The Hartford Public School District is the second largest district in New England behind Boston, and the largest in Connecticut. A recent partnership of local business, the community, and the schools has brought about curriculum changes that include the addition of apprenticeship programs, a magnet school, advanced courses in science and math technology and a strong emphasis on creative problem solving to encourage career readiness. Hartford's expenditures on its schools have increased exponentially in recent years, and local government seems dedicated to continuing the upward trend. Still, test scores lag below state and national averages, although some improvement has been demonstrated.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Hartford Public Schools District as of the 2002–2003 school year.
Total enrollment: 22,734
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 29
junior high/middle schools: 4
senior high schools: 4
other: 1
Student/teacher ratio: 12.4:1
Teacher salaries
median: $49,968
Funding per pupil: $15,635
The array of private and parochial schools in the region includes Miss Porter's School in Farmington (where actor Katharine Hepburn matriculated), the Watkinson School and Kingswood-Oxford in West Hartford, and the American School for the Deaf, also in West Hartford.
Public Schools Information: Superintendent, Hartford Public Schools, 8th Floor, 153 Market St., Hartford, CT 06103; telephone (860)527-0742
Greater Hartford is home to a number of liberal arts and technical two- and four-year schools, including the University of Hartford, offering 86 undergraduate majors and 32 graduate programs in seven schools; Trinity College, founded in 1823, the second-oldest college in the state after Yale; Capital Community-Technical College; the six-unit complex of St. Joseph College, which includes the state's only four-year women's college; Tunxis Community College; Rensselaer at Hartford, a graduate study institute offering Master's degrees and graduate certificates; Hartford Seminary (interdenominational); and The University of Connecticut's schools of law, social work, medicine, and dentistry are also located there. The university's main branch in Storrs is 35 miles east of Hartford.
The Hartford Public Library, founded in 1774, contains 573,000 volumes; its main library building straddles a below-ground-level expressway. This facility houses the Hartford Collection, consisting of works published in Hartford, by Hartford authors, or about the city. The Caroline M. Hewins Early Children's Book Collection is also found at the main library. The library system consists of the main library, nine branch libraries, and one bookmobile. A major renovation and expansion project was recently completed at the Central Library, adding 44,000 square feet of new space, a glass bridge on the pre-existing ground floor spanning the highway, and an entirely new wing.
The Connecticut State Library, housed with the State Supreme Court near the Capitol, provides extensive local historical and genealogical information. Among other artifacts, the 1662 Charter of the Colony of Connecticut is displayed at the State Library. Noted for its collection of 170,000 books and nearly 3 million manuscripts on Connecticut history and genealogy is the Connecticut Historical Society Library, which also features collections of prints and photographs, furniture, costumes and textiles, toys, and tools. Trinity College Library is known for its collection of classics and scholarly journals. The Historical Museum of Medicine and Dentistry maintains a library as well as manuscripts pertaining to the history of anesthesia.
Other Hartford research centers are the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian/Muslim Relations at the Hartford Seminary, which is engaged in collecting data about mosques in the United States and Christian centers in developing Muslim nations, and the Hartford Center for Social and Religious Research. Research at the University of Connecticut in Storrs covers such topics as the environment, materials science, and computer applications.
Public Library Information: Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103; telephone (860)695-6300; fax (860)722-6900; email webmaster@hartfordpl.lib.ct.us