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South School

Public Grades K-4

2^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 493 Connecticut Elementary Schools

Better than 100% of Connecticut elementary schools

Summary

South School is an exceptional elementary school located in New Canaan, Connecticut, serving 507 students in grades K-4. As part of the highly-ranked New Canaan School District, South School has consistently been one of the top-performing elementary schools in the state, maintaining a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

South School's students consistently outperform the state and district averages on standardized tests, with 91.4% of 3rd graders and 91.6% of 4th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 46.9% and 51.4% statewide, respectively. In mathematics, 90.3% of 3rd graders and 94.7% of 4th graders were proficient or better, compared to 52.2% and 51.4% statewide. This exceptional academic performance has earned South School a #2 ranking out of 493 schools in the state for the 2024-2025 school year.

While South School's performance is exceptional, the other elementary schools in the New Canaan School District, West School and East School, also demonstrate strong academic results, ranking within the top 10 schools in the state. However, when compared to schools in the neighboring Norwalk and Stamford school districts, the performance gap is significant, with South School's proficiency rates over 40 percentage points higher in some cases.

477

Students ?

10.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$27,916

Per pupil spending ?

0.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

8 Farm Rd.
New Canaan, CT 06840

(203) 594-4313

District: New Canaan School District

Students who attend South School usually attend:

Middle:	Saxe Middle School
High:	New Canaan High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

78.8%

Hispanic:

7.3%

Two or more races:

7.1%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 97th percentile in 2015 → 100th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Connecticut average (92% vs 50% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 1% of Connecticut elementary schools

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school92%

District avg91%

Connecticut avg50%

2^nd of 493

Connecticut public elementary schools ?

Top 1%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From top 3% (2015) to top 1% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Elementary Schools in the New Canaan School District

1^st of 156New Canaan 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	96.3	2 of 493	99.6%	★★★★★
2024	95.2	3 of 497	99.4%	★★★★★
2023	96.5	1 of 491	99.8%	★★★★★
2022	95.0	5 of 490	99.0%	★★★★★
2021	97.1	3 of 538	99.4%	★★★★★
2019	95.5	1 of 522	99.8%	★★★★★
2018	94.3	3 of 532	99.4%	★★★★★
2017	94.6	2 of 519	99.6%	★★★★★
2016	93.1	9 of 518	98.3%	★★★★★
2015	91.9	19 of 551	96.6%	★★★★★
2013	87.8	1 of 557	99.8%	★★★★★
2012	84.6	9 of 564	98.4%	★★★★★
2011	81.9	51 of 565	91.0%	★★★★★
2010	80.0	87 of 579	85.0%	★★★★☆
2009	83.9	15 of 566	97.3%	★★★★★
2008	86.6	6 of 565	98.9%	★★★★★
2007	88.4	1 of 568	99.8%	★★★★★
2006	86.6	10 of 570	98.2%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2024	92.9	2 of 237	99.2%	★★★★★
2022	90.3	4 of 234	98.3%	★★★★★
2021	95.1	7 of 455	98.5%	★★★★★
2019	92.8	3 of 242	98.8%	★★★★★
2018	89.7	7 of 259	97.3%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2024	93.7	1 of 233	99.6%	★★★★★
2023	94.4	1 of 231	99.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.0	4 of 232	98.3%	★★★★★
2021	97.1	2 of 445	99.6%	★★★★★
2018	93.5	1 of 262	99.6%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	93.6	3 of 248	98.8%	★★★★★
2024	92.9	3 of 250	98.8%	★★★★★
2023	94.3	1 of 262	99.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.1	4 of 252	98.4%	★★★★★
2021	94.4	4 of 327	98.8%	★★★★★
2019	94.4	1 of 295	99.7%	★★★★★
2018	92.1	6 of 296	98.0%	★★★★★

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 (2024)100th percentile~ school

Female (2024)99th percentile~ school

White (2025)99th percentile~ school

By subject vs Connecticut (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics93%+41 vs state

English Language Arts92%+42 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, June 17, 2019

We love South School. Our Daughter has just graduated 4th having started in Kindergarten. The focus on music and art as well as reading and math is refreshing. The facilities are fantastic and the PTA in very supportive. Its a competitive school so its good to keep on top of your child's work and keep a relationship with his/her teacher. Close Quote

by a student
Sunday, February 13, 2011

This school failed to teach me what i needed to know to get into a private school. I went though years of never getting the grades my parents wanted because i never learned the basic math skills, i mean the school does a very poor job of helping you learn basic things like multiplication and division, the base of all mathmatics. To be more specific, 4th grade was a very bad year, i had very arrogant teachers who never took the blame for their faults and who never responded for my parents countless emails trying to get them to teach me what i needed to know. I am 14 years old and i know what i am talking about, if you are moving to New Canaan try east school. They gave my brother a fantastic education. My parents agree with me. Close Quote

