Introduction
The Engineering & Science University Magnet School is a 6-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) themed inter-district magnet school. Temporarily located on the outskirts of New Haven, CT, the school is awaiting its permanent home, which is being constructed on the campus of the University of New Haven (UNH). The school is designed to be a feeder school for the UNH Engineering program. ESUMS students have the opportunity to co-enroll in UNH courses as early as the 10th grade dependent on academic performance. Additionally, UNH offers a number of scholarships for ESUMS graduates. ESUMS is considered an urban school drawing 60% of enrollees from New Haven, while the remaining 40% come from the surrounding suburban towns. The ESUMS student body is ethnically diverse: 8% of students identify as Asian, 44% identify as Black or African American, 18% identify as Hispanic, and 31% identify as White. ESUMS is a newer school. 2014-2015 marked the school’s first graduating class of 56 students. Class cohorts are generally small, averaging approximately 80 students per grade.
Although ESUMS is considered a successful school, a significant achievement gap exists within the school itself. While a substantial portion of the inaugural graduating class will be attending competitive schools and universities including Yale University, Wentworth College, UNH, and Howard, another portion is lagging behind. A third of the current 11th grade cohort scored under 400 on the critical reading portion of the SAT placing them into a remedial/transitional English course for the senior year.
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