Regional School District 17

Regional School District 17 serves the Connecticut towns of Haddam and Killingworth, enrolling about 1,704 students across 5 schools: Haddam-Killingworth High School (grades 9–12), Haddam-Killingworth Middle School (grades 6–8), Haddam-Killingworth Intermediate School (grades 4–5), Burr District Elementary School (grades K–3), and Killingworth Elementary School (grades PK–3). The district ranks 44th out of 153 Connecticut districts, earning a 4-star rating and placing in the 71st percentile statewide.

The clear standout is Haddam-Killingworth High School, ranked 14th out of 133 Connecticut high schools (89th percentile) with a 5-star rating and a 97.6% graduation rate. It has improved from 18th to 16th to 14th over the past three years, boasts strong SAT/ELA proficiency of 85.3%, and keeps chronic absenteeism just below the district average at 6.9%. In contrast, Haddam-Killingworth Middle School is trending in the wrong direction: its ranking fell from 33rd to 72nd in a single year, its chronic absenteeism of 11.1% is the highest in the district, and proficiency dropped sharply in 6th and 7th grade ELA and 8th grade math and science.

Among the elementary schools, Killingworth Elementary School has the district's lowest chronic absenteeism at 4.7% but saw 3rd-grade math proficiency plunge nearly 22 points, while Burr District Elementary School, which serves the highest share of economically disadvantaged students (20.1%), dropped 17 points in the same subject. The one bright spot is Haddam-Killingworth Intermediate School, where 4th-grade math jumped 16 points to 76.8%, even as 5th-grade math slipped. With chronic absenteeism well below the state rate of 16.4%, the district has a strong foundation, but leaders will need to address middle-school attendance and the sharp elementary declines to protect the high school's outstanding trajectory.