Bridgeport superintendent: four schools exit turnaround as district monitors grant support
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Summary
Superintendent Dr. Alexander told the board that four Bridgeport schools exited the state's turnaround list after the latest accountability index, while Edison moved into a more concerning classification.
Superintendent Dr. Alexander reported to the Bridgeport School District board that the state'issued Next Generation accountability index, calculated as a three-year average across 12 indicators, shows Roosevelt, Barnum, Madison and Harding have been released from turnaround status this year, while Edison moved into a focus/turnaround classification.
"I'm very pleased to announce... Roosevelt, Barnum, Madison, and Harding, was released from the turnaround list this year," Dr. Alexander said, noting that the state now uses a three-year weighted average to determine placements. He and executive staff member Marge Hughes described the 12 indicators used in the index: achievement (ELA, math, science), growth, multilingual learner progress (literacy and oral proficiency), chronic absenteeism, dual-credit/AP/CTE participation, on-track-to-graduation measures, 4-year graduation rates, postsecondary entrance, physical fitness and arts access.
Hughes added that Bridgeport started the year with 13 schools in turnaround status statewide and ended with 10, and that 13 of 72 statewide turnaround-status schools exited the designation this cycle; "four were ours," she said. The presentation highlighted incremental gains across the district in ELA, math and science, plus increases in students taking dual-credit, AP and CTE courses and improved graduation-rate performance at BASIC.
Board members probed what exiting turnaround status means for ongoing supports and funding. Dr. Alexander said the state could not yet confirm whether federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) allocations would continue for schools that had exited turnaround, because federal allocations and state decisions still need final confirmation. "Based on my discussions with the state, they were not able to confirm that," the superintendent said, adding that the district will monitor changes closely because loss of SIG-funded services could be "a huge blow" to campuses that had relied on them.
Members also raised equity and funding concerns, noting that nearby districts such as Greenwich and Westport receive substantially higher per-pupil funding. Dr. Alexander and Hughes said Bridgeport lacks instructional coaches used by some comparable districts and emphasized the district's focus on strengthening Tier 1 instruction and targeted supports for high-need subgroups (students eligible for free/reduced-price meals, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners).
The presentation concluded with the administration's commitment to deliver a more detailed breakdown of indicators to the academic and instructional-support committees and to continue monitoring state and federal funding decisions.
What happens next: district staff will provide the academic committees a detailed report on the accountability indicators and continue outreach with the state to confirm SIG and cohort funding for affected schools.
