The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Anna Reynolds School
Anna Reynolds School is a pre-K through fourth-grade elementary school in Newington, a residential suburb about eight miles south of downtown Hartford. The school sits in a car-dependent but moderately walkable community where single-family neighborhoods are interspersed with semi-rural pockets and a Berlin Turnpike commercial corridor. The town maintains a compact, walkable center along Main Street with local businesses and parks.
The school itself recently underwent a substantial renovation. Voters approved a major rebuilding in 2020, with state funds covering a significant share of the cost, and the aged facility became a modern building with upgraded systems. This is a tangible asset families inherit when enrolling: a freshly rebuilt plant with contemporary infrastructure rather than an aging structure.
The student body is economically and ethnically diverse. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school enrolls a roughly even mix of white and Hispanic students, with smaller populations of Asian, multiracial, and Black students. Kindergarten through fourth grade serve a total enrollment of about that size for a four-grade band plus pre-K.
Anna Reynolds' state test results reveal academic performance that sits below the midpoint for elementary schools in the Capitol Planning Region, the set of districts that comprise the county comparison. In third-grade math and English language arts, proficiency ran in the mid-40s. Fourth-grade ELA performance rose to the low 60s, showing improvement by grade. Fourth-grade math data was suppressed by the state, so no specific proficiency figure is available, though the average scale score suggested students in that cohort are performing at a measurable level. Overall proficiency across tested subjects, computed as the mean of reported rates, falls below the regional median. A parent may want to look into this further with the school: what support structures are in place for the students not reaching proficiency, and what academic growth the school is tracking?
The district itself is in a period of capital investment. Beyond the Anna Reynolds renovation, voters approved a second major project at John Wallace Middle School that began construction in 2025. The district's operating budget has grown substantially in recent years, reaching levels described by town officials as reflecting some of the largest increases in roughly two decades, a factor that shapes local property tax conversations. Home values in the area are moderate, with mortgages and rents both trending upward but remaining below state and national benchmarks, making Newington relatively affordable for the greater Hartford region.
The school draws from a town with identifiable civic anchors: a public library with programming, Mill Pond Park with a waterfall festival, and recent transit additions including a bus rapid transit stop. The town's plan emphasizes its compact center rather than sprawl, and new mixed-use development and affordable housing are under way, giving the community some demographic dynamism.
For families considering Anna Reynolds, the school offers a modernized facility in a diverse, economically mixed community with ongoing district investment. Academic performance is a consideration: results are below the regional median, so families will want to understand the school's approach to reading and math instruction, intervention supports, and progress monitoring.
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