Our Impact

100% Graduation, Year After Year

Since 2005, every single Carver senior has graduated high school on time. Nearly all continue directly to college, with most being the first in their families to do so. Carver alumni are now returning as mentors, staff, and board members—carrying Carver’s impact into the next generation of community leadership.

College Success and Beyond

Carver students don’t just graduate—they persist. From 2010 to 2020, 85% of Carver college students earned bachelor’s degrees within six years, far exceeding national averages. 88% of Carver scholarship recipients complete degrees or certificates, compared to a national completion rate below 60%. Since 2005, Carver has awarded $1.3 million in scholarships, including $157,000 in June 2025 alone. In 2025, 32 graduating seniors earned admission to selective colleges including Howard, Wellesley, Penn State, UConn, and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Building Strong Foundations

Carver’s impact begins long before high school. Our after-school programs for grades K–8 consistently achieve 85%+ average daily attendance—a clear sign of student and family engagement. One in five Norwalk Public School students is a Carver student, and Carver Grade 5 students represent over half of all Grade 5 students in the district.

Independent district data confirm Carver’s effectiveness:

  • Early Literacy (DIBELS): 73% of Carver Kindergarteners met benchmark in Spring 2024, more than 10 points above state averages. Grades 1–3 show steady multi-year gains, consistently outperforming peers.

  • Reading (NWEA MAP): 68% of Grade 4 students and nearly 60% of Grade 7 students met growth goals, year after year.

  • Math (NWEA MAP): Grade 6 students achieved an extraordinary +15 points growth from Fall to Spring, far exceeding typical state gains. 72% of Grade 4 students met growth goals, also well above state averages.

Broad and Deep Reach

In FY 2024–2025, Carver served 3,364 students across every Norwalk Public School, Side by Side Charter School, Bridgeport, Stamford High School, Naugatuck High School, and the Carver Community Center. Our 65+ programs span academic support, STEAM enrichment, wellness, and college/career readiness.

Certified teachers lead programs using evidence-based curricula aligned to school-day instruction. Students also receive free transportation, healthy meals, SEL and wellness services, and extended-day support—grounded in culturally responsive practices and enriched through close family and community engagement.

Workforce Readiness

Carver is preparing future leaders through its Earn & Learn paid internship program, which has provided $285,000 in wages to 248 high school interns since 2022. In FY 2024–2025, more than 180 interns each worked 180 hours at $17 per hour, gaining mentorship, career exploration, and structured reflection while supporting Carver’s younger students.

Carver’s Future Readiness Coordinators, embedded in both Norwalk high schools, connected hundreds of students to internships, career pathways, and college readiness supports. These positions are among the most effective bridges from high school to higher education or workforce opportunities in our region.

Trusted, Transparent Partnerships

Carver’s strength comes from trusted partnerships. Through collaboration with Norwalk Public Schools, Carver maintains an annual data-sharing agreement and an MOU to align programming and measure student growth. Carver has built the most extensive out-of-school-time system in Norwalk’s history.

Accountability and Recognition

Carver meets all 20 BBB standards, consistently earns top ratings from Charity Navigator and Guidestar, and receives clean financial and single audits. Our $11 million annual operating budget is stewarded with transparency and accountability to ensure the most significant impact for every student and family we serve.

DISTRICTWIDE IMPACT

Carver’s student performance data, surveys, parent meetings, years of after-school and summer programming, and research from multiple fields and sources demonstrate that Carver students and the school district improve with Carver.

The recent release of the Connecticut State Department of Education’s 2025 assessment results and chronic absenteeism data underscores the measurable impact of Carver’s districtwide partnership model. Carver’s summer, before-, and after-school programs—delivered in every Norwalk public school—are an integral factor in the district’s success.

  • Academic Growth: For the first time, Norwalk Public Schools’ growth in English language arts and mathematics exceeded the state among all students. Importantly, Norwalk’s high-needs students—who represent the majority of those served by Carver—have surpassed their statewide peers in growth for three consecutive years.

  • Achievement & Proficiency: Norwalk ranked first among Connecticut’s large cities in the Performance Index for English language arts, math, and science, as well as in proficiency for all three subjects. These outcomes align directly with Carver’s academic enrichment and tutoring initiatives.

  • Attendance: Carver’s consistent engagement with students and families is reflected in Norwalk’s declining chronic absenteeism, now at 17.9% overall and 22.2% for high-needs students—both significant year-over-year improvements.

  • Graduation Success: Carver’s long-term pipeline of support contributes to Norwalk’s 92.6% graduation rate, outpacing the state by nearly 4 points. Multilingual learners—one of Carver’s most heavily served groups—saw graduation rates rise sharply from 70.9% to 79.3% in just one year.

These results are not isolated—they are evidence that when students have access to consistent, high-quality, out-of-school-time learning experiences, they achieve at higher levels, attend school more regularly, and graduate prepared for college and careers.