Connecticut School Exits State Turnaround List After Staff Behavior Change

Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport just hit a big milestone in its long turnaround story. It’s officially off Connecticut’s state turnaround list and has been reclassified as a focus school.

This shift shows real academic and cultural gains, though everyone knows the work isn’t done yet. The story at Harding is about structure, deep support for students’ mental health, and a community effort that’s starting to change expectations for young people across Bridgeport and beyond.

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Harding High Moves Off State Turnaround List

Connecticut’s turnaround list singles out the state’s most persistently struggling schools. For years, Warren Harding High School sat on that list, under the microscope from Hartford and local leaders.

Now, Harding has made enough progress to get off the list and become a focus school—a status that shows clear improvement, but still brings targeted state and district support. In practice, it means the school’s headed in the right direction but needs to keep building on these gains over time.

From Sanctions to Support: What the New Status Means

As a focus school, Harding still gets resources and oversight, but the vibe has shifted from crisis mode to building capacity. Instead of nonstop outside pressure, the focus is now on supporting the systems already working inside the building.

Other urban districts like New Haven, Hartford, and New London have seen similar transitions. Schools moving out of the lowest performance tiers aren’t just expected to improve—they’re expected to stay improved.

A Culture Shift: From Punishment to Understanding

Principal Vernon Thompson sees a big change in how the school responds to student behavior. Staff don’t jump straight to suspensions or removals anymore; they try to understand what’s driving the behavior underneath.

With help from outside mental health providers, the school tackles trauma, anxiety, and instability—stuff many students bring from home and their neighborhoods in Bridgeport, Stratford, and Fairfield.

Addressing the Root Causes of Disruption

Instead of just removing a disruptive student from class, staff ask: What’s going on with this student? That question has led to new systems for counseling, behavior support, and crisis intervention.

On-site mental health providers help students work through stress, grief, and anger.
Restorative conversations often replace suspensions.
Targeted supports reach students with frequent disruptions or chronic absenteeism.

Staff say chronic disruption has dropped a lot. Teachers can now spend more time teaching and developing professionally, instead of constantly managing behavior.

Key Academic Gains: Attendance, Graduation, and Ninth-Grade Success

Clear improvements in core metrics drove the state’s decision to take Harding off the turnaround list. These are the same indicators districts across Connecticut—places like Stamford and Waterbury—watch closely as signs of long-term student success.

At Harding, several measures are moving in the right direction:

Improved Attendance and On-Track Status

Chronic absenteeism is down—more students show up to class regularly.
Ninth-grade on-track status—students passing key courses they need to graduate—has improved. That’s a big early-warning sign researchers use to predict graduation outcomes.
Failure rates have dropped, showing that support systems and academic expectations are lining up better.

Graduation rates are up too, which really matters for families in Bridgeport and nearby places like Trumbull and Milford who want real options for their kids after high school.

District-Wide Progress Across Bridgeport Schools

Harding’s progress isn’t a fluke. Other Bridgeport schools—Barnum, Roosevelt, and Madison—have also moved off underperforming lists. That points to broader district progress, which is impressive for a city often compared to bigger systems in Hartford and New Haven.

District officials and staff point to several district-wide changes that helped:

Stable Leadership and Community Partnerships

Consistent leadership at both the school and district levels has cut down on the churn that usually derails reform.
Community partnerships with nonprofits, mental health agencies, and local groups have brought in extra supports the school budget couldn’t cover alone.
Clearer expectations for staff and students have helped define what success looks like in every classroom.

Teachers say there’s more stability among staff, fewer mid-year departures, and a sharper shared sense of discipline, academic standards, and classroom norms.

How Students Experience the New Harding

Students notice the difference in the halls. Many call the environment stricter and more structured, but also more supportive.

Conflict isn’t the default in classrooms or common areas anymore. There’s a sense that school is for learning, with adults ready to step in if personal issues threaten that focus.

Support Networks and Persistent Challenges

Students talk about stronger support networks—counselors, trusted teachers, and partner clinicians who actually know their names. Still, real-life hurdles remain, especially with transportation to and from school and after-school programs. That’s a long-running issue for families in Bridgeport and other places like Norwich and Danbury.

The school’s leadership team has expanded academic and career programs. Now, students have more reasons to stay engaged and see a future for themselves, whether it’s in the trades, college, or the military.

Looking Ahead: Stability, Trauma Support, and Community Trust

Even with the better numbers, Harding’s staff know many students still deal with a lot of trauma and need steady support outside the school day. Stability—housing, food, safety, transportation—matters a lot for keeping up these gains.

Principal Thompson wants Harding to be a trusted community anchor in Bridgeport—a school where students and staff feel proud, not just of test scores and graduation rates, but of a cultural shift that values dignity, structure, and opportunity.

A Model for Other Connecticut High Schools?

If Harding keeps moving forward, it could show other struggling schools in Connecticut a way out. Inner-city campuses in Hartford or smaller towns like Meriden and West Haven might learn from Harding’s mental health partnerships, steady leadership, and a culture that expects more from everyone.

Harding’s new status as a focus school feels like a real shift. It’s a sign that sticking with it can actually make a difference—though honestly, turning a school around is just as much about building trust and caring as it is about chasing higher test scores.

Here is the source article for this story: CT school gets off state’s turnaround list. Principal says staff changed response to student behavior

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