South Windsor School District

The South Windsor School District serves approximately 4,979 students across 6 schools—4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school—in a suburban Connecticut community, ranking 28th out of 153 districts statewide (82nd percentile, 4 stars) with every school earning a 4-star rating and nearly all test scores, attendance, and graduation metrics exceeding state averages. The district includes South Windsor High School (1,442 students), Timothy Edwards School (1,221 middle school students), Pleasant Valley School (736), Orchard Hill School (623), Eli Terry School (489), and Philip R. Smith School (468).

Among elementary schools, Philip R. Smith School is the standout, ranking 57th of 491 schools (88th percentile) with the district's lowest chronic absenteeism rate of 5.4%, the best 4th grade ELA score (84.3% proficient), and the best 5th grade science score (79.0%). Eli Terry School is the most improved, jumping from the 72nd to 85th percentile in one year with a remarkable +17.7 point gain in 5th grade math, while Orchard Hill School is trending downward, dropping from the 88th to 74th percentile with notable declines in 3rd grade ELA, 5th grade math, and science. At the secondary level, South Windsor High School shines with a 97.3% graduation rate and an exceptional 81.8% 11th grade science proficiency rate, 31.3 points above the state average, while Timothy Edwards School also earns a strong 82nd percentile ranking.

Attendance patterns follow a clear trend: chronic absenteeism rises with grade level, from just 5.4% at Philip R. Smith to 11.2% at the high school. The district is economically homogeneous, with free/reduced lunch rates ranging only from 15.35% to 19.74%; notably, Orchard Hill has the highest rate (19.74%) but the lowest elementary ranking, while Philip R. Smith has a moderately high rate (18.59%) yet tops the elementary rankings. Per-student spending varies from $13,931 at Pleasant Valley School to $19,420 at the high school, but there is no clear relationship between funding and performance. The biggest takeaway for parents is that while the district is consistently strong overall, school-level differences matter—Philip R. Smith and Eli Terry are rising, Orchard Hill needs attention, and secondary students struggle more with attendance.