Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts: High School Campu

Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts: High School Campus is a small public magnet high school in Hartford, CT, serving just 110 students in grades 9 through 12 within the Hartford School District, which ranks in the bottom 3% of Connecticut districts. The school itself ranks 121st out of 133 Connecticut high schools and serves a student body with the highest economic need in its local comparison group, with 85.45% of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch — the highest rate among all nearby schools.

Academically, Kinsella faces serious challenges that parents should know about. The graduation rate is 75.0% — the lowest among all nearby schools, including Bulkeley High School (76.0%) and Hartford Public High School (83.0%), and well below the state average of 91.2%. SAT math proficiency for 11th graders was 0%, meaning no tested student met the college-and-career readiness benchmark. Chronic absenteeism is 38.3%, which is actually better than several Hartford peers like Weaver High School (65.2%) and Bulkeley (72.8%), but it rose sharply from 30.7% the prior year. There is one relative bright spot: science proficiency is 28%, above the district average and far higher than Weaver (11.9%) and Bulkeley (8.7%).

Despite its magnet designation, Kinsella's outcomes resemble traditional Hartford high schools more than other magnets. University High School of Science and Engineering, located just 0.27 miles away, graduates 96.4% of students and has 35.1% math proficiency. Kinsella shares its building with Weaver, yet Weaver's graduation rate is 84.3% and math proficiency is 13.8%. On the positive side, Kinsella's student–teacher ratio of 10.0 is among the lowest in the area, suggesting small class sizes. The school's small size and relative strength in science offer potential footholds for improvement, but urgent attention is needed on math proficiency, rising absenteeism, and graduation support.