Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts: Pk-8 Campus, Hartford CT

Original Research by School Decision on Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts: Pk-8 Campus

Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts sits within Hartford's school system as a pre-K through eighth-grade magnet focused on the performing arts. The school draws its enrollment from across Hartford and surrounding areas, reflecting the city's demographics: a majority Hispanic student population, with substantial Black, Asian, and white enrollment. About three-quarters of Kinsella's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that tracks closely with Hartford's broader population and housing market.

The school's test results paint a mixed picture that deserves careful attention. In the most recent assessment, reading proficiency rates ranged from about one in seven in third grade to about two in five in seventh grade, with middle grades showing lower performance. Math proficiency was similarly uneven, dipping to very low rates in fifth grade before recovering somewhat in seventh grade. Science results at fifth grade were low; eighth-grade science showed higher results. The data reflects only one year of testing, so the school's trajectory is not yet clear from these figures. When computed across all tested grades and subjects, the school sits in the bottom quartile among districts in the Capitol Planning Region, a county-level comparison set.

Kinsella's strength lies in its programmatic identity. As a magnet school with a performing arts focus, it offers a distinct educational pathway. This type of school draws families who value arts integration and creative expression in the core curriculum. For students interested in music, theater, dance, and visual arts, the school provides a structured environment where these interests can inform their learning across subjects. The school serves an urban neighborhood location in Hartford, which shapes both access and peer composition.

The enrollment spans pre-K through eighth grade, with slightly larger cohorts in the elementary and middle years. All students participated in testing, showing complete assessment participation rates, which is operationally sound.

Context matters here. Hartford Public Schools has faced substantial budget pressures in recent years, with major staffing cuts and reliance on federal COVID-era relief funds that have now expired. The district shifted to an evidence-based, science-of-reading approach in early grades under Connecticut's Right to Read law, a curriculum change now in effect. These systemic pressures and transitions affect all Hartford schools, including Kinsella, and may contribute to the academic performance picture. A parent considering this school may want to explore with Kinsella's leadership what supports are in place to help students strengthen foundational skills, how the performing arts mission informs literacy and math instruction, and whether the school's academic programming has adjusted in response to assessment results.

The school's location in Hartford offers urban walkability, access to downtown cultural institutions including the Wadsworth Atheneum and Connecticut Science Center, and transit connections. Housing costs in the 06106 zip code are modest relative to the broader region, and the area continues to see development activity aimed at bringing new residents to the city.

Kinsella represents an arts-focused alternative within a district-run system. Its appeal rests on educational philosophy and programmatic richness rather than test-score standing. Families drawn to performing arts, or who believe arts-centered learning benefits their child, should evaluate whether the school's curriculum and resources live up to that vision, and should also satisfy themselves about academic skill-building in reading and math given the assessment results shown here.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 33 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 326%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 22% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 17% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 15% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 14% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 17% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 20% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 20% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 20% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 21% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 22% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 21% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

This schoolHartford 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.