The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 64% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Center School
Center School is a pre-K through grade 3 elementary school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that opened in the 2024-2025 school year as part of the newly formed Regional School District 20. The school sits on West Street in the center of Litchfield, within the historic borough where town civic buildings and shops cluster around the village green.
The school is brand new to its current organizational structure. In June 2022, voters in Litchfield, Goshen, Morris, and Warren approved merging Litchfield Public Schools with Region 6 to create a four-town regional district, effective July 2024. This was prompted by declining enrollment across the region and the aim of expanding course and program offerings. Under the new alignment, elementary students in each town stay in their home buildings through grade 5, then students advance to a regional middle school on the Plumb Hill campus for grades 6 through 8, and high school students attend the newly renamed Lakeview High School. Litchfield High School, which served the town for generations, graduated its final class in June 2024.
For Center School specifically, the merger means it now operates within a larger organizational context with access to regional resources and coordination, though its day-to-day function as a primary elementary school remains local.
In its first year of operation under the new district, Center School's third-grade cohort, which was tested on Connecticut's Smarter Balanced Assessment, showed mixed performance. In English language arts, students reached proficiency at a rate in the mid-range, while in mathematics proficiency fell somewhat lower. The math result sits below the ELA result, suggesting a potential area where the school or district may want to focus. Test participation was complete, and all students who were enrolled took the assessment. When compared to other schools across the county's districts, Center School's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint, meaning it is performing better than roughly half of the region's schools, though enrollment and demographic data for the school were not available, so there is limited context on the full student population or special-population participation.
This is a new school under a new district structure, so parents should understand that the school is still establishing routines and integrating into the regional system. In May 2025, voters rejected a proposed bond appropriation for security upgrades and facility improvements tied to Region 20's establishment, which families may want to monitor as it could affect the pace of capital investments. The school sits in Litchfield proper, a small, rural, conservation-minded New England town with a walkable historic center, a strong civic culture anchored by the library and the village green, and recreational access to Bantam Lake and regional conservation lands. The housing market in the area reflects this character: prices generally range in the mid-range for Connecticut, and the town has been drawing more full-time residents in recent years. School enrollment across the region declined steadily in the 2010s, which prompted the regionalization decision, so families enrolling at Center School are joining a district that is rebuilding its scale and identity.
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