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Highland Park School

Q: Is Highland Park School a good school?

Highland Park School ranks 251 st of 493 Connecticut elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-4

251^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 493 Connecticut Elementary Schools

Better than 49% of Connecticut elementary schools

Summary

Highland Park School is an elementary school located in Manchester, CT, serving 329 students in grades K-4. The school is part of the Manchester School District, which is ranked 132 out of 156 districts in Connecticut and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Highland Park School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Connecticut elementary schools over the past several years, with a ranking between 251-420 out of around 500 schools and a 1-2 star rating from SchoolDigger.

Highland Park School faces significant challenges, with low test scores, high chronic absenteeism, and a high concentration of economically disadvantaged students. The school's test scores are significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subjects, with particularly low math proficiency rates. Additionally, Highland Park School has struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 12% to 25.1% over the past few years, well above the state average. The school also has a very high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 47.17% to 55.69% over the past few years.

When comparing Highland Park School to other elementary schools in the Manchester district, it generally performs worse on test scores and other metrics. For example, Buckley School, which is only about 1.4 miles away, significantly outperforms Highland Park on ELA and math proficiency, with 60%+ of students meeting standards compared to less than 50% at Highland Park. Additionally, Highland Park School spends significantly more per student ($16,648 to $20,704) compared to the state average, yet its academic outcomes lag behind, suggesting the school may need to examine how resources are being allocated and utilized to drive better student performance.

300

Students ?

10.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,647

Per pupil spending ?

54.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

397 Porter St.
Manchester, CT 06040

(860) 647-3430

District: Manchester School District

Students who attend Highland Park School usually attend:

Middle:	Illing Middle School
High:	Manchester High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

33.7%

White:

33.0%

African American:

21.3%

See top rated Connecticut elementary schools

Compare Highland Park School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 48th percentile in 2015 → 49th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school52%

District avg39%

Connecticut avg50%

251^st of 493

Connecticut public elementary schools ?

Bottom 49%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 6Elementary Schools in the Manchester School District

132^nd of 156Manchester 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
2025	50.4	251 of 493	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.9	328 of 497	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.3	342 of 491	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	11.3	420 of 490	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.1	393 of 538	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.0	331 of 522	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	20.2	423 of 532	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	35.0	338 of 519	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	46.4	281 of 518	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	52.7	284 of 551	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	61.2	284 of 557	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	64.8	268 of 565	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2010	59.8	313 of 579	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2009	68.4	242 of 566	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2008	72.9	187 of 565	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2007	75.5	148 of 568	73.9%	★★★★☆
2006	77.5	126 of 570	77.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	23.2	341 of 455	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Female (2021)25th percentile~ school

By subject vs Connecticut (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts56%+7 vs state

Mathematics48%-3 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, March 3, 2016

Don't even try to join the PTA unless you make 100,000 a year!! The receptionist is the first person who greets you daily, she should be happy to see eager little children. I have never been to a school where the staff is so rude, I even went to Hartford school for 4 years and the homeless on the street, begging you for change, are actually more friendly than the receptionist. Close Quote

Schools Near Highland Park School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NGSS Science (2025)		SBAC English Language Arts (2025)						SBAC Mathematics (2025)						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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NGSS Science 5th Grade	NGSS Science 8th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 4th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 3rd Grade	SBAC Mathematics 4th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 5th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 6th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 7th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Highland Park School	Public	PK, KG-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%)	50.4	251^st of 493 public elementary schools	49.1%		29.9	328^th of 497 public elementary schools	34.0%	77			62.9	48.3					54.3	41.7					$23,647
Bowers School	Public	PK, KG-5	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%)	17.3	386^th of 493 public elementary schools	21.7%		15	396^th of 497 public elementary schools	20.3%	10			33.7	36.4					29.8	23.4					$24,280
Buckley School	Public	PK, KG-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%)	72.9	159^th of 493 public elementary schools	67.7%		76.1	138^th of 497 public elementary schools	72.2%	21			60.6	72.2					62.1	70.4					$24,845
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
Waddell School	Public	PK, KG-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%)	25.6	341^st of 493 public elementary schools	30.8%		25.7	348^th of 497 public elementary schools	30.0%	7			42.9	36.9					33.7	34.5					$22,521
Keeney School	Public	PK, KG-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%)	23.2	351^st of 493 public elementary schools	28.8%		14.5	397^th of 497 public elementary schools	20.1%	46			41.3	39.0						26.0					$22,644
Bolton Center School	Public	PK, KG-8	108 Notch Rd.	Bolton	06043	Capitol Planning Region	Bolton School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 643-2411	473	44	10.8	21.8%	357 (75.5%)	25 (5.3%)	54 (11.4%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (6.6%)	72.2	162^nd of 493 public elementary schools	67.1%		67.3	185^th of 497 public elementary schools	62.8%	23	72.1	76.5	60.9	57.7	81.8	55.8	63.6	68.6		67.3	78.6	48.1	65.1	64.7	$21,281
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%)	66.3	193^rd of 493 public elementary schools	60.9%		59	214^th of 497 public elementary schools	56.9%	21			69.4	66.7	65.2				50.0	61.9	53.3				$22,246
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%)	58.1	229^th of 493 public elementary schools	53.5%		63.1	198^th of 497 public elementary schools	60.2%	31			63.9	59.5	52.6	54.1		32.4		59.5	31.6	62.2	61.1	41.2	$14,822
Verplanck School	Public	PK, KG-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%)	11.3	422^nd of 493 public elementary schools	14.4%		6.8	468^th of 497 public elementary schools	5.8%	46			34.4	13.7					30.1	9.5					$22,788

Frequently Asked Questions about Highland Park School

What is the racial makeup of Highland Park School?

Students at Highland Park School are 34% Hispanic, 33% White, 21% African American, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Highland Park School attend?

Students who attend Highland Park School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Illing Middle School
High : Manchester High School

Is Highland Park School a good school?

Highland Park School ranks 251^st of 493 Connecticut elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Highland Park School in?

Manchester School District

How many students attend Highland Park School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 300 students attended Highland Park School.

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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.