Education in Stamford, Connecticut facts for kids
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Education in Stamford, Connecticut offers many choices, including public schools, private schools, and college campuses. Stamford has a population with a lot of educated people. For example, from 2017 to 2021, almost 90% of adults aged 25 and older had finished high school. More than half of them also had a Bachelor's degree or higher.
Stamford is home to a branch of the University of Connecticut, often called UConn Stamford. Sacred Heart University also has a program for physician assistant studies at Stamford Hospital. The Stamford Public Schools system includes 13 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 3 high schools. In the 2022–2023 school year, this school district taught over 16,000 students. Most of the money for Stamford Public Schools comes from the City of Stamford. In the 2022-2023 school year, the school system had a total operating budget of over $300 million.
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History of Education in Stamford
The very first public schoolhouse in Stamford was built in 1671. It was a small, simple wooden building, about ten or twelve feet square, and it didn't even have heat! Settlers built it using wood from their old meeting house, which they had outgrown.
In 1838, William Betts started Betts Academy, a private school for boys only. It operated until it burned down in 1908.
Stamford's first school with different grades, called the Centre School, opened in 1852. The original wooden building burned down, and a new brick one was built in 1867.
A private school for girls only, called Catherine Aiken, opened in Stamford in 1855. A famous French leader, Georges Clemenceau, even taught French there! He later married one of his students, Mary Plummer. This school closed in the 1890s.
In 1873, the town created Stamford High School. It was first located in a room at the Centre School. To get in, students had to pass an examination.
King School, another private school for boys, opened in 1876. Today, it's still in Stamford, but it's now for both boys and girls.
In 1896, Stamford High School got its own dedicated building on Forest Street.
A vocational school, now known as J. M. Wright Technical High School, opened in 1919. The current Stamford High School building on Strawberry Hill Avenue was finished in 1928.
UConn Stamford first opened in 1951 as a two-year college. Rippowam High School opened in 1961, and Westhill High School opened in 1971. In 1983, Rippowam High School changed from a general high school to a specialized program.
In 1999, Stamford's first charter school, Trailblazers Academy, opened for middle school students.
Education in the 21st Century
In 2002, a law called the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. Because of this law, Connecticut started using standardized tests in the 2005–2006 school year. These tests, called the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), were meant to check how well students were learning. They were quite talked about in Connecticut.
The state replaced these tests in 2015 with the Smarter Balanced Assessment. This happened when the No Child Left Behind Act was replaced by a new law called the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Some charter schools in Stamford faced challenges. In 2018, Stamford Academy, a charter high school, was put on probation because many students were not attending school regularly. In 2019, Trailblazers Academy, a charter middle school, closed due to money problems. Stamford Academy also closed after the 2019–2020 school year.
As of the 2021–2022 school year, about 40% of Stamford students met grade level English standards, and about 32% met grade level math standards. This was a bit lower than the statewide averages.
Higher Education in Stamford
Stamford is home to a branch of the University of Connecticut, known as UConn Stamford. Sacred Heart University also has a physician assistant studies program at Stamford Hospital. UConn Stamford opened in 1951 as a two-year college. Its main building in Downtown Stamford used to be a Bloomingdale's store and opened in 1998. In 2017, UConn Stamford opened a dormitory for 300 students nearby.
Stamford Public Schools
Stamford Public Schools has 13 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 3 high schools. In the 2022–2023 school year, the school district served 16,212 students. Students in Stamford Public Schools come from many different backgrounds, just like the city itself. Most students are Hispanic or Latino. Students speak 75 different languages at home, with English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Bengali, and Polish being the most common.
Stamford is part of a group of eight public school systems in Connecticut that are similar in terms of student families' education, income, and needs. This helps compare how schools are doing. About 65% of Stamford Public Schools' students are considered "high needs" by the state. This means they might have a disability, be learning English, or qualify for free or reduced-price meals. This number is higher than the state average.
Most of the money for Stamford Public Schools comes from the City of Stamford. In the 2022-2023 school year, the city provided over $300 million, which was about 82.6% of the school system's total revenue. The rest came from federal and state grants.
