Summary:
ZIP code 06239, covering Danielson, Connecticut, is home to two high schools serving grades 9–12: H. H. Ellis Technical High School and Quinebaug Middle College. These two schools sit on the same street and serve similar shares of economically disadvantaged students (about 38% free/reduced lunch) with nearly identical student–teacher ratios, yet they deliver very different academic outcomes.
H. H. Ellis Technical High School stands out for its exceptional 98.1% graduation rate, well above the state average, and for science proficiency that beats both the state and its district. However, only 11.8% of its 11th graders are proficient in math on the SAT, a sharp contrast to its strong science results. Quinebaug Middle College goes the other direction: its 37% math proficiency is above the state average and more than triple Ellis's rate, but its graduation rate is lower (91.9%) and chronic absenteeism is higher (21.6% vs. 16.6%). Quinebaug also lacks reported ELA and science scores, so its full academic picture is incomplete.
School rankings tell different stories. H. H. Ellis rebounded to its best-ever percentile (43rd) after a prior dip to the 17th percentile, while Quinebaug showed long-term improvement from the 8th percentile to the 48th percentile, though its latest ranking is from 2020-2021. Notably, H. H. Ellis's district, the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, ranks low overall (9th percentile) despite the school's stronger individual rank. Quinebaug, part of the Eastern Connecticut Regional Educational Service Center (EAS, reports spending of $15,691 per student. The two schools demonstrate that a single zip code can contain widely different educational strengths, from Ellis's graduation success to Quinebaug's math achievement.
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