Chester Elementary School (CES) and Essex Elementary School (EES) have been recognized by the Connecticut State Department of Education as Schools of Distinction based on high performances on the State’s Accountability Index, which measures academic performance, absenteeism, physical fitness testing and many other factors.

EES had the second highest growth on Smarter Balanced Assessment of all elementary schools in the State of Connecticut and is receiving this distinction for the first time this year.

“This is really quite amazing considering the number of public schools in our state,” said EES principal Jenn Tousignant. “I am so very proud of everyone within our EES community, especially our students and dedicated staff. It is wonderful to work in a place where the entire community gets behind the school and understands the importance of education.”

This is the second time that CES has been highlighted as a School of Distinction and Principal Tyson Stoddard is proud of all the work his staff and students have put into the school.

“This is very exciting, and speaks to our goal here at CES of creating a healthy learning environment,” said Stoddard. “This is evidence that every student’s growth matters and this is another positive accolade that our school is proud of.”

In November 2019, CES found out it had been ranked first out of the 21 public elementary schools in Middlesex County, according to the website niche.com.

This merit of excellence was based on an analysis of test scores, student-teacher ratio, student diversity, teacher quality, grade school ratings, and student and parent reviews. Niche.com is a Pennsylvania-based company formerly known as College Prowler. It runs a ranking and review site for K-12 schools, colleges, and neighborhoods.

“Our entire staff continues to work hard on behalf of all our students and we very proud to be recognized once again for our dedication to excellence,” said Stoddard.

At press time, the full list of all the schools in the state that have been identified as schools of distinction by the Connecticut State Department of Education was not available.