Ashford School

We have been very impressed with the teachers and leadership at this school, particularly the Principal. My daughter was accelerated from Kindergarten to Second Grade this year. Our experience with her teachers and the administrators was excellent. She was far ahead of her classmates (and very unhappy) so her teacher put her in a first grade reading group (doing 2nd grade work) and also into enrichment with first grade students. To be brief, she was evaluated for Math and Reading, we met with teachers at the first and second grade levels to discuss curriculum and potential challenges, and we found the entire process to be simple and straightforward. We had numerous resources at our disposal throughout the process and the staff was both fully available to us and extremely professional throughout. My daughter's teacher made heroic efforts on her behalf; she is an extraordinary educator.
--Submitted by a parent

Raze the school and send the students to other districts. The cost to the town is enormous, and the returns are pitiful. The school is failing to teach or inspire the students. Academically the kids are behind their peers in neighboring Mansfield and Willington. Student behaviour is unrestrained and you get the strong impression the principal is not concerned with the way the students interact with each other. The last superindendant came from a failing school system and no one could figure out why he was hired in the first place. As for the special needs children, there is lots of support and extra help for them. But families of children who are bright and like to learn should look elsewhere.
--Submitted by a parent

I've been very pleased with Ashford School. My child has a health issue that has been dealt with with great skill and caring, and the curriculum has been challenging and fun. There is no issue in the mornings - my kid loves to go to school! The teachers are great.
--Submitted by a parent

I've been very pleased with Ashford School. My child has a health issue that has been dealt with with great skill and caring, and the curriculum has been challenging and fun. There is no issue in the mornings - my kid loves to go to school! The teachers are great. (resubmitted since I had my email wrong)
--Submitted by a parent

I was very discouraged at the lack of proper curriculum that my child needed. They have many special needs programs available, but nothing for the child who is not challenged enough and may be more advanced class. Everyone is on the same playing field. They don't skip up a grade, it is not allowed. This is ridiculous. Instead of trying to help my bright child, they actually made things even more difficult for us and we ended up pulling our child out and placing our child into Catholic School, 18 miles away. They're great for the special needs kids, because they have a large amount of them. They also are very tight budgeted because the town doesn't many commercial taxes to help ease the burden.
--Submitted by a parent

Everything is good except for bathrooms.
--Submitted by a student

When reading the reviews I am a bit discouraged. I love this town and school. If you walk in the hallway you will always be greeted and smiled at. The education that these children get is remarkable. There are many amazing teachers in this building. I recently moved this to town because of the school. Ashford still has Enrichment classes (you don't see that in many towns anymore). Leadership in the building is not the best but the teachers truly care about the town and students. I also feel that the parent involvement is excellent. No matter where you go there will be people who bash any public school, Ashford stands above the rest. I am always amazed at the sense of community in the town. Budget time is always hard no matter where you live.
--Submitted by a teacher

Leadership and communication between parents and teachers as well as administration is extremely poor. I had to wait over 3 months to get a meeting with one of my childs teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

Mediocre at best, The school and town expect high quality education to come from a very limited budget. The extracurricular activities have been reduced/eliminated due to the towns unwillingness to provide adaquate funding to run the school. It is a very good thing there is only one school in the town. The staff at the school has difficulty handling parental participation. The school provides little opportunities for families to particpate in school activites. On the positve side, the upkeep of the school has been excellent. The school retains cleanliness and qulity after over 50 years of use. The staff truly cares about the well-being of the students. Their saftey is of high concern. One of the biggest problems with this school is the older population in town refuses to provide the necessary funding and more than just verbal support for the educational experience of the youngest generation of the same town.
--Submitted by a parent

ashford has been a disappointment for us. the staff seems demoralized, lethargic and generally unqualified. town funding is abyssmal; superintendent retention (eg, no-one stays in the job) is especially worrisome. ct mastery scores are anomalously *low*, especially when compared to neighboring willington and mansfield, towns of similar demographics.
--Submitted by a parent