Middle Schools in St. Cloud Public School District

The St. Cloud Public School District has two middle schools, South Junior High and North Junior High, both of which serve students in grades 6-8. While the schools have some demographic differences, they share a common challenge of consistently underperforming compared to state averages in academic proficiency.

Both South Junior High and North Junior High have high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that poverty is a significant factor impacting the schools' performance. South Junior High has a more diverse student population, with a higher percentage of African American students, while North Junior High has a slightly higher percentage of Hispanic students. However, neither school is considered a standout in the district, as they both rank in the bottom half of Minnesota middle schools according to the SchoolDigger rankings.

Academically, both schools perform significantly below the state averages in Math, Reading, and Science proficiency on the MCA-III assessments. South Junior High has slightly higher proficiency rates than North Junior High across most subject areas and grade levels, but the overall performance of both schools is a concern. Additionally, the higher student-teacher ratio at South Junior High may be contributing to its lower academic performance, suggesting potential staffing challenges that need to be addressed.