Elementary Schools in Vernon School District

The Vernon School District in Vernon, CT, includes five elementary schools — Center Road School, Skinner Road School, Northeast School, Maple Street School, and Lake Street School — serving 1,535 students in Pre-K through Grade 5 (Lake Street starts at Kindergarten). Every school ranks above the district's overall 37th-percentile statewide standing, with individual rankings from the 43rd to 63rd percentile. Chronic absenteeism is a clear district strength: even the highest school rate (Northeast at 9.8%) is well below the state average of 16.4%, and Lake Street's rate is just 4.3%.

Northeast School is the academic leader, posting the top 2025-26 ELA (65.2%) and math (62.5%) averages and the best current state rank (63rd percentile) — all while serving a student body with a relatively high free/reduced lunch rate (63.2%). Skinner Road School is the most consistent and cost-efficient option, earning 3 stars for three straight years with near-top scores and the lowest per-pupil spending ($16,764). Lake Street School shines brightest outside test scores: best attendance, lowest poverty (42.1%), and the strongest science proficiency in the district (68.2% on 5th-grade NGSS). Maple Street School has the highest poverty (76.2%) and lowest rankings but is improving rapidly, with math proficiency jumping more than 11 points in a single year. Center Road School, the largest school at 443 students, is a middle-of-the-pack performer with a persistent 4th-grade dip in both ELA and math that is worth investigating.

Two broader takeaways stand out. First, poverty does not dictate outcomes: Northeast is a high-poverty school achieving top scores, and Skinner spends the least yet nearly matches Northeast's results, while Maple spends more than Skinner with the lowest averages. Second, smaller class sizes do not guarantee higher achievement — Maple has the lowest student-teacher ratio (9.4) but the lowest test scores. The most valuable next steps for the district would be to examine Center Road's recurring 4th-grade slump and to understand what Northeast is doing differently, so that successful strategies can be shared across the five schools.