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What clubs or activities at Wendell L. Cross School are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
606
Elementary
DISTRICT 423 · STATE 378
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 090483000990
Wendell L. Cross School
1255 Hamilton Ave., Waterbury, CT 06706 · (203) 574-8171 · Naugatuck Valley Planning Region
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL606 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of Connecticut public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Connecticut public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 12.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
435 students
DISTRICT 80% · STATE 44%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 42 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 60 | 10% |
| Grade 1 | 66 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 57 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 73 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 62 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 60 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 61 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 80 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 45 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (60) is 33% larger than its 8th grade class (45).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 67% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CT Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
28.9%
CT avg 50.5%
Math
16.6%
CT avg 45.9%
What this means: On the CT Smarter Balanced, Connecticut's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 17 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Connecticut schools, those numbers are about 51 and 46.
Source: CT Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Schools most like Wendell L. Cross School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell L. Cross School this school | 606 | 71.8% | N/A |
| Mead School Ansonia | 578 | 66.6% | N/A |
| B. W. Tinker School Waterbury | 578 | 74.7% | N/A |
| Carrington School Waterbury | 455 | 70.3% | N/A |
| Prendergast School Ansonia | 588 | 64.6% | N/A |
| H. S. Chase School Waterbury | 543 | 76.4% | N/A |
Matched among Connecticut elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Wendell L. Cross School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Connecticut | In Naugatuck Valley Planning Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.6% | #460 of 522 | #55 of 62 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.9% | #402 of 519 | #48 of 62 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 606 | #40 of 613 | #6 of 71 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #408 of 558 | #41 of 69 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.7% | #143 of 560 | #18 of 69 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.8% | #122 of 594 | #19 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +74.6% | #6 of 176 | #1 of 22 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
606
+285 (+89%) vs 2020
+169% since 1990-91, when it was 225
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 15.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 606 | 44.3 | 13.7:1 | 72% (435) |
| 2023-24 | 612 | 39.9 | 15.3:1 | 74% (450) |
| 2022-23 | 551 | 37.8 | 14.6:1 | 66% (365) |
| 2020-21 | 321 | 21 | 15.3:1 | 65% (209) |
| 2017-18 | 347 | 23.4 | 14.8:1 | 63% (219) |
| 2015-16 | 324 | 20 | 16.2:1 | 70% (227) |
| 2010-11 | 374 | 24 | 15.6:1 | 76% (285) |
| 2000-01 | 286 | 20 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 225 | 14 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wendell L. Cross School.
Since 2017-18: students up 75% (347 to 606); teachers up 89% (23.4 to 44.3).
About Wendell L. Cross School
Wendell L. Cross School is one of the public schools in Waterbury, Connecticut. It is a high-enrollment elementary school. The school enrolls 606 students, from pre-K through 8. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Connecticut) has about 378 students.
Wendell L. Cross School is among 29 schools run by Waterbury School District, which serves 17,123 students.
At 53%, Hispanic students outnumber all other groups at Wendell L. Cross School combined. The school is also 23% Black, 15% White, and 7% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 20%. The chance that two students picked at random at Wendell L. Cross School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 64%.
Its 44.3 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 13.7:1. That ratio is over the 12.6:1 average for elementary schools in Connecticut. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 72%. Public schools in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region average 52%.
Wendell L. Cross School is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 16% of Connecticut public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Within Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, median household income is about $86,191, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 34% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 9%. Federal data list 121 public schools in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, with a combined enrollment of about 59,861.
Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School is the closest public school, about 1.0 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Mid-size: inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Wendell L. Cross School reported 321 students in 2020-21 and 606 in 2024-25. Changes that large sometimes follow a school adding or dropping grades, so the two figures may not cover the same grades. The school's ratio fell from 15.3:1 to 13.7:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Naugatuck Valley Planning Region at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
454,969
Census ACS
Median income
$86,191
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
121
59,861 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waterbury School District
- Crosby High SchoolHigh · 1,453 students
- John F. Kennedy High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Wilby High SchoolHigh · 1,196 students
- Michael F. Wallace Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,059 students
- West Side Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Waterbury Arts Magnet SchoolHigh · 820 students
Other schools in Waterbury
- Crosby High SchoolHigh · 1,453 students
- John F. Kennedy High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Wilby High SchoolHigh · 1,196 students
- Michael F. Wallace Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,059 students
- West Side Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- W. F. Kaynor Technical High SchoolHigh · 831 students
Nearby schools
- Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School1.0 mi · 275
- Gilmartin School1.1 mi · 462
- Hopeville School1.1 mi · 291
- Washington School1.3 mi · 284
- H. S. Chase School1.4 mi · 543
- Woodrow Wilson School1.6 mi · 415
Frequently asked questions
About Wendell L. Cross SchoolHow many students attend Wendell L. Cross School?
Wendell L. Cross School enrolls approximately 606 students in grades PK-08.
What grades does Wendell L. Cross School serve?
Wendell L. Cross School serves grades PK-08.
How many students per teacher at Wendell L. Cross School?
Approximately 13.7:1 students per teacher at Wendell L. Cross School.
What is the student diversity at Wendell L. Cross School?
Student demographics at Wendell L. Cross School are roughly 15% White, 53% Hispanic, 23% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Wendell L. Cross School public or private?
Wendell L. Cross School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Waterbury School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.