Summary:
Manchester School District serves 10 schools in Connecticut, including one high school, two middle schools, and seven elementary schools (including a preschool center), with total enrollment of 5,751 students. The district as a whole is rated 128 out of 153 Connecticut districts, which places it in the 16th percentile with a 1-star rating. However, school-level rankings vary widely: Highland Park School ranks in the 57th percentile of elementary schools, while Verplanck School ranks in the 27th percentile, and Illing Middle School sits in the 31st percentile of middle schools. This means the district’s overall rating can mask meaningful differences between schools.
Highland Park School is a clear bright spot, with all four SBAC proficiency rates in 3rd and 4th grade beating state averages, and chronic absenteeism at 15.4%, below both district and state rates. By contrast, Buckley School has the district’s lowest poverty rate and low absenteeism, but its state ranking has fallen from the 72nd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 46th percentile in 2025-2026, with large drops in test scores. Verplanck School, which has the highest poverty and absenteeism rates, has improved dramatically over the same period, particularly in 4th grade math, which jumped from 9.5% to 38.1% proficiency. These examples show that outcomes are not strictly tied to poverty or attendance.
Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide concern, with six of nine schools above the state rate of 16.4%, including Verplanck School at 25.4% and Bowers School at 22.6%. Manchester High School’s graduation rate is 88.3%, close to the state average, but only 21.3% of 11th graders are proficient in math on the SAT, and science proficiency is 30.2%, leaving questions about college readiness. Spending per student varies from $17,710 at Keeney School to $20,704 at Highland Park School, but higher spending does not guarantee better results. For parents, the key takeaway is that school choice within this district matters, and you should look beyond the district’s overall 1-star rating to each school’s individual data.
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