Westport School District, CT

Original Research by School Decision on Westport School District

Westport School District is an affluent, small-to-mid-sized system serving pre-kindergarten through grade twelve across the town of Westport and portions of neighboring Norwalk in Western Connecticut. The district operates eight schools: four elementary buildings, two middle schools, and a high school. The enrollment is stable at several thousand students, with a student body that is predominantly white, though with growing Asian and Hispanic communities. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, but housing values in the district's core zip code are substantially above state and national medians, suggesting a high-income community. The district sits in the upper range for per-pupil spending among its regional peers.

Academic performance across state testing is solid and consistent. In elementary grades, math proficiency runs between the low-to-mid eighties; English language arts runs in the eighty-percent range. Proficiency dips somewhat in grades five and seven, where math proficiency falls to the mid-seventies, but the district's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint among Western Connecticut Planning Region districts. Science proficiency at grades five and eight lands around eighty percent. Participation rates across all tested grades and subjects exceed ninety-seven percent, indicating strong engagement with state assessment. The district's overall proficiency performance is a strength in the regional context.

One notable soft spot is chronic absenteeism, which sits above the regional median. A parent may want to look into the district's approach to attendance, as well as whether patterns vary across elementary, middle, and high school.

The district is navigating significant structural change. Westport approved what is publicly reported as the most expensive school building project in its history: a new Long Lots Elementary School, with construction beginning in 2026 and expected completion around fall 2027. This multiyear capital investment carries a long-term tax imprint for homeowners and renters. Separately, effective fall 2025, the district redistricted its elementary boundaries, shifting a cohort of west-side students from Long Lots to Saugatuck.

Two recent policy shifts reshape the day-to-day school environment. The district moved to a phone-free policy across all grades K-12, with students required to keep smartphones and wearables off their person during the school day. The policy was implemented at the K-8 level first and extended to Staples High School in November 2025 as a bell-to-bell ban. Second, the district placed artificial intelligence at the center of its strategic plan, replacing a prior focus on collaborative problem solving. Westport participated in a state AI pilot program and has developed a K-12 AI literacy approach alongside a new Board of Education AI policy under review for adoption. These are substantive pedagogical and cultural shifts that affect how students encounter technology and learning across all grade levels.

Graduation rate data was not reported in the available information, so prospective families with high school students may want to request that metric directly from the district office. No data on advanced coursework, dual-credit pathways, or college-readiness indicators was available either; these are details a parent should explore with Staples High School directly.

The housing market in Westport proper carries high home values and high rents, both substantially above state benchmarks. Affordability metrics show housing costs as a large share of household income in the region. Families considering the district should be prepared for significant property or rental costs; the district itself does not drive those costs, but the community's economic character is inseparable from school quality and investment.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

5,333

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 8%

Black 2%

White 76%

Asian 7%

Two+ 7%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

Schools in this District

8 schools are officially reported under this district.

Green's Farms School

Bedford Middle School

Coleytown Elementary School

Coleytown Middle School

King's Highway Elementary School

Long Lots School

Staples High School

Saugatuck Elementary School

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

85%

Grade 3

83%

Grade 4

73%

Grade 5

84%

Grade 6

77%

Grade 7

77%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

81%

Grade 3

80%

Grade 4

80%

Grade 5

86%

Grade 6

80%

Grade 7

80%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

76%

Grade 5

80%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$2.00M

Year-over-year change+12.6%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$750K to $2.0M

vs. state typical4.54x

vs. national typical5.44x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
06880	Westport	$2.0M	+12.6%	99.6%
06855	Norwalk	$750K	+7.7%	0.4%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$10,129/mo

Year-over-year change+4.8%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$2,952 to $10,158/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
06880	Westport	$10,158	+4.8%	99.6%
06855	Norwalk	$2,952	+3.2%	0.4%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$10,116/mo

Home price / national median income23.9x

Annual rent / national median income145.2%

Rent exceeds est. mortgage by$13/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$441,466 (+4.8% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.