The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Regional Multicultural Magnet School
Regional Multicultural Magnet School is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade public school in New London serving a mix of students drawn from the surrounding region. The school sits at 1 Bulkeley Place and operates as part of LEARN, the regional educational service center that runs Connecticut's interdistrict magnet schools. Unlike traditional town districts, LEARN schools are choice-based: families opt into them from multiple towns. As of recent state funding changes that took effect in 2025, tuition for magnet schools has been largely eliminated in favor of state weighted-funding support, removing a barrier that existed for families considering enrollment.
The school's student body is substantial and diverse. Nearly half the enrollment is Hispanic, with roughly a fifth white, a meaningful share mixed-race, and smaller shares of Black and Asian students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting an economically working population. The school carries no Title I designation in the available data, though the high poverty rate suggests the school serves considerable economic need. Early-childhood and elementary enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across the six grades, ranging from about eighty to ninety students per grade level, for a total enrollment in the low hundreds.
Academic performance data, available only for third through fifth grade as those are the grades assessed by Connecticut's state tests, shows patterns worth noting. In English language arts, proficiency rises noticeably through the grades: third-graders show lower proficiency, fourth-graders improve, and fifth-graders reach roughly half of students at proficiency. This upward trajectory in reading and writing is a positive sign of either instructional effectiveness or student growth. Mathematics proficiency, however, remains consistently lower across all grades, with roughly a quarter or fewer students meeting proficiency in each grade. Science data for fifth grade is reported but the proficiency rate was suppressed, suggesting a small tested population for that subject.
The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's districts in Southeastern Connecticut, meaning its aggregate academic performance across tested grades and subjects ranks among the lower-performing schools in the region. The reading strength, particularly in fifth grade, offsets some concern, but the persistent math gap and the overall position suggest that families should explore what support structures exist for struggling learners and what specific instructional approaches the school uses for numeracy.
New London itself is a small historic city on the coast, anchored by rail, ferry, and bus service at Union Station downtown. The city is undergoing active housing growth and urban reinvestment, driven partly by expansion of General Dynamics Electric Boat submarine manufacturing in the region. Housing costs are moderate relative to the state, and the city blends dense historic neighborhoods, a walkable downtown with cultural events and retail, and waterfront parks. The presence of Connecticut College and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy nearby contributes to civic life. For families, the city offers urban walkability in pockets, affordable rents and home values, and access to public transit, though school choice and broader economic opportunity draw many to consider magnet enrollment.
A parent evaluating this school might want to explore further the school's approach to math instruction and support, the composition of English-learner and special-education populations (those counts were not available in state reporting), and whether the upward ELA trend continues year to year or reflects natural grade-level variation. The school's standing in county comparisons is transparent; the question is what strategies the school has in place to narrow the performance gap and whether that work aligns with a family's expectations and the child's learning profile.
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