Middle Schools in Christina School District

The Christina School District in Delaware is home to three middle schools: Shue-Medill Middle School, Gauger-Cobbs Middle School, and Kirk (George V.) Middle School. While these schools share a district, they exhibit notable differences in their chronic absenteeism rates, academic performance, and student demographics.

Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern, with Shue-Medill Middle School and Gauger-Cobbs Middle School reporting rates as high as 27.0% and 29.1%, respectively. In contrast, Kirk (George V.) Middle School has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate of 11.8%. Academically, all three schools perform below the state average on standardized tests, but Kirk (George V.) Middle School stands out with the strongest performance among the three. The schools also vary in their student demographics, with Shue-Medill Middle School having the highest percentage of White students and Gauger-Cobbs Middle School having the highest percentage of African American students.

While the middle schools in the Christina School District face challenges, there are also opportunities for improvement. The higher spending per student and lower student-teacher ratio at Kirk (George V.) Middle School may contribute to its relatively stronger academic performance, suggesting that targeted investments and strategies could benefit the other schools. Additionally, addressing the high chronic absenteeism rates at Shue-Medill and Gauger-Cobbs Middle Schools could be a crucial step in improving overall student outcomes across the district.