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Hartford Background Information Hartford is the capital of Connecticut, located on the Connecticut River, near the center of the state. The city's population is approximately 121,500. It is the second largest city in the state, after Bridgeport. During the early 1800s, the Hartford area was a center of abolitionist activity. The most famous abolitionist family was the Beechers. The Reverend Lyman Beecher was an important Congregational minister known for his anti-slavery sermons. His daughter, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote the famous Uncle Tom's Cabin, while her brother, the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, was a noted clergyman who vehemently opposed slavery and supported the temperance movement and women's suffrage. Beecher Stowe's sister, Isabella Beecher Hooker, was a leading member of the women's rights movement. Mark Twain lived in Hartford for about 20 years and wrote most of his classics here, including Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. In 1860, Hartford was the site of the first "Wide Awakes," abolitionist supporters of Abraham Lincoln. These supporters organized torch-light parades that were both political and social events, often including fireworks and music, in celebration of Lincoln's visit to the city. After World War II, many residents of Puerto Rico moved to Hartford and even today Puerto Rican flags can be found on cars and buildings all over the city. Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Hartford in 1969, when he was 12 years old.. Hartford experienced problems as the population shrank 11 percent during the 1990s. However, the population has increased since the 2000 Census. Hartford is the second poorest city of its size in the nation. The average per capita income is $13,428. Connecticut’s median household income is $53,935: Hartford’s is $24,820. Forty per cent of residents over 25 did not complete high school (U.S. Census, 2000). According to the University of Connecticut Center for Population Research, Hartford has the state’s lowest adult educational index value. Seventy-three per cent of residents over 16 function within the lowest two literacy levels. “Individuals at [these] levels…would not be able to…read an ATM screen, decipher a bus schedule, read a newspaper, read the dosage on a medicine bottle, or fill out a job application” (Capital Workforce Partners: City of Hartford Workforce Profile, [2003]). The 24,000 students residing in the Hartford school district are incredibly poor, and segregated by language and race. Forty-one percent of children live below the poverty level. During the 2001-2002 school year, enrollment at Hartford public schools was 41 per cent black and 53 per cent Hispanic. In the state as a whole, ten per cent of children live below the poverty level, and black and Hispanic residents make up 18 per cent of the population. The academic performance of Hartford’s 10,341 teens ages 15 to 19 reflects the pressures of poverty and isolation. The Connecticut Academic Performance Test, an approved measure under the No Child Left Behind Act, is given to all 10th grade students. During the school year 2001-2002 fewer than two percent of Hartford students met state goals in the test’s four subject areas. The cumulative dropout rate for Hartford’s class of 2002 was 30 percent (Hartford Courant, December 5, 2003), compared with a statewide average of 11 per cent in 2001 (National Center for Educational Statistics: Dropout Rates in the United States, 2001, 2004). The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education reviewed National Student Clearinghouse data, and found that 21 per cent of high school graduates were attending four-year institutions of higher education (Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education: Report to the Mayor of Hartford, Eddie A. Perez, June 25, 2004). Statewide, 39,950 high school seniors graduated in school year 2002-2003, and 21,087, or 53 per cent, were enrolled in four year institutions in the Fall of 2003 (The College Board/U.S. Department of Education: 2003 High School Seniors: Graduation and Four-Year College Enrollment by State). In the last few years, Hartford has begun to generate renewed interest as many redevelopment projects have been completed, are currently in progress or planned across the city. These initiatives include both commercial and residential projects such as Adriaen's Landing, the Connecticut Science Center, designed by world reknowned architect Cesar Pelli, an extensive system of riverfront trails and parks, Park Street and Parkville neighborhood improvements and significant downtown development. The historic Colt building and complex is also being renovated to National Park standards. Hartford is the home of such internationally known treasures as the Wadsworth Atheneum (the nation’s first public art museum), as well as attractions like the Mark Twain House, the Hartford Stage Co., the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, and the Artists Collective. But ever since traders used the Connecticut River to conduct business, Hartford has been abuzz with insurance and financial transactions. Companies such as Aetna, The Hartford Insurance Group, Phoenix, and St. Paul-Travelers have their roots here--- as do industrial giants like United Technologies.
About Hartford | About Hartford Public Schools | Applications |
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