Jennings School vs Burr Elementary School

Jennings School and Burr Elementary School sit 2.2 miles apart in Fairfield, Connecticut and serve the same KG–05 grade range, yet their state rankings tell a meaningful story: Jennings School ranks #6 of 990 schools in Connecticut while Burr Elementary School ranks #33 of 990. That 27-position gap corresponds to a 0.4-point overall rating difference — Jennings School at 9.4/10 versus Burr Elementary School at 9.0/10 — both elite results in a competitive state, but Jennings holds a clear edge at the very top of Connecticut's elementary tier.

Academically, the two schools are nearly identical on paper: Jennings School scores 9.6/10 and Burr Elementary School scores 9.5/10, a one-tenth difference that will not drive any parent's decision. The more substantive gap lives in growth scores. Jennings School earns a 9.7/10 growth score versus Burr Elementary School's 8.9/10 — an 0.8-point delta that reflects how much academic progress students make year over year, independent of where they start. For families who prioritize whether the school accelerates learning rather than just attracting already high-performing students, Jennings School's growth advantage is the most concrete differentiator between these two.

Burr Elementary School enrolls 357 students compared to Jennings School's 280, making it roughly 27% larger. Student-teacher ratios are close — 11.2:1 at Jennings School versus 11.9:1 at Burr Elementary School — so the size difference does not translate into dramatically larger classes. Free and reduced lunch eligibility runs 16% at Jennings School and 12% at Burr Elementary School, a modest four-point gap indicating both schools serve predominantly low-poverty populations, with Jennings School drawing slightly more economic diversity.

Both schools cover kindergarten through fifth grade with no structural difference in the grades offered. The separation between them comes down to Jennings School's stronger growth score and its Connecticut rank of #6 — placing it among a handful of elementary schools in the entire state — compared to Burr Elementary School's still-strong #33 position. Parents choosing between them are not choosing between a good school and a great one; they are choosing between two high performers where the margin belongs to Jennings School.