Education in Norwalk, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
There are an assortment of public, private
, and parochial
schools
in Norwalk
, Connecticut
.
In addition, there are other post-secondary schools in nearby towns.
The Norwalk Hospital
runs an internship program associated with the Yale School of Medicine
and a nursing program associated with Norwalk Community College
.
in 1651. Later, on May 29 1678 town records mention the establishment of the community supported teaching activities with a passage that reads:
The school that was established in the 1670s was located near the Ludlow Square area of East Norwalk
(that is, near the former Roger Ludlow Junior High School).
Recent Norwalk public school graduates have gone on to attend universities such as Brown
, Columbia
, Cornell
, Dartmouth
, Duke
, Emory
, Georgetown
, Harvard
, MIT
, New York University
, and Wesleyan
. The current superintendent
of Norwalk Public Schools is Susan F. Marks, Ph.D.
In the 2005-06 fiscal year, the school system spent $26.7 million on special education services, nearly 20 percent of the total school budget.
The State Education Department announced on January 28, 2008 that Norwalk was one of twelve districts in the state that it would help to close student achievement gaps.
In 2006 the state of Connecticut reported that Norwalk's 653 graduates represented a 95.7% graduation rate.
tests in early 2007 found rooms in five elementary schools with levels above the "federal action limit" of 4 picocuries per liter for the colorless, odorless gas. (The gas naturally occurs in Fairfield County and comes up from the ground from the decay of radium. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking.) The 700 tests, conducted every five years by state law, found actionable levels of radon in Rowayton, Naramake, Cranbury and Wolfpit elementary schools as well as Richard C. Briggs High School
. Mitigation work, including air-suction devices, was done on just over a dozen rooms at the various schools, then a follow-up test was done which found one Wolfpit classroom located farthest away from the air-suction devices still had 5.1 picocuries per liter, so an additional device was installed in early March 2008.
s are defined as "districts whose students' families are similar in education, income, occupation and need, and that have roughly similar enrollment". The other seven school districts in the group are Ansonia, Danbury, Derby, East Hartford, Meriden, Norwich, Stamford
, and West Haven.
that is located in South Norwalk and serves grades pre-K through 8th. It was started in 1997 soon after Connecticut's charter school law went into effect by a group of public educators. It is a regional school that serves students from Norwalk as well as from surrounding towns.
which consolidated three previous Norwalk elementary schools (St. Thomas, St. Philips, and St. Mary's) and closed the former Central Catholic High School to open the All Saints in the former Central Catholic High building on West Rocks Road.
The Congregation Beth El on East Avenue runs the Nitzan preschool as well as the Navasky hebrew school
for part time religious instruction of children enrolled full time in other elementary schools.
In 2008 the Connecticut Friends School
purchased the White Barn Theatre
in the Cranbury
neighborhood in northeast Norwalk. The Quaker school plans to build a new solar powered 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) campus on the property with occupancy expected by the Fall of 2009 for grades K-8.
.
Since September 2007 the Winston Preparatory School
of New York City
has operated a branch campus along West Rocks Road in Norwalk. The school specializes in students with learning differences in grades 6 through 12.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, and parochial
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
schools
Education in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
in Norwalk
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Post-secondary education
There are four post-secondary schools within the city of Norwalk:- Norwalk Community CollegeNorwalk Community CollegeNorwalk Community College , formerly known as Norwalk State Technical College and Norwalk Community-Technical College, is a public community college in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is the second-largest of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges.The school, which has an open...
is in West NorwalkWest NorwalkWest Norwalk is a residential neighborhood in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut inthe Connecticut Panhandle region of Fairfield County. It lies in the western central part of the city.- Geography :... - Gibbs College, Norwalk campusGibbs CollegeKatharine Gibbs College was a private for-profit institution of higher learning based in the United States of America, founded by Katharine Gibbs....