Schools Near South 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	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 Mathematics 3rd Grade	SBAC Mathematics 4th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 5th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 6th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 7th Grade	Total
South School	Public	K-4	8 Farm Rd.	New Canaan	06840	Western Connecticut Planning Region	New Canaan School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 594-4313	477	44	10.7		376 (78.8%)	2 (0.4%)	35 (7.3%)	29 (6.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (7.1%)	96.3	2^nd of 493 public elementary schools	99.6%		95.2	3^rd of 497 public elementary schools	99.4%	1		91.4	91.6				90.3	94.7				$27,916
East School	Public	K-4	54 Little Brook Rd.	New Canaan	06840	Western Connecticut Planning Region	New Canaan School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 594-4219	554	47	11.7		437 (78.9%)	14 (2.5%)	42 (7.6%)	38 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.2%)	94.5	7^th of 493 public elementary schools	98.6%		94.5	7^th of 497 public elementary schools	98.6%			81.6	97.3				83.3	93.7				$25,191
West School	Public	PK, KG-4	769 Ponus Ridge	New Canaan	06840	Western Connecticut Planning Region	New Canaan School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 594-4410	481	41	11.6		399 (83.0%)	4 (0.8%)	25 (5.2%)	19 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	32 (6.7%)								(n/a)			92.2					93.3				$26,707
Ox Ridge Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	395 Mansfield Ave.	Darien	06820	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Darien School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 655-2579	625	52	11.9	1.4%	506 (81.0%)	7 (1.1%)	47 (7.5%)	37 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.5%)	92.7	11^th of 493 public elementary schools	97.8%		92	17^th of 497 public elementary schools	96.6%	6	86.7	76.8	83.3	88.0			85.4	84.4	85.5			$26,840
Fox Run Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	228 Fillow Street	Norwalk	06850	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Norwalk School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 899-2860	398	36	11.0	52.5%	99 (24.9%)	64 (16.1%)	196 (49.2%)	17 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.5%)	36.3	297^th of 493 public elementary schools	39.8%		27.5	339^th of 497 public elementary schools	31.8%	42		36.2	59.4	42.4			43.1	43.8	35.6			$26,394
Concord Magnet School	Public, Magnet	K-8	21 Hunters Lane	Norwalk	06850	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Norwalk School District	No	Yes	No	No	(203) 899-2840	388	27	14.3	34.0%	161 (41.5%)	47 (12.1%)	133 (34.3%)	19 (4.9%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (6.4%)	58.9	224^th of 493 public elementary schools	54.6%		53.2	237^th of 497 public elementary schools	52.3%	13		72.4	55.3		44.7	68.1	67.2		38.6	44.7	48.9	$22,184
Springdale School	Public	K-5	1127 Hope St.	Stamford	06907	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Stamford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 977-4575	565	41	13.6	56.3%	144 (25.5%)	63 (11.2%)	313 (55.4%)	16 (2.8%)	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.1%)	23	352^nd of 493 public elementary schools	28.6%		20.4	365^th of 497 public elementary schools	26.6%	13		25.0	43.2	38.0			35.4	40.2	30.4			$20,955
Silvermine Dual Language Magnet School	Public, Magnet	K-5	157 Perry Avenue	Norwalk	06850	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Norwalk School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(203) 899-2950	428	28	15.2	57.7%	36 (8.4%)	23 (5.4%)	348 (81.3%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.5%)	27.3	337^th of 493 public elementary schools	31.6%		19	371^st of 497 public elementary schools	25.4%	34		52.1	27.1	35.7			52.1	24.3	25.7			$21,382
Davenport Ridge School	Public	K-5	1300 Newfield Ave.	Stamford	06905	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Stamford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 977-4291	673	47	14.2	41.2%	277 (41.2%)	60 (8.9%)	286 (42.5%)	36 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.1%)	34.8	305^th of 493 public elementary schools	38.1%		31.4	316^th of 497 public elementary schools	36.4%	11	55.2	20.9	35.3	54.3			36.4	36.2	52.6			$20,481
Northeast School	Public	K-5	82 Scofieldtown Rd.	Stamford	06903	Western Connecticut Planning Region	Stamford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 977-4469	436	34	12.7	40.4%	179 (41.1%)	45 (10.3%)	175 (40.1%)	9 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (6.4%)	32.1	314^th of 493 public elementary schools	36.3%		30.3	323^rd of 497 public elementary schools	35.0%	9	43.7	30.0	42.4	47.1			41.4	44.1	37.9			$25,586

Frequently Asked Questions about South School

How many students attend South School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 477 students attended South School.

What schools do graduates of South School attend?

Students who attend South School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Saxe Middle School
High : New Canaan High School

What is the racial makeup of South School?

Students at South School are 79% White, 7% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 6% Asian.

What district is South School in?

New Canaan School District

Is South School a good school?

Yes! South School is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 2^nd of 493 Connecticut elementary schools.

Rate South School!

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Schools in New Canaan, CT

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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.