Education in Connecticut

Education in Connecticut covers the public and private schools of all levels from colonial era to the present.

Originally an offshoot of Massachusetts, colonial Connecticut was committed to Puritanism's high regard for education.

[2] Immigration in the 19th century brought a large working class Catholic element that supported vocational training,[3] as well as a distinctive parochial educational system.

[4] The southwestern districts include wealthy suburbs of New York City that use strong public schools to compete for residents.

Jackson Turner Main finds that teaching in colonial days was a poorly paid, part-time, temporary job.

[10] In 1832, Quaker schoolteacher Prudence Crandall created the first integrated schoolhouse in the United States by admitting Sarah Harris, the daughter of a free African-American farmer in the local community, to her Canterbury Female Boarding School in Canterbury.

[14] Connecticut posted a B-plus in the Chance-for-Success category, ranking fourth on factors that contribute to a person's success both within and outside the K–12 education system.

[14] Today, the Connecticut State Board of Education manages the public school system for children in grades K–12.