(is not currently accepting new students and will close after December 2009) - University of PhoenixUniversity of PhoenixThe University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
Fairfield County campus is at 535 Connecticut Ave. Suite 400. - Post UniversityPost UniversityPost University is a small university located in Waterbury, Connecticut. Post University was established in 1890. Prior to May 1990, it was known as Post College...
opened a "regional center" in Norwalk in the Fall of 2008.
In addition, there are other post-secondary schools in nearby towns.
The Norwalk Hospital
Norwalk Hospital
Norwalk Hospital is a nonprofit, acute-care, community hospital in the Spring Hill section of Norwalk, Connecticut. It is also a teaching hospital....
runs an internship program associated with the Yale School of Medicine
Yale School of Medicine
The Yale School of Medicine at Yale University is a private medical school located in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. It was founded in 1810 as The Medical Institution of Yale College, and formally opened its doors in 1813....
and a nursing program associated with Norwalk Community College
Norwalk Community College
Norwalk Community College , formerly known as Norwalk State Technical College and Norwalk Community-Technical College, is a public community college in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is the second-largest of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges.The school, which has an open...
.
Norwalk public schools
Norwalk was granted a town charter by the Connecticut General CourtConnecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. There are no term limits for either chamber.During...
in 1651. Later, on May 29 1678 town records mention the establishment of the community supported teaching activities with a passage that reads:
- At a town meeting... voted and agreed to hier a scole master to teach all the children in ye town to lerne to Rede and write; and that Mr. Cornish shall be hierd for that service and the townsmen are to hier him upon as reasonable terms as they can.
The school that was established in the 1670s was located near the Ludlow Square area of East Norwalk
East Norwalk
East Norwalk is a neighborhood located in Norwalk, Connecticut.The neighborhood is a culturally diverse, mostly middle-class section of the city, inhabited by many different ethnicities such as Greeks, Italians, Hispanics, African Americans, and long time "Connecticut Yankee" residents...
(that is, near the former Roger Ludlow Junior High School).
Recent Norwalk public school graduates have gone on to attend universities such as Brown
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Emory
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, Georgetown
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and Wesleyan
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. The current superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
of Norwalk Public Schools is Susan F. Marks, Ph.D.
In the 2005-06 fiscal year, the school system spent $26.7 million on special education services, nearly 20 percent of the total school budget.
The State Education Department announced on January 28, 2008 that Norwalk was one of twelve districts in the state that it would help to close student achievement gaps.
High schools
There are three high schools in the Norwalk public school district, for grades 9-12:- Norwalk High School is the home of the Norwalk Bears. The school was founded in 1902.
- Brien McMahon High SchoolBrien McMahon High SchoolBrien McMahon High School is a secondary school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. It is named after Brien McMahon, a former United States Senator from Norwalk. The school's mascot is a Senator with the school colors being red, white, and blue. The school's first senior class graduated in 1962...
, named for Senator Brien McMahonBrien McMahonBrien McMahon, born James O'Brien McMahon was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States Senate from 1945 to 1952...
, first chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, was founded in 1960. Brien McMahon High School is also home to the Center for Global StudiesCenter for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High SchoolThe Center for Global Studies is a magnet school within Brien McMahon High School, in Norwalk, Connecticut. Its primary purpose is to teach students the language, history, and literature of Japan and China. Starting in the 2006-2007 school year, the Center added Arabic and Middle East Studies to...
. - Briggs High SchoolRichard C. Briggs High SchoolRichard C. Briggs High School is a secondary school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. It opened in 1938 as a replacement for the Winnipauk School. Later it was turned into the secondary level Center for Vocational Arts but is now named after Dr. Richard C. Briggs, who was superintendent of...
is an alternative schoolAlternative schoolAlternative school is the name used in some parts of the world to describe an institution which provides part of alternative education. It is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional...
.
In 2006 the state of Connecticut reported that Norwalk's 653 graduates represented a 95.7% graduation rate.
Middle schools
There are four middle schools in the Norwalk public school district, for grades 6-8:- Nathan Hale Middle SchoolNathan Hale Middle SchoolNathan Hale Middle School is a middle school in Norwalk, Connecticut, Fairfield County, United States of America. Nathan Hale is the top middle school in Norwalk due to the outstanding test scores of the class of 2007. It feeds into Norwalk High School, a high school with a renowned music program...
