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Bowers School

Public Grades K-4

376^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 491 Connecticut Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of Connecticut elementary schools

Summary

Bowers School is a K–4 elementary school in Manchester, CT, serving 376 students in the Manchester School District, in a community where economic disadvantage has risen sharply — 67% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25, up from 50% two years earlier. The school currently ranks 376th out of 491 elementary schools in Connecticut (23rd percentile), the lowest ranked among Manchester's six K–4 elementary schools.

Academic proficiency lags well behind district and state averages. Only 23.2% of third graders were proficient in English Language Arts in the most recent testing year — less than half the rate at nearby Buckley School, which sits just 0.9 miles away. Third-grade math proficiency (30.4%) trails the district by 15 points. Math scores swing widely from year to year, while reading scores remain stubbornly low. Chronic absenteeism is a persistent challenge: 22.6% of students were chronically absent, roughly double the rates at Buckley (12.4%), Keeney School (12.3%), and Highland Park School (15.4%).

Amid these challenges, there are signs to build on. The school's ranking has improved modestly over the past two years, and chronic absenteeism dropped sharply from 35.4% in 2021–22 to 16.8% in 2024–25 before rising again. The student-teacher ratio of 11.9 is favorable, and spending per student ($17,884) is comparable to higher-performing schools in the area. However, low-income students at Bowers rank in the 3rd percentile statewide, underscoring the urgency of targeted academic support and consistent attendance as the school works to reverse its trajectory.

376

Students ?

11.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,280

Per pupil spending ?

67%

Free/discounted lunch ?

141 Princeton Street
Manchester, CT 06042

(860) 647-3313

District: Manchester School District

Students who attend Bowers School usually attend:

Middle:	Illing Middle School
High:	Manchester High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

46.8%

White:

22.3%

African American:

20.7%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 26th percentile in 2016 → 23rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Connecticut average (32% vs 51% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school32%

District avg41%

Connecticut avg51%

376^th of 491

Connecticut public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▼ down 3 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Manchester School District

128^th of 153Manchester School District among Connecticut districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2026	19.0	376 of 491	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	17.3	386 of 493	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.0	396 of 497	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.2	344 of 491	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	14.5	396 of 490	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.7	355 of 538	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.2	351 of 522	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	24.9	395 of 532	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	19.0	405 of 519	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	25.7	383 of 518	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	38.8	367 of 551	33.4%	★★☆☆☆
2013	44.2	380 of 557	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	44.1	401 of 564	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	56.2	324 of 565	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2010	62.8	295 of 579	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	60.0	306 of 566	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2008	59.9	311 of 565	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	48.0	378 of 568	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	41.8	393 of 570	31.1%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	201 of 232	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.2	317 of 455	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.3	204 of 259	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	9.5	75 of 77	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	35.2	190 of 302	37.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	28.6	305 of 445	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	13.2	237 of 262	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	25.6	273 of 371	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	19.2	281 of 327	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.2	185 of 295	37.3%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Male (2021)31st percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2021)26th percentile-8 vs school

White (2021)14th percentile-20 vs school

Female (2025)13th percentile-8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Connecticut (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics36%-16 vs state

