Middle Schools in North Thurston Public Schools

The North Thurston Public Schools district in Washington is home to 5 diverse middle schools serving grades 6-8, with varying levels of academic performance and student demographics. Aspire Middle School stands out as the top-performing school in the district, significantly outpacing its peers and the state on standardized assessments, while Komachin Middle School also demonstrates strong academic results.

The middle schools in the North Thurston Public Schools district serve student populations that are 40-52% White, with significant percentages of Hispanic, African American, Asian, and multiracial students. Economically disadvantaged students, as measured by free/reduced lunch rates, make up 28.24% of the student body at Aspire Middle School, compared to 50-57% at the other middle schools. This disparity in socioeconomic status appears to be linked to the schools' academic performance, with the higher-poverty schools generally lagging behind in test scores.

Despite the variation in student outcomes, the district maintains relatively consistent spending per student across the middle schools, ranging from $14,118 to $15,607 per pupil. This suggests that factors beyond just funding, such as teaching quality, curriculum, and school culture, may be contributing to the differences in academic achievement observed among the schools. The data highlights opportunities for the higher-performing schools to share their successful strategies with their lower-performing counterparts, in order to raise overall student outcomes within the North Thurston Public Schools district.