Middle Schools in McDowell County Schools

The McDowell County Schools district in North Carolina is home to three middle schools: West McDowell Middle School, East McDowell Middle School, and Foothills Community School. While all three schools serve grades 6-8, Foothills Community School stands out as the top-performing middle school in the district, consistently outperforming the other schools and the state averages on standardized tests.

Foothills Community School is ranked 152 out of 793 middle schools in North Carolina, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. This is significantly higher than the other two middle schools in the district, which are ranked 455 and 500 respectively. Foothills also has a lower percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (50.53%) compared to the other two middle schools (66.94% and 78.21%), suggesting a relatively higher socioeconomic status of the student population. Additionally, Foothills Community School spends less per student ($6,490) compared to the district average ($9,132 and $9,697 for the other two schools), indicating it is able to achieve strong academic outcomes with relatively lower funding.

The racial makeup of the schools varies, with Foothills Community School having a higher percentage of white students (84.04%) compared to the other two schools (76.86% and 69.23%). This could be an area for further investigation to understand the factors behind the demographic differences. The high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at East McDowell Middle School (78.21%) and West McDowell Middle School (66.94%) suggests these schools serve a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged students, which may present unique challenges and require additional support.