Philip R. Smith School, South Windsor CT

Original Research by School Decision on Philip R. Smith School

Philip R. Smith School is a public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in South Windsor, a suburban town northeast of Hartford that has grown into a mixed commercial, industrial, and residential community. The school sits within a district that has recently completed a major modernization effort, rebuilding all of its aging elementary buildings; Smith itself is housed in a recently constructed facility as part of that initiative.

Smith's enrollment is small, around the mid-range for an elementary school of its grade span, with students drawn from a moderately diverse student body. The school's student population is predominantly white, with a substantial share of Asian students, and smaller percentages of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. About one in six students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a community with generally higher household incomes but not uniform affluence.

In tested subjects, Smith performs solidly. In reading and language arts across all tested grades combined, proficiency sits in the upper range. Math proficiency is somewhat lower, though still above the midpoint. Science performance, where available, tracks higher. Grade-level trends show variation: third-grade students perform notably well in math, fourth-grade performance dips across both math and reading, and fifth-grade students recover in reading. Fourth grade reading and math results may be worth discussing with school leadership to understand whether transition-year patterns, instructional focus, or student-composition shifts are at play.

Compared to other schools in the Capitol Planning Region, Smith ranks in the top quartile on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This positions it solidly above the median peer school in the region, though not at the absolute top.

No data was available on special education enrollment, English learner population, chronic absenteeism, or discipline; these are commonly tracked measures that may be available directly from the school or district.

South Windsor's housing market is moderately expensive for Connecticut, with home values and rents above the state benchmark and a price-to-income ratio that makes ownership require meaningful household earnings. The town is actively growing, with new apartment complexes, distribution centers, and commercial development around the Evergreen Walk area, alongside an established park system and public library. Families moving to the area should expect a car-dependent suburban setting with pockets of walkability. The district's completion of new elementary facilities means Smith's physical plant is modern and recently built.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 386%

School 86% · District 80% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 74% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 72% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 72% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 75% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolSouth Windsor School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.