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Old Lyme, Connecticut - 5 schools
An equity score of 56/100 ranks Regional School District 18 #63 of 174 districts in Connecticut (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $27,918 per pupil, Regional School District 18 ranks #36 of 191 Connecticut districts by per-pupil spending (Connecticut districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,288
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$27,918
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Regional School District 18 operates 5 public schools serving 1,288 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Connecticut. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $27,918 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 191 Connecticut districts by per-pupil spending. See how Connecticut compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 80.9% local, 14.9% state, and 4.2% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 56/100, ranked #63 of 174 in Connecticut against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (27 AP courses district-wide), a 139.7:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 11.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.5% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lyme-Old Lyme High School, with a diversity index of 32.3/100.
Its largest campus is Lyme-Old Lyme High School, enrolling 367 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Center School, at 80 students, a 5x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Lyme-Old Lyme High School accounts for 28.5% of all Regional School District 18 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Regional School District 18-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Regional School District 18 school enrollment varies 4.6× across entities
Regional School District 18 school enrollment ranges from 80 students (lowest) to 367 students (highest), a spread of 287 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Regional School District 18 student-counselor ratio is 140:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Regional School District 18 chronic absenteeism rate is 11.8% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
How many schools are in Regional School District 18?
Regional School District 18 has 5 schools, including 1 high, 2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 1,288 students.
How much does Regional School District 18 spend per student?
Regional School District 18 spends $27,918 per student. The district has an equity score of 56/100, ranking #63 in Connecticut.
What is the demographic composition of Regional School District 18?
Regional School District 18 students are 86.5% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% Asian, 0.4% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Regional School District 18?
Regional School District 18 has an equity score of 56/100, ranking #63 out of 174 districts in Connecticut.