The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Science. The lowest is 23% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Glastonbury/east Hartford Magnet School
Glastonbury/East Hartford Magnet School is a public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, located in Glastonbury on the east bank of the Connecticut River. It operates under the Capitol Region Education Council, a regional education authority, and sits within a broader magnet and school choice system that has expanded significantly since a 2022 state settlement aimed at increasing integrated educational access across the Capitol region.
The school enrolls a student body of roughly a school's size for that grade band, drawn from multiple towns as part of the magnet model. The enrollment reflects a diverse population: roughly a quarter Black, a substantial portion Hispanic, a meaningful minority Asian, and smaller shares of white students and other backgrounds. About three-fifths of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a student population with substantial economic need. Data on English learner enrollment and special education enrollment were not available.
Academic performance shows a clear soft spot. On state assessments in math and English language arts across grades three through five, proficiency rates run markedly below the midpoint among districts in the Capitol Planning Region. In math, only about a quarter of third and fourth graders reached proficiency, with fifth grade at roughly a fifth. In ELA, third grade sits at roughly a sixth, fourth grade at about a fifth, and only fifth grade reaches about a third. Science assessment data were available only for fifth grade, where proficiency runs roughly a third. When all tested grades and subjects are averaged together, the school's overall proficiency index falls into the bottom quartile of comparable districts. A parent may want to look into further with the school what strategies are underway to build foundational skills, what support structures exist for students working below grade level, and how instruction is differentiated to meet the range of learner needs evident in these numbers.
The school has only one year of state test data on file, so no trend information is available to show whether performance is stable, improving, or declining. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data do not apply, as those are high school and district-level measures.
Glastonbury itself is a suburban residential community on the Connecticut River roughly seven to ten miles southeast of Hartford, with a historic Main Street and village center flanked by newer subdivisions and conservation land. It has an unusually deep colonial heritage and a lingering agricultural tradition in orchards and berry farms. The town's civic life anchors around Main Street rather than dispersed campuses, with key institutions like the Welles-Turner Memorial Library and civic buildings situated there. Most residents rely on cars for errands and commuting, though the Town Center is walkable. The major employers lean toward financial services, insurance, health and fitness, and specialized manufacturing.
Housing in Glastonbury is tight and high-demand. Median home values sit above both the state and national benchmarks, with single-family homes appreciating at a pace above state average. Rents are modest and relatively stable. The market is characterized by low inventory and a seller's advantage, driven partly by a mortgage-rate lock-in effect that keeps existing homeowners in place. New construction is sparse, focused on a few custom homes and subdivisions, though a notable adaptive-reuse project converting underutilized office and parking space to a mixed-income residential complex is underway. Residents shopping here should expect to pay a premium for entry and encounter limited options.
The magnet system the school operates within represents a significant long-term structural change for the region. Since the 2022 Sheff v. O'Neill settlement, Connecticut has committed to expanding school choice seats, new magnet programs, and funding for extracurricular and athletic facilities at magnet schools over the next several years. That settlement was materialized in practice in late 2025 when the state met its first benchmark placement target, meaning the expanded access is real, not merely promised. For families relocating to the area or seeking an alternative to their home district, this represents a durable regional option rather than a temporary pilot.
See more original research from School Decision →