John Barry Elementary School - Meriden, CT

John Barry Elementary School, located in Meriden, Connecticut, supports a diverse population of 525 students in a judgment-free environment where all students are challenged, valued, and encouraged to succeed. By providing students and families with differentiated support systems, we ensure that our students are successful at John Barry and throughout their careers in the Meriden Public Schools.

As an Expanded Learning Time school, John Barry provides all students with an extra ninety minutes a day for engaging activities which include coding, STEM, art, music, swimming, CrossFit, gymnastics, and yoga. This extended time is equivalent to an additional forty school days per year.

John Barry staff uses data to determine academic and behavioral areas of improvement for each student. As a nationally recognized model school, we utilized blended learning practices in our 1:1 environment to support the needs of all learners. Daily lessons are student-centered, rigorous, and driven by high expectations by our staff. Administrators and teachers work collaboratively through shared leadership structures to ensure instruction is purposeful, data-driven, and next steps are actionable. This has led to significant reductions in chronic absenteeism and out of school suspensions. These initiatives have led to John Barry exceeding state milestones for both ELA and Math over the previous three years.

John Barry has established trust throughout the community by demonstrating our commitment to actively involve families and stakeholders. We are proud of our progress, commitment, and motivation to provide all students with the skills needed to be lifelong learners.