Regional School District 08

Regional School District 08 serves approximately 1,066 students in grades 7 through 12 across two schools: RHAM High School (grades 9–12, 714 students) and RHAM Middle School (grades 7–8, 352 students). With no elementary or alternative schools, the district operates as a focused secondary system where students enter from local town elementary districts in grade 7 and remain through graduation. The district overall holds a 3-star rating, ranking 67th out of 153 Connecticut districts.

RHAM High School is the clear academic standout, ranked in the 76th percentile among Connecticut high schools for 2025–2026 with a 4-star rating. Its 96.0% graduation rate far exceeds the state average of 91.2%, and on the SAT the school outperforms the state by nearly 20 points in English language arts and over 22 points in math. RHAM Middle School, while solid in all subjects and above state averages, is the attendance champion — only 9.4% of its students are chronically absent versus 13.0% districtwide and 16.4% statewide. This contrasts sharply with the high school, where 14.8% of students are chronically absent, above the district average.

Both schools share similar resources, with per-student spending around $17,900 and low student-teacher ratios of 9.3 at the high school and 8.6 at the middle school. The most striking pattern in the data, however, is the widespread year-over-year decline in test proficiency from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 across nearly every subject. The only improvement came in high school math, which rose 3.3 points. Notable drops include high school science (−12.1 points), 8th grade science (−10.8 points), and 8th grade math (−8.9 points). While a single-year decline is not necessarily a trend, the consistency across both schools and multiple subjects makes this worth monitoring closely in future years.