The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 49% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kathleen E. Goodwin School
Kathleen E. Goodwin School serves pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Old Saybrook, a four-century-old seaside town at the mouth of the Connecticut River. The school is at the heart of a district and community actively working through elementary literacy instruction, which is relevant for any family considering enrollment here.
The enrollment is small, around middle-ground for an elementary school serving its grade band, with nearly a quarter of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Latino population and smaller Asian representation; Black students and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students each comprise a very small number. Demographic data on students with individualized education programs and English learners were not available.
On state testing, the school's performance in both English language arts and math falls below the county median among districts in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. In fourth grade, where slightly more students tested proficient, the school sits closer to a midpoint; in third grade, proficiency rates run notably lower, particularly in math. The school participated in testing at near-complete rates. Across all tested grades and subjects combined, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile of the county's districts. This is a concrete starting point a parent would want to understand in detail by speaking directly with school leadership about current instruction and any remediation underway.
That conversation will necessarily touch on curriculum changes the district made in response to recent concerns. Old Saybrook adopted the ARC Core literacy program in the 2024-2025 school year after piloting it at Goodwin the year before, implementing a state-identified approach to early reading and writing tied to Connecticut's Right to Read Act. In June 2026, an independent University of Connecticut evaluation of Goodwin's literacy curriculum found limited spelling instruction and minimal guidance for writing instruction. Parents voiced public concern. In response, the district posted to hire both a literacy coach and a math coach for the elementary school, indicating active, ongoing effort to address instructional gaps. The timeline and scope of these changes means families should ask the school directly what specific shifts in reading, writing, and math instruction are now underway, what support is in place, and how the new coaching roles will affect classroom teaching and student progress.
The school sits on Old Boston Post Road, away from the town's downtown Main Street core where civic life, shops, restaurants, and the cultural center cluster. The town itself is a genuine community with a walkable historic downtown, strong transit access via the Old Saybrook train station on the Northeast Corridor, and a reputation for restaurants and tourist activity. The broader town remains car-dependent for most errands. Old Saybrook is actively pursuing more housing, including workforce and affordable units, so the residential environment is in flux; a property revaluation on the 2023 tax assessment roll reset the mill rate for homeowners beginning in July 2024.
For a family considering this school, the key dynamics are the recent curricular changes and external evaluation at the elementary level, the below-county proficiency results, the hiring of instructional coaches signaling district responsiveness, and the desire to understand what instructional steps are concrete and what the timeline for improvement looks like. The school is small and part of a town with character and resources; what matters most is whether the current effort to strengthen early literacy and math instruction will move the needle on outcomes.
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