Ansonia, Connecticut.-The Ansonia Public School District faces a reality that reflects some of the greatest challenges of public education in Connecticut. It serves a population with high levels of economic and educational need, has fewer resources per student than the state average, and continues to record significant academic lags.
At the same time, official documents show progress, investments in specialized programs, and signs of recovery that offer a more complex picture of the system.
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According to the 2024-2025 profile published by EdSight, the Connecticut Department of Education’s information platform, Ansonia recorded 2,404 students as of October 1, 2024. Of those, 49.3% were Hispanic, 21.7% African American, and 22.2% white. A state report on the Alliance Districts further establishes that 1,708 students, equivalent to 71%, were classified as high needs. Students with disabilities accounted for 18% of enrollment.
The district is led by Superintendent Joseph DiBacco, accompanied by Stephen Bergin as assistant superintendent. Nicole Fenech heads Special Services, and the Board of Education is chaired by Chris Phipps.
The main schools are Mead Elementary, led by Amy Cosciello; Prendergast Elementary, under Elizabeth Nimons; Ansonia High School, headed by Paul Giansanti; and Ansonia Middle School, led by Robert Durand.
Official data from the Department of Education show that the main challenge continues to be academic.
During 2024-2025, Ansonia recorded a performance index of 52.6 in English Language Arts, compared with 64.7 for Connecticut. In mathematics, it obtained 48.3 compared with 61.1 statewide, and in science, 48.3 compared with 62.6.
Among students with disabilities, the indexes were considerably lower: 33.2 in reading and writing, 28.1 in mathematics, and 33.7 in science.
However, the historical evolution presented by the Department of Education shows a gradual recovery. The district’s Accountability Index, which stood at 66.8 during 2018-2019, fell to 61.4 in 2021-2022 and reached 65.2 in 2024-2025. Ansonia has not yet fully recovered its pre-pandemic level, but it has regained some of the lost ground.
One of the positive results appears among students who are learning English. According to EdSight, Ansonia recorded 61.6% in the indicator of progress toward written language proficiency, compared with 58.7% statewide, and 58.5% in oral progress, compared with 55.7% for Connecticut.
Access to college and career preparation programs also stands out. The state indicator for participation in College and Career Readiness courses reached 95.7%, compared with 92.4% statewide.
But the same records show a difference between participation and results. Only 36.4% of students in grades 11 and 12 demonstrated postsecondary readiness through the indicators established by the State, compared with 47.2% for Connecticut.
Graduation, college, and attendance
The state profile places Ansonia’s four-year graduation rate at 85.7%, compared with 88.9% for Connecticut.
The differences among groups are significant. Graduation reached 94.9% among white students, 84.8% among Hispanic students, and 77.8% among African American students.
The transition to higher education presents another challenge. According to EdSight, 53.4% of graduates from the class of 2024 entered an institution of higher education during the following year, compared with 67% statewide. Among Ansonia’s Hispanic students, the proportion was 36.1%.
Absenteeism possibly constitutes one of the greatest barriers to improving those results.
The Department of Education reported that 23.1% of students were considered chronically absent during 2024-2025, compared with 17.2% statewide. Among students with disabilities, the proportion reached 34.8%, and among Hispanic students, 26.8%.
The state report on the Alliance Districts shows, however, an improvement compared with 2021-2022, when chronic absenteeism in Ansonia reached 25.1%.
The weight of special education
Special education constitutes one of the district’s greatest academic and financial responsibilities.
According to EdSight, Ansonia allocated $14.6 million to special education during 2023-2024, equivalent to 28.7% of its educational expenditures, compared with 25.7% statewide.
Of that amount, $5.56 million corresponded to special education tuition expenses, equivalent to 38% of spending in this area, compared with 22.8% statewide. Specialized transportation accounted for another $2.02 million.
State records further indicate that 49 students with disabilities under Ansonia’s financial responsibility were placed in public schools in other districts, and another 16 in private schools or other educational settings.
Another indicator deserves attention. Only 47.2% of students with disabilities between the ages of 6 and 21 remained at least 80% of their school day with students without disabilities, compared with 68% statewide.
These figures do not mean that the placements are inappropriate. Some students require highly specialized services that a small district may not be in a position to provide. However, the data raise a question about the possibility of developing more specialized capabilities within the district itself.
Prendergast under transformation
Prendergast Elementary School represents one of the greatest transformation efforts currently underway.
Minutes and documents from the Connecticut State Board of Education confirm that the body formally approved Prendergast’s Commissioner’s Network Turnaround Plan in June 2025.
The plan includes evidence-based best teaching practices, professional development, use of data, strengthening teacher leadership, and interventions aimed at high-need students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.
Principal Elizabeth Nimons and Superintendent DiBacco appeared before state education authorities during the plan’s evaluation process.
Prendergast’s future results will make it possible to measure whether that intervention succeeds in transforming new strategies and resources into sustainable academic improvements.
The reality of funding
Money constitutes another fundamental component in understanding Ansonia’s schools. According to EdSight, the district spent $19,869 per student during 2023-2024, compared with $22,054 statewide, a difference of $2,185 per student.
However, the same records show an important particularity: Ansonia allocated $13,983 per student directly to instruction, slightly above the state average of $13,471.
This means that the financial situation cannot be explained simply by stating that Ansonia invests little in classrooms. The district concentrates a considerable proportion of its resources on instruction and special education while having less total money per student.
Dependence on external funds is also significant. State records show that 41% of educational resources came from local sources, 46.5% from the State, 12% from the federal government, and 0.6% from tuition and other sources.
Auditors detected administrative problems
Finances have also generated warnings.
The audit corresponding to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, identified problems related to the Board of Education’s financial procedures as a significant deficiency.
The auditors determined that there were insufficient regular operating procedures to produce complete and accurate financial information, that the school operating fund was not being reconciled monthly with the city, and that several funds required corrections. The report also indicated that this was a repeated finding from the previous year.
The administration presented a corrective action plan that includes training, financial procedures, better use of available systems, and coordination between municipal and school financial staff.
Precision is also important on this point: the auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements, did not identify material weaknesses, and did not report questioned costs in the main federal or state programs examined.
A teaching staff very different from its students
State data reveal another challenge.
While 49.3% of Ansonia’s students were Hispanic and 21.7% African American, the records corresponding to certified staff showed a considerably different composition.
Of the 227 certified educators reported, 216 were white, equivalent to 95.2%. Three were Hispanic, four African American, three Asian, and one belonged to two or more racial groups.
The difference raises a legitimate question about the district’s future recruitment and diversity strategies, particularly in a system whose student population is predominantly from minority communities.
Two realities within the same district
The official documents ultimately present two realities that exist simultaneously.
Ansonia remains below the state average in fundamental academic areas and faces significant challenges in attendance, postsecondary readiness, special education, and financial administration.
But the same documents show a district that serves a population with high levels of need, has $2,185 less per student than the state average, has regained some of the ground lost after the pandemic, surpasses Connecticut in certain progress indicators for students who are learning English, and is developing transformation strategies in some of its schools.
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