Regional School District 07

Regional School District 07 is a small, high-performing secondary district in Winsted, Connecticut, serving 754 students in grades 7 through 12 across just two schools on a shared campus. Both schools rank in the top 20% of their respective categories statewide, with the Northwestern Regional High School placing 26th out of 133 high schools and the Northwestern Regional Middle School ranking 52nd out of 258 middle schools.

The high school is the academic standout, boasting a 97% graduation rate (well above the state’s 91.2%), with 74.5% of 11th graders proficient in ELA and 75.7% proficient in science—both far exceeding state averages. It has also climbed steadily in the rankings over three years. The middle school excels in attendance and science: only 12.4% of students are chronically absent, and 8th-grade science proficiency jumped an extraordinary 31.2 percentage points in one year, from 45.3% to 76.5%. However, the two schools show different trends: 8th graders improved in ELA and math, while 7th graders declined in both, suggesting the current 8th-grade cohort is notably stronger.

The district’s main weakness is math. High school math proficiency was just 38.6% in 2024–2025, far below its ELA rate, and middle school math scores also trail ELA by 8 to 14 points. Chronic absenteeism is another split: the middle school’s rate is excellent, but the high school’s 17% is slightly above the state average, even though its test scores and graduation rate are superior. Both schools benefit from very low student-teacher ratios (9.6:1 and 8.4:1) and high spending per student, with the middle school spending about $3,000 more per pupil than the high school. Overall, this is a strong district with exceptional literacy and science outcomes, a clear math challenge, and encouraging momentum.