English Language Arts28%-21 vs state

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Schools Near Bowers School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				NGSS Science (2026)	SBAC English Language Arts (2026)				SBAC Mathematics (2026)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NGSS Science 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 4th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 3rd Grade	SBAC Mathematics 4th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 5th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 7th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Bowers School	Public	K-4	141 Princeton Street	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 647-3313	376	32	11.9	67.0%	84 (22.3%)	78 (20.7%)	176 (46.8%)	16 (4.3%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	17 (4.5%)	19	376^th of 491 public elementary schools	23.4%		17.3	386^th of 493 public elementary schools	21.7%	10		23.2	32.9			30.4	40.5				$24,280
Buckley School	Public	K-4	250 Vernon Street	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 647-3302	284	28	10.2	52.5%	99 (34.9%)	65 (22.9%)	72 (25.4%)	28 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (7.0%)	47	264^th of 491 public elementary schools	46.2%		72.9	159^th of 493 public elementary schools	67.7%	105		46.6	53.1			53.4	48.4				$24,845
Keeney School	Public	K-4	65 North School St.	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 647-3354	366	30	12.1	53.3%	142 (38.8%)	87 (23.8%)	85 (23.2%)	27 (7.4%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.7%)	19.4	373^rd of 491 public elementary schools	24.0%		23.2	351^st of 493 public elementary schools	28.8%	22		28.6	38.7			32.0	32.8				$22,644
Waddell School	Public	K-4	163 Broad Street	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 647-3392	476	40	11.8	63.4%	73 (15.3%)	114 (23.9%)	165 (34.7%)	92 (19.3%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (5.5%)	33.9	320^th of 491 public elementary schools	34.8%		25.6	341^st of 493 public elementary schools	30.8%	21		31.0	42.0			53.5	43.9				$22,521
Highland Park School	Public	K-4	397 Porter St.	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 647-3430	300	29	10.3	54.3%	99 (33.0%)	64 (21.3%)	101 (33.7%)	21 (7.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.7%)	62.3	210^th of 491 public elementary schools	57.2%		50.4	251^st of 493 public elementary schools	49.1%	41		55.1	58.1			59.4	64.5				$23,647
Odyssey Community School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	579 Middle Tpke West	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Odyssey Community School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(860) 645-1234	410	33	12.4	40.5%	97 (23.7%)	91 (22.2%)	86 (21.0%)	105 (25.6%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (6.8%)	56.6	232^nd of 491 public elementary schools	52.7%		58.1	229^th of 493 public elementary schools	53.5%	3		42.9	65.8	46.2	52.5		73.7		52.5	56.4	$14,822
Manchester Preschool Center at Martin	Public	PK-K	140 Dartmouth Rd	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(860) 647-3367	153	11	13.7	67.3%	23 (15.0%)	37 (24.2%)	55 (35.9%)	28 (18.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (6.5%)								(n/a)											$18,610
Verplanck School	Public	K-4	126 Olcott Street	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 647-3383	466	40	11.6	77.5%	67 (14.4%)	108 (23.2%)	233 (50.0%)	30 (6.4%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.2%)	23.1	360^th of 491 public elementary schools	26.7%		11.3	422^nd of 493 public elementary schools	14.4%	62		27.9	29.8			45.3	38.1				$22,788
Lake Street School	Public	K-5	201 Lake St.	Vernon	06066	Capitol Planning Region	Vernon School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 870-6085	235	22	10.5	42.1%	139 (59.1%)	9 (3.8%)	42 (17.9%)	22 (9.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (9.8%)	61.2	218^th of 491 public elementary schools	55.6%		66.3	193^rd of 493 public elementary schools	60.9%	25	68.2		59.5	63.6		46.2	48.6	63.6			$22,246
Orchard Hill School	Public	K-5	380 Foster St.	South Windsor	06074	Capitol Planning Region	South Windsor School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 648-5015	623	48	13.0	19.7%	260 (41.7%)	33 (5.3%)	63 (10.1%)	236 (37.9%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.5%)	77.5	126^th of 491 public elementary schools	74.3%		85.8	62^nd of 493 public elementary schools	87.4%	64	69.7	58.7	77.8	70.7		68.6	84.6	56.6			$17,198

Frequently Asked Questions about Bowers School

Is Bowers School a good school?

Bowers School ranks in the bottom 23.4% of Connecticut elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Bowers School?

Students at Bowers School are 47% Hispanic, 22% White, 21% African American, 5% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

How many students attend Bowers School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 376 students attended Bowers School.

What district is Bowers School in?

Manchester School District

What schools do graduates of Bowers School attend?

Students who attend Bowers School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Illing Middle School
High : Manchester High School

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Latest Connecticut data All new data »

2024–25 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewAug 31, 2026

2025–26 NGSS, SAT & SBAC test scoresNewAug 31, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataApr 2, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataNov 6, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Connecticut Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.