Summary:
Zip code 06708 in Waterbury, Connecticut is served by four elementary schools in the Waterbury School District — a district ranked in the bottom 6th percentile statewide — serving grades PK-5 or PK-8 in high-poverty communities. The schools are B. W. Tinker School, Carrington School, Bunker Hill School, and Duggan School, with free/reduced lunch eligibility ranging from 70% to nearly 89%.
Carrington School is the clear standout among the four. It ranks 297th of 491 schools with a 2-star rating, the highest in the group, and has improved steadily over the past three years. It is the only school with chronic absenteeism below the state average, and its 4th grade ELA proficiency of 55.3% exceeds the state average. Bunker Hill School is the biggest concern: it ranks 484th of 491 with a 0-star rating, and its 3rd grade ELA proficiency of just 9.5% is less than half the district average and about one-fifth the state average. Bunker Hill's ranking has worsened over the past three years, making it one of the lowest-performing schools in Connecticut.
B. W. Tinker School and Duggan School fall in between. Tinker is the largest school with 578 students, ranks 399th, and has the highest chronic absenteeism at 25.7%. Duggan ranks 393rd and spends the most per student at $15,645 with the lowest student-teacher ratio, yet its results are mixed — showing that extra resources alone do not guarantee higher scores. Across all four schools, chronic absenteeism closely tracks performance: Carrington's 15% rate stands against 23% to 26% at the other three schools. For parents, the clearest takeaway is that attendance matters, and reducing chronic absenteeism may be the highest-leverage opportunity for improving outcomes across this zip code.
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