grades 6–8), and three elementary schools: Mary E. Griswold School, Emma Hart Willard School, and Richard D. Hubbard School. The district overall ranks at the 48th percentile of Connecticut districts, yet every school with a current rank lands between the 54th and 77th percentile within its school type, so the district’s aggregate rating likely understates how well individual schools are performing.

Berlin High School stands out for strong academics and a 97.5% graduation rate, with 11th-grade ELA and science proficiency near 72% and math at 43.1% — all above state averages. However, 22.0% of its students are chronically absent, about double the district rate. Catherine M. McGee Middle School is the district’s most consistent school, earning 4 stars three years running and posting strong proficiency across ELA, math, and science while keeping absenteeism low at 11.6%. Among elementary schools, Mary E. Griswold School is the most balanced, with the district’s lowest chronic absenteeism (8.5%), strong 5th-grade scores, and the lowest per-pupil spending.

Richard D. Hubbard School shows dramatic swings: it tops the district in 3rd-grade ELA (90.3%) but falls below state averages in 5th-grade ELA and science, and its rank has dropped from the 89th to the 60th percentile. Emma Hart Willard School has the highest poverty rate at 30.9% and currently ranks lowest among the elementary schools, though 3rd-grade ELA improved sharply. Math is the district’s weak point, especially at the high school level, and spending does not clearly correlate with outcomes. Some grade-level data are missing for Willard and Hubbard, so comparisons in those areas should be treated cautiously.