The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 48% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Park School
Highland Park School is a kindergarten-through-fourth-grade elementary school in Manchester serving a student population that is economically and racially diverse. Just over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment spans Hispanic, white, Black, and Asian students in roughly equal proportions across the school's grades.
The school's most recent state test data shows mixed performance across English language arts and mathematics. In third grade, students perform notably stronger in ELA than in math, with solid participation in testing. Fourth grade shows a dip in both subjects compared to third grade, with math proficiency declining more sharply. Overall across tested grades, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint when compared to other districts in the Capitol Planning Region. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about what instructional supports or curriculum changes are underway in fourth grade and in mathematics specifically.
The school sits within Manchester School District, a community in the east-of-the-river Greater Hartford region that has been undergoing significant investment and development. Downtown Manchester, built largely in the late 1890s and early 1900s, is a walkable, mixed-use center with a renovated downtown library, recurring community events, and retail and office spaces. More substantially, the district completed the MPS 2025 Plan, a major facilities referendum that renovated five elementary schools as new buildings and opened a grade 5/6 academy in the repurposed Cheney High School building. This restructuring means all district fifth graders now attend the Cheney-Bennet Academy rather than remaining at their neighborhood elementary schools—a lasting change to how families experience the transition from elementary to middle grades in Manchester.
The town itself is experiencing residential growth, most visibly through the redevelopment of the long-vacant Broad Street Parkade site, which was approved for a mixed-use project with hundreds of market-rate apartment units, commercial space, parks, and a trail connection to downtown. Housing values in the area have been rising steadily. Major employers in Manchester include the public schools, the town government, a community college campus, healthcare, manufacturing, and large retailers, creating a mixed economic base anchored by education and public service.
Highland Park School's enrollment is stable at about that size for its grade band. The school has full or near-full participation in state testing, suggesting reliable assessment data. State assessment information was not available for prior years, so trend direction cannot be determined from the data provided. The school's civil-rights compliance status and special-population counts for students with IEPs or learning English were not available in the data.
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