Summary:
Zip code 06033 in Glastonbury, CT is served by two high-performing middle schools — Smith Middle School (grades 6–8, 875 students) and Gideon Welles School (grades 5–6, 551 students) — both part of the highly rated Glastonbury School District, which ranks in the 84th percentile statewide.
Parents will find two excellent options here, each with distinct strengths. Smith Middle School is the more traditional middle school and earns a 5-star rating, ranking in the 91st percentile of Connecticut middle schools. It excels across all subjects in grades 7 and 8, with proficiency rates roughly 20–30 points above state averages. Gideon Welles School, while serving younger students, is equally impressive — its 5th grade ELA proficiency rate of 80.2% is the highest single score in either school, and its 5th grade science rate of 75.8% leads the dataset as well. Both schools share nearly identical student-teacher ratios (around 13:1) and both report very low chronic absenteeism (4.8% at Smith, 5.5% at Gideon Welles) compared to the state rate of 16.4%. Economically, both schools serve a relatively affluent population, with about 13% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch.
One notable difference is cost efficiency: Gideon Welles spends $11,633 per student, while Smith spends nearly double at $22,456 — despite similar class sizes and district oversight. This gap may reflect specialized programming or reporting differences, but it does not translate into a performance gap; Gideon Welles matches or exceeds Smith in early middle grades. Smith also showed strong improvement in 8th grade math, jumping from 65.3% to 72.5% proficiency in one year. Parents choosing between these schools should consider the grade structure: Gideon Welles offers a strong foundation for grades 5–6, while Smith provides a 6–8 model with a consistent track record of statewide recognition. Both schools clearly benefit from a district that delivers well-above-average outcomes across every subject and grade level.
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