- Ponus Ridge Middle SchoolPonus Ridge Middle SchoolPonus Ridge Middle School is a middle school in the West Norwalk section of Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. It feeds into Brien McMahon High School....
- Roton Middle School
- West Rocks Middle SchoolWest Rocks Middle SchoolWest Rocks Middle School is a junior high school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. The principal of the school is Dr. Lynne Moore. The school feeds into Norwalk High School. The school mascot is a panther...
Ponus Ridge Middle School
In the 2005-06 school year 42.3 percent of the school's 640 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. A total of 40.3 percent of students come from homes where the primary language is not English. The primary language for many students is Spanish, but students also come from homes where Chinese or Haitian Creole are spoken. The school building was constructed in the late 1950s. On May 14, 2007, several state legislators toured the school in an attempt by Fairfield County lawmakers to educate them about the need for more state education funding in the richest county in the state.Roton Middle School
In the 2002-03 school year 27.5 percent of the school's 517 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. A total of 34.2 percent of students come from homes where the primary language is not English. The school building was constructed in 1966.Elementary schools
There are twelve elementary schools in the Norwalk public school district, for grades K-5:- Brookside
- Columbus (magnet schoolMagnet schoolIn education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
) - Cranbury
- Fox Run
- Jefferson
- Kendall
- Marvin
- Naramake
- Rowayton
- Silvermine
- Tracey
- Wolfpit
Radon levels in 2007-2008
State-mandated radonRadon
Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...
tests in early 2007 found rooms in five elementary schools with levels above the "federal action limit" of 4 picocuries per liter for the colorless, odorless gas. (The gas naturally occurs in Fairfield County and comes up from the ground from the decay of radium. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking.) The 700 tests, conducted every five years by state law, found actionable levels of radon in Rowayton, Naramake, Cranbury and Wolfpit elementary schools as well as Richard C. Briggs High School
Richard C. Briggs High School
Richard C. Briggs High School is a secondary school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. It opened in 1938 as a replacement for the Winnipauk School. Later it was turned into the secondary level Center for Vocational Arts but is now named after Dr. Richard C. Briggs, who was superintendent of...
. Mitigation work, including air-suction devices, was done on just over a dozen rooms at the various schools, then a follow-up test was done which found one Wolfpit classroom located farthest away from the air-suction devices still had 5.1 picocuries per liter, so an additional device was installed in early March 2008.
No Child Left Behind Act in Norwalk
In 2006, all high schools, three of the city's middle schools and nine of its elementary schools, along with a "community school" were cited as falling behind in standards for the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act. Three elementary schools had not met the standards (which rise year by year) for two years in a row, so students in those schools are offered the choice to go to a Norwalk public school that hasn't been designated as needing improvement. "Whole school" problems are school-wide, "subgroup" problems reflect groups such as white, black, Hispanic, Asian and American-Indian children; English language learners; students with disabilities; and economically disadvantaged students.- Norwalk High School — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math
- Brien McMahon High School — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Briggs High School — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "whole school deficiencies in math and reading."
- West Rocks Middle School — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Roton Middle School — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "whole school deficiencies in math."
- Ponus Ridge Middle School — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "whole school deficiencies in math."
- Brookside — For 2006, the school did not meet NCLB criteria two years in a row, so students (within certain parameters) will be offered the choice of going to another school. In the report the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Columbus — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Cranbury — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Fox Run — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Jefferson — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "whole school deficiencies in reading."
- Kendall — For 2006, the school did not meet NCLB criteria two years in a row, so students (within certain parameters) will be offered the choice of going to another school. In the report the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math and reading."
- Marvin — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "whole school deficiencies in math and reading."
- Naramake — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in reading."
- Silvermine — For 2006, the school did not meet NCLB criteria two years in a row, so students (within certain parameters) will be offered the choice of going to another school. In the report the school was cited as having "whole school deficiencies in math and reading."
