The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Driggs School
Driggs School is a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade public school in Waterbury, serving a diverse student body in a city undergoing downtown revitalization. The school sits in a neighborhood with modest housing values and rents, and draws families from a community where the majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic pressures common to this former manufacturing city.
The academic picture at Driggs is straightforward: state testing shows proficiency rates substantially below state benchmarks across mathematics, English language arts, and science. In third grade, about a small share of students demonstrated proficiency in math, while reading proficiency was somewhat stronger. Fourth grade showed modest gains in math, but fifth grade performance dropped sharply in mathematics, with proficiency near minimal levels. English proficiency remained low across all tested grades, and science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested, was similarly limited. When aggregated across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile among districts in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, the comparison set for this region of Connecticut.
These results raise real questions about student learning. A parent might want to look into further detail with the school about what instruction looks like in reading and math, what interventions are in place for students who are not yet proficient, and what the school's internal assessment data shows about progress during the year. The participation rate in state testing is high and near universal, so the results are not driven by low testing rates; they reflect actual student performance on the assessments given.
The school serves a student population that is primarily Hispanic and Black, with about three-fifths Hispanic and about a quarter Black. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment data for special education and English learners was not available, so a family with a student who has an IEP or who is learning English should ask the school directly about its support services and how many students are served in those programs.
Waterbury itself is in transition. The city is the economic and health care center of its region, home to two hospitals, Webster Bank, and Post University. Downtown has seen real investment in recent years: a restored City Hall, a relocated UConn campus with student housing, new magnet schools, transit improvements including expanded Metro-North service, and adaptive reuse of historic mill and commercial buildings into apartments. The housing market shows modest value with modest year-over-year appreciation, and the city continues to add units through mixed-income redevelopment projects. However, these economic anchors and revitalization efforts have not yet translated into the kind of school performance reflected in Driggs' state test results.
The Waterbury School District has made two significant moves for families. It adopted universal free breakfast and lunch across all schools, removing financial and paperwork barriers to meal access. It also received state approval to continue its existing science-of-reading approach to early literacy rather than adopt a different one, which means the district's K-3 reading instruction can move forward without disruption. Additionally, the Waterbury Promise scholarship program provides last-dollar college aid for local public school graduates attending Connecticut colleges, reducing the cost barrier for students pursuing higher education.
Driggs' strength lies in its role as a neighborhood elementary school in a diverse, walkable urban setting with access to downtown amenities, transit, and employment centers. The school environment and peer composition reflect the neighborhood's working-class, immigrant-rooted character. For families seeking an elementary school with strong academic proficiency as the primary draw, Driggs' current testing results do not support that choice. For families seeking a public school deeply embedded in an urban community in the midst of real change, where small children walk to school and community matters as much as test scores, and who are willing to engage directly with the school on instruction and support, the school is an option worth exploring in person.
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