Half of Connecticut’s students can’t perform at grade level in either language arts or math.

Of course, no single test score can capture the full picture of a child’s potential or a school’s impact. And I take nothing away from the educators across Connecticut working tirelessly every day on behalf of our students. As a former special education paraeducator, I know firsthand that teaching is far harder than most people or policymakers recognize.

But the unacceptable reality that so few students can read remains. It should force us to reckon with how we create real educational opportunities for every kid who calls our state home.

Connecticut’s 2026 Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) results illuminate a path forward. The SBA is given to students in grades 3-8 annually to measure learning in English Language Arts (ELA) and math. This year’s results indicate charter schools are a massive driver of academic improvement across the state, especially in our highest-need areas. Charter schools in Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Manchester, and Waterbury aren’t just outperforming the traditional public school districts they neighbor. They’re posting some of the largest gains in the entire state in ELA and Math.

Critically, charter schools are excelling with the very students traditional public schools struggle to serve well. The results speak for themselves. In reading, 38% of Black charter students are proficient, compared to 32% of Black students statewide. For Latino students, it’s 39% versus 33%. Low-income charter students lead their statewide peers 37% to 33%. And English learners in charter schools reach reading proficiency at double the rate of English learners statewide, 26% versus 13%. Black, Latino, and English learner charter students also outperform their statewide peers in math.

Making these results more notable is that, in Connecticut, charter schools can only be located in what’s called an “Alliance District,” which is any district that receives one of the lowest scores on the state’s school performance framework. So these charters are working in communities that, by definition, otherwise lack high-quality public school options for families. And they’re still beating statewide averages across practically every student subgroup.

Connecticut charter schools serve more than 10,000 students. This year, more than 5,000 others sat on waiting lists. And in 26 of the state’s 36 Alliance Districts, families have no charter school option at all. Demand isn’t the problem. Access is.

Connecticut already knows what works. The question is whether more families will get access to it.

For more than a decade, the answer has been no. No new charter school has opened in Connecticut since 2014. A slow, political approval process kept new schools from getting off the ground, even as waitlists grew. That started to change this year. Lawmakers gave existing charter schools an $8.7 million funding boost. They also paid for early planning at three proposed schools in Waterbury, Stamford, and Ansonia. That’s real progress. But three schools won’t close a waitlist of more than 5,000 students.

Federal dollars can help close that gap. The Mind Trust Connecticut just received nearly $70 million from the U.S. Department of Education to expand strong school options over the next five years. And 90% of that money goes directly to new and growing Connecticut charter schools.

The money will do a few key things. It will help new schools open in communities that want them, and help strong schools grow. It will help existing schools get even better, in the classroom and behind the scenes. It will help the state make better decisions about which schools should open and how to hold them accountable. And it will help families learn what school options they have.

The State Department of Education has also committed to opening a new round of charter school applications later this year. That’s the chance for the next wave of leaders to step forward and start the schools families are asking for. All told, the federal funding could reach nearly 14,000 more students. That would more than double the number of kids charter schools serve today.

Right now, more than 5,000 Connecticut kids are waiting for a seat. In most of the state’s struggling districts, families have no charter option at all. Students deserve better. We know what works. It’s time to give more families the chance to choose schools that produce the best outcomes for students.

Rebecca Greenberg-Ellis is Executive Director of The Mind Trust Connecticut.