Highville Charter School, New Haven CT

Original Research by School Decision on Highville Charter School

Highville Charter School is a PreK–12 charter school located in New Haven at Science Park, serving roughly five hundred students across all grade bands. The school recently completed a major expansion and relocation, adding a high school (Highville Change Academy) and moving into a permanent owned building in the city. Students can now enroll in preschool and stay through 12th grade in one continuous program, with sibling preference in the admissions lottery.

Academically, the school faces substantial headwinds. State testing data for the school year shows proficiency rates well below the midpoint among districts in South Central Connecticut. In English language arts, reading proficiency across tested grades sits in the bottom quartile of the county's comparison group. Math proficiency is similarly low. Eighth grade stands out as the strongest grade: roughly two-fifths of students in that cohort met the state English language arts standard, the only grade where proficiency exceeded one quarter. In younger and middle grades, proficiency rates are very low, with third and sixth grade in math each showing single-digit proficiency. Science test results in grades five and eight are suppressed by the state (a practice used when group sizes are small), so those results cannot be reported. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly around the elementary and early middle school curriculum.

The student population is predominantly Black, comprising roughly four-fifths of enrollment. Latino students make up roughly one seventh. The school serves a high-need population: nearly three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, well above state and national medians. Data on special education and English learner enrollment was not available.

The school's most distinctive offering is a dual-enrollment and early-college pathway through a partnership with Post University. High school students can take college courses during the school day and have the opportunity to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree from Post simultaneously. This is a concrete, long-term advantage for families seeking a faster route to a college credential.

New Haven itself is an active, walkable city with strong civic anchors downtown, a historic Green, and significant transit access via Union Station. The housing market has seen appreciable growth, with active development and an upzoning ordinance passed in late 2025 to allow denser apartment buildings. Median home values and rents in the 06511 zip code are slightly below state benchmarks. The city's economy is anchored by Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital, with a regional bioscience cluster and advanced manufacturing base.

Highville's charter was renewed through mid-2027, providing continuity for families. The school's track record on state assessments, however, is a matter that warrants direct conversation with school leadership and careful consideration against the school's claims about instruction, curriculum design, and support structures, particularly in elementary and middle grades.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=50%Cohort of 14 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

205 schools plotted. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolHighville Charter School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.