Growth changing Bethel schools
Enrollment rising as families move to ‘great place to live’
BETHEL — At a picnic for families new to Bethel schools, Superintendent Christine Carver asked parents why they moved to town.
Answers: It’s good schools, vibrant downtown and affordability. “They liked the options in the community and felt that it made it a great place to live,” Carver said.
Unlike most other local school districts, Bethel’s school enrollment is rising, driven in part by a significant increase in the number of Hispanic and Latino students.
Bethel was the fastest-growing town in the area between 2010 and 2016 — a major reversal from 2000 to 2010, when it had the slowest growth in the Danbury area, according to a study from Milone & MacBroom.
Having excellent schools and a beautiful downtown in an affordable community is part of what makes Bethel so attractive, Realtors, planning experts and others said.
Bethel has benefited from being a neighbor
to Danbury, a city growing due in part to immigration.
Diversity
The Hispanic and Latino population in Bethel doubled between 2000 and 2016 to about 1,320 people, according to U.S. Census figures.
This growth is more apparent in the school system, where Hispanic and Latino enrollment rose from 390 students, or 13 percent of the district, in the 2012-13 school year to 536 students, or 17.5 percent, in 2017-18.
Carver said this is a reflection of the country at large. “It’s shifting,” she said. “There is just more diversity in our culture.”
Overall, Bethel school enrollment has trended upward, while in other towns, such as New Fairfield, enrollment is dropping.
Between the 2012-13 and 2017-18 school years, Bethel’s enrollment increased 2.4 percent, from 2,987 students to 3,059 students. Only Danbury saw enrollment increase — by 4.9 percent — during this period. In Danbury schools, nearly 41 percent of students were Hispanic or Latino in 2012-13, compared to 49.4 percent in 2017-18.
Much of Bethel’s growth is evident in its middle school, which has 720 students this year, about 100 students more than average. This is largely due to the unusually big sixth grade class, which has 275 students, compared to the average class size of 220-240 students.
Realtor Mary Guertin said many prospective homeowners looking to settle in Bethel are in their late 20s or early 30s and are planning to have kids or already have young children.
“They’re trying to establish a place for their family,” she said.
Strong schools
Trish Steele and her family moved from Thomaston to Bethel in 2016 largely because of the reputation of the schools. She said she likes that all three of her kids, 11, 9 and 7, go to school on the same campus.
Steele said she has been pleased with the school district.
“They’re very accommodating,” she said. “They’re very understanding. They listen to you. They care about the students. It’s wonderful to be a part of this.”
First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said the credit for Bethel’s good schools should go to its educators and voters who supported improvements for the district.
“The citizens of this town invested very wisely,” he said. “Year by year by year, they made investments that have paid off in high school performance.”
This includes adding Advanced Placement courses and intervention specialists who help struggling students, Knickerbocker said. Teachers and administrators have also focused on better aligning the curriculum, he said.
“That speaks well of our educators and our town’s commitment to having good quality schools,” Knickerbocker said.
The Danbury effect
Data collected by Milone and MacBroom indicates most new Bethel residents arrive from elsewhere in southwest Connecticut.
In a survey of 584 residents, 45 percent said they lived somewhere else in Fairfield County before moving to Bethel. Eighteen percent said they moved from New York, while 11 percent said they moved from another state.
Danbury, in particular, has driven immigrants to Bethel.
Almost 30 percent of the city was Hispanic or Latino in 2016, compared to 23.5 percent in 2010, according to U.S. Census estimates.
“As Danbury becomes more diverse, that also reflects on Bethel,” said Patrick Gallagher, a planner with Milone & MacBroom.
Emanuela Palmares, editor of the Tribuna, an English, Spanish and Portuguese newspaper, and Danbury Board of Education member, said she knows several people from the Hispanic and Latino community who have moved from Danbury to Bethel or New Milford.
She said it is common for immigrants to move to a city like Danbury, where there are more options to rent. But once they have saved enough money, they buy a house in a town like Bethel, Palmares said.
“This whole shift is really Danbury rising up to its righteous spot as urban center,” she said. “We call ourselves a city, but most of the time we don’t act like it. This is pushing Danbury to be the urban center of the region.”
This diversity can be a draw for some prospective residents, Guertin said.
“There’s a lot of cultural diversity in a small town,” she said. “People are really attracted to that.”
Immigrants may head to Bethel because it’s affordable, but it’s not usually where they spend their days, Palmares said.
“They do everything else in Danbury,” she said. “They shop in Danbury. They hang out in Danbury.”
Agrowing downtown
But if Bethel officials have their way, there will soon be more places to live, shop and eat downtown.
Guertin said Bethel’s downtown is one of the reasons families are moving to town.
“It’s cute, it’s quaint, it’s acces- sible,” she said.
Peter DeLeo grew up in Bethel and moved back to town 15 years ago with his wife, Katty, who he met during his time living in Ecuador.
DeLeo, whose sons attend Bethel elementary schools, said having ample open land is one of the things he misses about the Bethel of his childhood. But he said he is glad the town has avoided becoming overrun with big box-stores.
“It still has that small-town feel,” Peter DeLeo said. “It’s not commercialized.”
New zoning regulations went into effect at the start of this year that are intended to make it easier for developers to build housing and commercial property. The regulations also stress ensuring downtown is pedestrian friendly.
Town Planner Beth Cavagna said she is talking to five property owners who are considering developing downtown.
“It’s very exciting,” she said. The downtown already has town hall, the library, two ice cream shops, and several restaurants, pizza places and stores. But officials have said they hope to attract a wider variety of restaurants and more affordable housing.
Guertin said people like Ridgefield’s downtown too, but living there is more expensive.
“Not everyone is as readily able to move to Ridgefield,” she said. “Bethel is of more moderate income.”
Affordability
Knickerbocker said Bethel has the “classic New England feel” residents want in a small town, without the high taxes.
“It’s always been and it remains today, the most affordable small town in Fairfield County,” he said.
The median home in Bethel in 2017 sold for $305,000, compared to $365,000 in Brookfield, $375,000 in Newtown, $490,000 in Redding and $641,500 in Ridgefield, according to Milone & MacBroom.
Taxes are lower than in nearby Westchester County.
This affordability has led developers to want to build in town, Knickerbocker said.
Developments include Bethel Crossing on Maple Avenue Extension, The Summit on Great Hill Drive and The Grand on Grand Street.
Bethel has added 450 housing units since 2010, earning it the sixth-highest housing-growth rate in the state. Its growth rate is double Fairfield County’s and triple the state’s, according to Milone & MacBroom.
The town has invested in a new police station and road projects and is in the midst of a $65.8 million renovation of Rockwell and Johnson elementary schools.
“The town has good services, good schools,” Gallagher said. “From a value standpoint, you do get a good bang for your buck.”