- Side by Side Community charter school (not Norwalk public) — In the 2006 NCLB report, the school was cited as having "subgroup deficiencies in math."
District Reference Group H
Norwalk is one of eight public school systems in District Reference Group H, a classification made by the state Department of Education for the purpose of comparison with the achievement levels of similar schools and districts. District reference groupEducation Reference Group
Connecticut school districts are grouped into Education Reference Groups , also known as "District Reference Groups" based on the characteristics of their student’s families...
s are defined as "districts whose students' families are similar in education, income, occupation and need, and that have roughly similar enrollment". The other seven school districts in the group are Ansonia, Danbury, Derby, East Hartford, Meriden, Norwich, Stamford
Education in Stamford, Connecticut
Education in Stamford, Connecticut takes place in both public and private schools and college and university campuses.-Higher education:Stamford, Connecticut has branches of the University of Connecticut, University of Bridgeport and Sacred Heart University...
, and West Haven.
Charter school
The Side by Side Community School is a charter schoolCharter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
that is located in South Norwalk and serves grades pre-K through 8th. It was started in 1997 soon after Connecticut's charter school law went into effect by a group of public educators. It is a regional school that serves students from Norwalk as well as from surrounding towns.
Parochial
The All Saints Catholic School, serves grades pre-K through 8th. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of BridgeportRoman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport is located in the south western part of the state of Connecticut, and its boundaries are the same as that of Fairfield County, Connecticut. There are 87 parishes in the diocese. Its cathedral is St. Augustine in Bridgeport.The current bishop is The Most...
which consolidated three previous Norwalk elementary schools (St. Thomas, St. Philips, and St. Mary's) and closed the former Central Catholic High School to open the All Saints in the former Central Catholic High building on West Rocks Road.
The Congregation Beth El on East Avenue runs the Nitzan preschool as well as the Navasky hebrew school
Hebrew school
Hebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
for part time religious instruction of children enrolled full time in other elementary schools.
In 2008 the Connecticut Friends School
Connecticut Friends School
Connecticut Friends School is a K-8 elementary and middle school located in Wilton, Connecticut run by the Religious Society of Friends. Founded in 1998, the school's enrollment consists of approximately 60 students....
purchased the White Barn Theatre
White Barn Theatre
The White Barn Theatre was a small theater founded by actress, producer and theater impresario Lucille Lortel on the property of her estate in Norwalk, Connecticut that premiered numerous plays from major playwrights and plays that went on to successful Broadway and Off-Broadway runs.Lortel founded...
in the Cranbury
Cranbury (Norwalk)
Cranbury is a neighborhood or section in the northeast corner of the city of Norwalk in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States.The Save Cranbury Association, a local community group, describes itself as an "association of citizens dedicated to the preservation of the historical, rural...
neighborhood in northeast Norwalk. The Quaker school plans to build a new solar powered 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) campus on the property with occupancy expected by the Fall of 2009 for grades K-8.
Private
Since September 2004 the Montessori Middle School for grades 5-8 has been in Norwalk and is currently at 24 Lois Street (off of Westport Avenue). It is associated with The Montessori School for elementary grades in nearby WiltonWilton, Connecticut
Wilton is a town nestled in the Norwalk River Valley in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It is located in Fairfield County. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 18,062. In 2007, it was voted as one of CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" in the United States.Located along...
.
Since September 2007 the Winston Preparatory School
Winston Preparatory School
The Winston Prepararory School is a private, co-ed day school located in New York City with a second school that opened in Norwalk, Connecticut in September 2007....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
has operated a branch campus along West Rocks Road in Norwalk. The school specializes in students with learning differences in grades 6 through 12.
External links
- Norwalk Public Schools official web site
- The Norwalk Education Foundation is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of Norwalk public education
- Norwalk School District is maintained by the Connecticut State Department of Education and has individual school reports
- Side by Side Community School official web site
- All Saints Catholic School Norwalk CT
- Congregation Beth El
- The Montessori School
- Winston Preparatory School
- Rowayton Elementary School