About Us

Dunbar Hill School is home to approximately 300 students in Grades K through 6 in Hamden, Connecticut, a town of roughly 50,000 just north of New Haven. We are located on Lane Street in southern Hamden across from Radio Towers Park. A Pre-K program and the High Road program lives in our building as well. Our wonderful staff strives everyday to help our students achieve their potential.

Dunbar Hill School History

The first Dunbar Hill School was a red brick, one-room schoolhouse built in the early 1800s on what is now Cooper Lane and Dunbar Hill Road. The area was named for Giles Dunbar, who served as a town hayward (the official in charge of fences) in the late 1820s. A second Dunbar Hill School was built in 1863, and a third in 1906, also one-room structures. Additions and modifications were made over the years and the school was closed for a short time until in 1950 the community rallied to build a new school on the grounds of the current school, which opened in 1951. It was the first school in Hamden to have both a cafeteria and auditorium.

Beginning in 1992, the building once again underwent a massive renovation, re-opening in 1995. The remodeled building included a media center and computer lab, as well as separate facilities for instrumental and choral music.