The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in Science. The lowest is 10% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Irving School
Irving School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Derby, a small industrial city in the Naugatuck Valley region of Connecticut, roughly eight miles west-northwest of New Haven. The school sits on a separate campus away from downtown, accessed near Seymour Avenue off Route 8, rather than in the Main Street commercial core where civic life centers.
Derby itself is a compact place with a mixed economic base. It was once defined by foundries and factories; that industrial identity has largely faded, leaving behind vacant storefronts alongside newer anchors like a Home Depot and Big Y grocery. Griffin Hospital is now the dominant local employer. The city is in early-stage downtown redevelopment, with transit-oriented housing projects near the Metro-North station and public investment in pedestrian infrastructure along Main Street, aimed at drawing residents and foot traffic back to the core. This is a place working to rebuild after decades of economic loss.
Irving School itself serves about three hundred students across its six grades. The student body is economically stressed: a substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is diverse by race and ethnicity, with a plurality Hispanic, a significant share Black, and smaller shares white and Asian.
Academic performance is a soft spot. State testing results from 2024-2025 show that across tested grades, proficiency in math and English language arts runs well below the state norms. In third grade, proficiency rates in both subjects are in the single digits to low double digits; by fifth grade they remain very low. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade where science is tested, is similarly low. An overall proficiency index places Irving near the bottom quartile of schools across the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. These are not strong numbers, and a parent may want to look into the school's support structures and instructional approaches directly with the district to understand what is driving them and what interventions are in place.
The district context matters here. Derby Public Schools approved a steep property tax increase for 2024-2025 after years of flat taxation, raising homeowners' bills meaningfully to close budget deficits and stabilize district finances. A state-mandated property revaluation for 2026-2027 reset assessments district-wide, with the city voting to phase in new values over time to soften the shock. These tax changes are direct pressures on the housing market and family budgets. Derby home values sit roughly in line with state benchmarks, and rental costs are moderate, but the sudden tax jump is a material consideration for families weighing a move to the area.
The district is stable as a standalone entity. A proposed merger with neighboring Ansonia schools, studied over several years, formally ended in February 2022 without recommendation, settling the question of regionalization—at least for now—and leaving Derby as an independent district. The district has made recent curriculum investments, adopting a new phenomena-driven middle school science program in 2023, though Irving School itself serves only elementary grades and does not use that curriculum.
Irving School fits a family seeking a neighborhood elementary school in a small, economically mixed city where the public system faces real academic challenges. The low proficiency rates warrant direct conversation with school leaders about reading and math support, intervention programs, and how the school approaches struggling learners. For families considering Derby, the recent property tax increase and revaluation cycle are hard costs to factor into the housing decision.
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