Best Public Schools in Zip Code 06331

Zip code 06331, serving Canterbury, Connecticut, contains two public schools—Canterbury Elementary School and Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle School—that together educate 508 students in grades PK through 8, with no high school in the area.

For families in this small district, Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle School stands out as the consistent academic leader, ranking in the 65th percentile of Connecticut middle schools for three straight years and earning 3 stars each time. It outperforms the state in every reported subject and grade, with especially strong 8th grade math (55.1% proficient vs. 41.9% statewide) and 6th grade ELA (59.1% vs. 51.2%). Its chronic absenteeism rate is just 8.4%, roughly half the state rate of 16.4%. Meanwhile, Canterbury Elementary School is on the rise, climbing from the 43rd to the 57th percentile over the past three years and improving from a 2-star to a 3-star rating. Its math results are remarkable: 3rd grade math proficiency (74.4%) and 4th grade math proficiency (71.7%) both exceed the state average by about 20 percentage points. ELA performance is more modest, with 3rd grade slightly below state and 4th grade exactly at the state average.

Both schools share favorable conditions: small enrollments (295 and 213), low student-teacher ratios (12.8 and 12.5), and chronic absenteeism around 9%, despite roughly 34% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. The Canterbury School District itself is ranked in the 44th percentile with 2 stars, which seems lower than the individual school ratings—likely a reflection of small-district rating challenges. One notable difference is spending: the middle school spends $21,431 per student compared to $17,483 at the elementary school (2018–2019 figures). Families should note that with no high school in 06331, students must transition to schools outside the zip code after 8th grade, making the strong middle school foundation especially valuable.