The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Jumoke Academy
Jumoke Academy is a tuition-free charter school in Hartford serving pre-kindergarten through high school on a single campus. The school enrolls a substantial population with a student body that is overwhelmingly Black and faces significant economic need, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment spans from early childhood through secondary grades, though the high school grades are very small.
State test results show persistently low proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In English language arts overall, about half of tested students met proficiency standards; in math, less than half; in science, similarly about half. Grade-by-grade results are mixed. In ELA, fourth grade showed the strongest performance at about one-quarter of students proficient, while third grade was considerably lower. Math results ranged from about one-sixth proficient in third grade down to about one-ninth in seventh grade, with some grades' data suppressed by the state. When test data appeared in reportable numbers, the school consistently showed low proficiency. The school participates fully in state testing; participation rates were at or near full across the grades tested.
The state's most recent charter renewal, completed in 2024, placed Jumoke in Connecticut's lowest performance category on the state Accountability Index and directed the school to file corrective action plans targeting chronic absenteeism and academic achievement. The school's charter was extended, but the renewal process identified ongoing concerns about both attendance and student learning outcomes that families should be aware of as continuing areas the school is required to address.
The school operates two distinct middle-grade pathways for students in grades five through eight. One campus centers on STEM—the Honors SMaRT program focused on science, math, and research technology. The other, based at the Hartford Conservatory, emphasizes arts integration alongside academics, with instrumental and vocal music, visual arts, dance, and theater as core components. Families choose which pathway to enroll in, and transfers between campuses are possible only by written request by mid-March if seats are available. This choice structures a child's middle-school years in a meaningful way.
Effective July 2024, the school adopted a new Kindergarten entry requirement: children must be a certain age by September 1, with a formal readiness assessment available for families seeking early placement when a child misses the age cutoff. This creates a more defined entry gate than may have existed previously.
Hartford itself is Connecticut's capital, a mix of downtown commercial and government with extensive residential neighborhoods including the West End, Asylum Hill, Parkville, Frog Hollow, and others. Downtown anchors the city with government offices, the State Capitol, libraries, and cultural institutions including the Wadsworth Atheneum and Connecticut Science Center. The city's economy rests on insurance, healthcare, and aerospace, with major employers like The Hartford, Aetna, and Hartford HealthCare. Housing is less expensive than most of Connecticut; median home value in the city sits considerably below the state benchmark. Downtown and walkable neighborhoods have seen redevelopment activity aimed at adding residential units and converting vacant buildings, with projects breaking ground in recent years to turn former office buildings and underused structures into apartments and mixed-use spaces. Population has declined substantially over decades, and housing development is part of the city's strategy to reverse that trend.
Comparing Jumoke's overall proficiency index among the other districts in the Capitol Planning Region—the county comparison set—the school sits in the bottom quartile, well below the median for the region. A parent may want to look into further with the school what specific supports, tutoring, or academic intervention programs are available to help students advance, especially given the state's identified concerns about academic performance and what the school's approach is to the corrective action plan requirements.
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