Summary
Carrington School is a PK–8 elementary school in Waterbury, CT, serving 455 students in a high-poverty area where roughly 70% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Despite sitting within the Waterbury School District—which ranks near the bottom of Connecticut districts—Carrington stands out as a positive outlier. In 2025–2026, it ranked 297th out of 491 Connecticut elementary/middle schools, placing it in the 40th percentile with a 2-star rating. That is a remarkable position compared to nearby Waterbury schools like Bunker Hill School (1st percentile), Sprague School (4th), Walsh School (3rd), and Driggs School (4th).
Academically, Carrington consistently beats the Waterbury district average by double digits—for example, 4th grade ELA proficiency was 55.3% vs. the district's 28.5%, and 6th grade math was 44.4% vs. 16.7%. In some grades, Carrington reaches or exceeds the Connecticut state average. The school has climbed steadily from the 16th percentile in 2015–2016 to its current 40th percentile ranking. Chronic absenteeism is another major strength: Carrington's rate was just 12.6% in 2024–2025, well below the district's 25.8% and even below the state's 17.2%. This strong attendance, paired with 3- and 4-star ratings for Hispanic students and above-median results for low-income students, suggests the school is genuinely effective with populations that often face academic barriers.
Carrington also operates efficiently, spending $14,344 per student—less than nearby lower-performing schools like Walsh ($17,978) and Duggan School ($15,645)—and its student-teacher ratio has improved to 13.2. The main concern is a clear middle-school slide, especially in math: 8th grade math proficiency is just 17.6% vs. the state's 41.9%. Still, compared to Polk School in Watertown and Brass City Charter School, Carrington holds its own despite serving more economically disadvantaged students. Overall, Carrington is an improving, relatively effective school in a struggling district—with its upward trend and strong attendance signaling a healthy school climate and engaged families.
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