Little Raiders University

Little Raiders University is one of the tiny elementary schools in Derby, Connecticut, run under Derby School District, with 63 students on its rolls from grade pre-K. That puts it 83% leaner than the typical public school in Connecticut, which averages around 378 students.

Within Derby School District, which oversees 5 schools and 1,289 students, Little Raiders University is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Little Raiders University logs that the largest single group is Hispanic at 46%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school reports 32% White, 14% Black, 6% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 20% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 4 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.8:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.6:1 average. Roughly 29% of students at Little Raiders University qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is below Naugatuck Valley Planning Region's rate of about 52%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Naugatuck Valley Planning Region indicate median household income runs about $86,191, about 34% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. In all, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region runs 121 public schools (combined enrollment of about 59,861 students), of which Little Raiders University is one.

Derby High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Little Raiders University.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Five-year trend. Little Raiders University's enrollment has rose 54% since 2018, when it stood at 41 (now 63). White enrollment moved from 51% to 32% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 20.5:1 in 2018 to 15.8:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.