Norwalk Public Schools is the school district serving Norwalk, Connecticut. History Norwalk was granted a town charter by the Connecticut General Court in 1651. On May 29, 1678, town records mention the establishment of community-supported teaching activities with a passage that reads: "At a town meeting... voted and agreed to hier a scole master to teach all the children in ye town to lerne to Rede and write; and that Mr. Cornish shall be hierd for that service and the townsmen are to hier him upon as reasonable terms as they can." The school that was established in the 1670s was located near the Ludlow Square area of East Norwalk (near the former Roger Ludlow Junior High School). In the 2005-06 fiscal year, the school system spent $26.7 million on special education services, nearly 20 percent of the total school budget. The State Education Department announced on January 28, 2008 that Norwalk was one of twelve districts in the state that it would help to close student achievement gaps. High schools There are four high schools in the Norwalk public school district, for grades 9-12: Norwalk High School is the home of the Norwalk Bears. The school was founded in 1902. Brien McMahon High School, named for Senator Brien McMahon, first chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, was founded in 1960. Brien McMahon High School is also home to the Center for Global Studies. P-TECH Norwalk Briggs High School is an alternative school. In 2006 the state of Connecticut reported that Norwalk's 653 graduates represented a 95.7% graduation rate. Middle schools There are four middle schools in the Norwalk public school district, for grades 6-8: Nathan Hale Middle School Ponus Ridge Middle School Roton Middle School West Rocks Middle School Ponus Ridge Middle School In the 2005-06 school year 42.3 percent of the school's 640 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. A total of 40.3 percent of students come from homes where the primary language is not English. The primary language for many students is Spanish, but students also come from homes where Chinese or Haitian Creole are spoken. The school building was constructed in the late 1950s. On May 14, 2007, several state legislators toured the school in an attempt by Fairfield County lawmakers to educate them about the need for more state education funding in the richest county in the state. Roton Middle School In