The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Amistad Academy District
Amistad Academy District is a single-school charter district in Connecticut serving kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district operates Amistad Academy, part of the Achievement First network, and enrolls a small to mid-sized student population across all grade levels, with slightly fewer students in the high school grades than in the elementary and middle years.
The district's student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a large majority of enrollment drawn from these two groups. Racial composition reflects the urban New Haven area it serves. Data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility and English learner status were not available, so family economic circumstances and language support needs cannot be characterized from the information provided.
State testing results show persistently low proficiency rates across mathematics and English language arts. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from roughly one-quarter to one-third in grades three through five and grade eight, with a notably sharp drop in grade seven to about one-seventh of students. In English language arts, third grade shows the lowest proficiency rate at about one-fifth, while proficiency generally improves in the middle grades, reaching roughly half of students by eighth grade. Science proficiency data for grades five and eight were suppressed by the state, so that performance cannot be reported. Testing participation rates were consistently high across all assessments, indicating the district successfully administered the required exams.
Among the county's districts, Amistad Academy ranks below the midpoint on overall proficiency. Chronic absenteeism is a substantial challenge: the district's rate places it in the bottom quartile of its county peers, well above the county median. This gap is meaningful for school leaders and families to understand, as absenteeism correlates strongly with academic outcomes. The district's per-pupil current spending is in the lower range compared to other county districts.
The district has recently completed a period of state-mandated corrective action. The Connecticut State Board of Education placed the Achievement First charter schools on probation and required specific improvements in teacher certification, hiring practices, and student discipline. These schools have since had that probationary status lifted. For families, the concrete legacy includes required full teacher certification compliance and changes to hiring that now require new staff to hold or be completing certification. The district also reduced its suspension rate to bring it more in line with surrounding public schools. These measures represent efforts to address governance and operational consistency that the state identified.
A parent considering Amistad Academy should understand that the school operates within a low-proficiency environment, with fewer than half of students meeting state standards in tested grades and subjects, and with notably high chronic absenteeism. The school is a charter and operates independently of local public school governance, so typical district referendum or property-tax questions do not apply. Prospective families may want to look further into the school's academic support structures, its approach to attendance, and its specific instructional methods, given the gap between proficiency and state benchmarks.
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