The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in Science. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on New London Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School
New London Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School is a grades 6-12 magnet school within Connecticut's first and only all-magnet public school district. It sits at 36 Waller Street in the city and serves students from New London and over forty other towns across the region; city residents receive enrollment priority, and admission is by application and lottery within the Arts pathway.
The school enrolls a diverse student body with a high concentration of students from economically stretched families. A substantial majority of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic makeup is primarily Hispanic and multiracial, followed by Black, white, and Asian students. Enrollment is small, roughly on the order typical for a 6-12 magnet school serving a specific pathway. As of a recent count, the school operated across grades six through twelve, with enrollment lighter at the upper grades than the lower ones.
On Connecticut's Smarter Balanced assessments in math, the school's proficiency rates are low across tested middle grades. Sixth-grade math proficiency sits at a single-digit percentage, seventh grade reaches roughly a third of that, and state testing data for eighth-grade math proficiency was not disclosed. In English language arts, sixth and seventh grade both sit around a third of students proficient or above. State testing data for eighth-grade ELA was not disclosed, though average scale scores suggest students are working toward proficiency. Science testing is available only for eighth grade; science proficiency reaches into the mid-double digits. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the school districts in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, the county-level peer group used for comparison.
These proficiency levels reflect a real gap between students' current skills and state standards, particularly in math at the middle-grade level. A parent considering this school should understand that academic support will be central to the experience, and the school itself is a good source for conversation about how it addresses that gap and what resources it offers to build student skills. State test results show only one year of data, so the school's trajectory is not yet clear.
The school's core identity is the Visual and Performing Arts pathway. This magnet designation means the school is organized around arts curriculum, instruction, and peer culture centered on visual arts, music, theater, dance, or related creative practice, rather than being a comprehensive secondary school where arts is one option among many. For families drawn to arts as both engagement and academic frame, or for students who thrive in arts-centered environments, this is the intended fit. For families seeking a traditional, subject-based secondary structure, this school is designed around a different model.
New London as a city is in active growth, with substantial residential development underway on the Fort Trumbull peninsula and downtown adaptive-reuse projects converting historic buildings into apartments. The city has a strong maritime heritage, walkable downtown core with State Street as its spine, and reliable regional transit via Union Station (Amtrak, CTrail Shore Line East, local bus, and ferry service). Housing values are moderate relative to Connecticut benchmarks. The region's economy is shaped heavily by General Dynamics Electric Boat and submarine manufacturing, health care, and educational institutions including the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College.
The district itself completed a major structural change in becoming an all-magnet system organized around three themed pathways: STEM, Visual and Performing Arts, and International Education. This is now how the district operates; enrollment is no longer by neighborhood assignment. However, the district also voted in April to close an elementary magnet school effective the following year due to budget constraints, and to restructure grade configurations district-wide to K-4 elementary, 5-7 middle, and 8-12 high school. That change means this school's grade configuration will shift upward and its student composition and class structures will change. A parent should clarify with the school office how that restructuring affects the current and incoming cohorts and what transition supports are in place.
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