Elementary Schools
Stamford Public Schools has 13 public elementary schools:
- Davenport Ridge Elementary School
- Hart Magnet Elementary School
- Julia A. Stark Elementary School
- K.T. Murphy Elementary School
- Newfield Elementary School
- Northeast Elementary School
- Rogers International School
- Roxbury Elementary School
- Springdale Elementary School
- Stillmeadow Elementary School
- Strawberry Hill School (an extension of Rogers International)
- Toquam Magnet Elementary School
- Westover Magnet Elementary School
Westover Elementary School dedicated its auditorium in 2006 to former principal Edmund Barbieri, who led the school for 13 years. He helped create the school's magnet program, the city's first gifted-students program, and the state's first full-day Kindergarten.
Toquam Magnet Elementary School focuses on Social Studies. Roxbury Elementary School is right across the street from Westhill High School. Interestingly, Roxbury Elementary is on Westhill Road, and Westhill High School is on Roxbury Road!
Middle Schools
Stamford Public Schools has five public middle schools:
- Cloonan Middle School
- Dolan Middle School
- Rippowam Middle School
- Scofield Magnet Middle School
- Turn of River Middle School
Rippowam Middle School
Rippowam Middle School is located on High Ridge Road and is the largest traditional middle school in the district. Many groups use the Rippowam building on weekends, including a chess league, a wrestling program, a youth basketball program, and a Chinese school. Since 2007, the German School of Connecticut also holds classes there.
Turn of River Middle School
In 2007, school officials were concerned about the many large glass windows at Turn of River Middle School. The building was built in 1963, and some windows were single panes of glass that could shatter easily. A student once accidentally broke a window by leaning back in a chair.
High Schools
Stamford Public Schools has three public high schools:
- Westhill High School
- Stamford High School
- Academy of Information Technology and Engineering
As of 2022, the average SAT score for students in the Stamford School District was 990, which was a bit below the state average.
Rites of Passage
Rites of Passage is an after-school program offered by Stamford Public Schools. It teaches students about African American history. Students attend classes for 12 Saturdays, learning about African origins, slavery, and civil rights. The program ends with an educational trip to West Africa, where students can see the ancestral home of many African Americans. Students must apply and be accepted into this program.
J. M. Wright Technical High School
J. M. Wright Technical High School is a public vocational school run by the State of Connecticut. It teaches students job skills. The school closed after the 2008–2009 school year due to fewer students, but it reopened for the 2014–2015 school year and has been open ever since.
Stamford Charter School for Excellence
The Stamford Charter School for Excellence is the only charter elementary school in the city.
Private Education in Stamford
Stamford has several private schools, including:
- Jewish High School of Connecticut
- King School
- The Long Ridge School
- The Mead School
- Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy
- Trinity Catholic High School
Sacred Heart Academy was also a private school in Stamford but closed in 2006.
German School of Connecticut
The German School of Connecticut (GSC) holds classes on Saturday mornings at Rippowam Middle School. It teaches over 250 students each Saturday. The school offers German language lessons for children aged 2 through high school, and also for adults. Besides language, the school teaches about German culture and traditions, giving students a modern view of German-speaking countries.
The Long Ridge School
The Long Ridge School is a private school for children aged two through Grade 5. It was started in 1938 by Harriet Rowland, who believed that children learn in different ways and at different speeds. She also thought that challenging academics could be combined with a fun learning experience. The school moved to its 14-acre campus in the mid-1950s. In 2007, it opened a new Arts and Athletics Center. The Long Ridge School is one of the few schools in the area that focuses only on early childhood and elementary education.
The Mead School
The Mead School, founded in 1969, serves children from preschool through Grade 8. In the 2004–2005 school year, it had 178 students. The school adds programs in drama, music, art, and dance to its regular subjects. It also focuses on community service and teaching skills like negotiation and mediation.
Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy
The Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy of Connecticut is a private Modern Orthodox Jewish school founded in 1955. It teaches children from Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade. Students in 8th Grade spend a month in Israel, and 6th Graders go to Philadelphia. The school had 431 students in the 2004–2005 school year. In 2018, it merged with the Jewish High School of Connecticut. The school won a National Blue Ribbon Award in 2017.
The school's curriculum combines regular subjects with Judaic studies. This includes learning about Jewish values, history, and religious practices, and having a strong connection with Israel. Students learn Hebrew, Torah, and all parts of Jewish observance.
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