Mary E. Griswold School, Kensington CT

Original Research by School Decision on Mary E. Griswold School

Mary E. Griswold School is a small elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Kensington, a quiet, family-oriented residential section of Berlin. The school enrolls roughly five hundred students, with most coming from the predominantly white, owner-occupied single-family-home neighborhoods that make up the village. About a quarter of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is substantially white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest group.

On state assessments, the school's proficiency results sit above the midpoint among districts across the Capitol Planning Region. In English language arts across tested grades, students achieved overall proficiency that places the school ahead of median performance in its county peers. Math proficiency is similarly positioned. Third-grade students show the strongest performance in both subjects, while fourth and fifth grades show somewhat lower rates. Fifth-grade science results are reported but proficiency data was suppressed by the state, so a full picture there is not available.

The school sits on its own campus on Heather Lane, a couple of miles from the civic center of Kensington Village. The immediate surroundings are residential and suburban rather than walkable, though the larger area has modest transit access through the Berlin station on the Hartford Line, which serves commuters to Hartford and beyond.

Families choosing this school should know that the Berlin School District has experienced a pattern of repeated budget rejections at town referendums over several recent fiscal years. Under the town charter, when voters reject budgets twice in a fiscal year, authority to finalize spending and set property tax rates shifts entirely to the Town Council. This means school funding and local tax rates do not always remain under direct voter control, a structural reality that shapes the district's planning environment. Parents evaluating whether to move to the area may want to learn more about how the district and town navigate this recurring dynamic and what it means for school budgets going forward.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 66% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 59% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 58% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 61% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 56% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 65% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolBerlin 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.