Original Research by School Decision on Side by Side Charter School District
Side By Side Charter School District is a state-chartered school district serving prekindergarten through eighth grade in Connecticut. The district operates a single school, Side By Side Charter School, which serves roughly two hundred thirty students across its grade band. As a state charter, it draws enrollment through a lottery open to any Connecticut resident, not by residence in a particular town.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black student population and smaller shares of white and multiracial students. Asian enrollment is minimal. The district does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch counts or rates, nor does it publish figures on students with individualized education plans or English learners, so a parent seeking those details will need to contact the school directly.
Connecticut's Smarter Balanced assessments in English language arts and mathematics are administered to grades three through eight. The district's proficiency rates are suppressed for public reporting when student counts fall below a certain threshold, a common practice to protect student privacy in small districts. However, average scale scores are available for most grades tested. In mathematics, scale scores trend upward from grade three through grade seven, showing steady growth year to year. English language arts scale scores follow a similar pattern, rising from grade three through grade seven. Science assessment data (administered under the NGSS framework) is available only for grade five, and participation across grades is at full rate where reported. Eighth-grade results in multiple subjects are suppressed due to small cohort size.
Grade eight shows the smallest enrollment, which explains why some of its results are not publicly shown. This small, consistent enrollment across the upper grades is a structural feature of the school and does not necessarily reflect performance issues; it reflects the school's overall scale.
The school sits below the midpoint among Western Connecticut Planning Region districts on chronic absenteeism, a measure where lower is preferable. Its per-pupil current spending is in the lower range compared to other districts in the region, a reflection typical of charter schools that often operate with leaner budgets. The district does not report a graduation rate because it serves only through grade eight; families whose children complete eighth grade will transition to high schools outside this district.
A significant change for families applying to kindergarten is Connecticut's shift in entry-age cutoff from January 1 to September 1, phased in starting with the 2024-25 school year. Children turning five after September 1 now require a waiver and assessment to enter kindergarten early. The school has prominently flagged this change on its enrollment page, and families should confirm current eligibility requirements when applying.
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