Middletown+HS

Middletown High School Middletown, Rhode Island

= __Introduction:__ =

Middletown High School, home of the Islanders, is the only high school in the Middletown district. It is a school for grades 9-12. This report allows people to see useful information regarding the school. Facts like the geographical location/demographics, student achievement, teacher evaluations, family, community, home life, funding/resources, and safety/support of the school are included. This school is unique and families and parents will be able to decide if Middletown High School is a good place for their children to learn. Most parents want what's best for their kids and this report is able to answer any questions they may have.

= __Geographical Location and Demographics:__ =

Middletown High School, located in Rhode Island on Valley Road, is not considered a very diverse school when compared to most. There are 688 students and 69 teachers. The majority of those students are white (about 78%), which is similar to the states percentage at about 66%. The chance of being Hispanic/Latino in MHS is 10.5%, which is less than the states percentage. However, the percentage of male and female students in Middletown were practically identical to the states percentages. (Rhode Island School of Education, 2009)[1]

= = = = = = = = = = = __Student Achievement:__ =

Middletown High School's achievement is above average in comparison to all of Rhode Island's schools. This school is classified as met adequate yearly process (AYP) and does not need improvement in any area. (Rhode Island Department of Education, 2011) [2] The NECAP scores as well as the SAT scores reflect this. In all the areas the eleventh grade students were tested on for the NECAP's, the students were above the states proficiency percentage. For example, Middletown High School students had 57% proficiency in math, whereas the state only received 33% proficiency. The SAT scores were also above the states proficiency with an average cumulative score of 1,518. The states cumulative score was only 1,438. (Rhode Island School of Education, 2010)[3] Most students in MHS plan on going to a four year college (76%). Similarly, the majority of the state is planning on attending a four year institution as well (73%). (RIDE, 2009)

= __Teaching:__ =

Teachers in Middletown are qualified to teach and there are surveys that reflect this. There is always room for improvement in teaching, but Middletown seems to be consistent with that of other Rhode Island schools. While there are no teachers with emergency certification, there are also no teachers that are not highly qualified. Rhode Islands percentage of teachers with emergency certification is only 1%, and the percentage of teachers not highly qualified is 3%. The teacher student ratio for Middletown is 1 teacher per every 10 students, which is slightly better than the states ratio (1:11). (RIDE, 2010)

= __Family, Community, and Home Life:__ =

From the data, it is evident that most of the students attending Middletown High School are more fortunate than most. The student eligibility for subsidized lunch was only 19%, whereas the state was 43%. In addition to that, the percentage of students receiving bilingual education services was 3%, which was less than the statewide average of 5%. This indicates that there are not many people from other countries who speak different languages attending MHS. It is also apparent that there are more students in need of special education services in Middletown than in other Rhode Island schools. This school has 19% of their students receiving this service, compared to that of the statewide average of 16%. (RIDE, 2010) According to the Survey Works, children seem to be well take care of and their parents or guardians play an active role in their upbringing. There are many students in Middletown who participate in a variety of outside school activities, which in most cases is higher in certain categories than the state's percentages. About 73% of the students in attendance play sports, and about 51% work. This shows that not only do they have the motivation to try in school, but they also have the desire to participate in other things outside school; most students are active members of their community. The majority of students in Middletown are either driven (62%) to school or take the bus (57%), this shows that children have access to transportation to and from school. When asked if their parents of guardians care about their grades, 64% strongly agreed. (RIDE, 2009)

= __Safe and Supported Schools:__ =

Middletown's attendance rate is rather high at 94%, and is still higher than the state's average of 91%. There was also only 11% of people who were chronically absent. (RIDE, 2010) According to the students, about 30% of them admitted to skipping class, which is considerably lower than the states average (about 40%). Of those who skipped, roughly 78% of them missed class because it was boring and the majority of students who do so, only do it once or twice a year. (RIDE, 2009) There were hardly any students who missed class everyday; the percentage was a mere 6.5%, which was a great deal less than the states average in both years. The percentage of students who graduated in 2010 was 82.7%, which had increased 1.2% from the year before and was still higher than Rhode Island's average graduation rate of 75.8%. Middletown High School is a very stable school as claimed by the stability index, which was at 90%. The mobility index indicates that only 11% of the students moved into or out of the school during the year. The number of suspensions in MHS was extremely high at 565 incidents, which leads us to believe the school has disciplinary issues. (RIDE, 2010) Although the number of suspensions in MHS is considerably lower when compared to the statewide average of 24491 incidents, when compared to other high schools in Rhode Island that are known for their disciplinary issues it is almost as high. For example, Central Falls High School, a school considered to be one of Rhode Island's worst, had 783 incidents, which is only a difference of 218 from MHS. As stated by the survey, about 37% of the students strongly disagree that discipline at their school is fair and most agree that they are not punished equally. Also, approximately 62.3% say that some of their teachers let things get out of control in class, but more than half of the students understand the consequences of breaking the rules. (RIDE, 2009) However, the teachers and students seem to have a relatively good amount of respect for each other.

= __Funding and Resources:__ =

According to the data, Middletown is a fairly wealthy community. The district is able to expend more than $14,000 dollars per student and the median family income is over $57,000 dollars, which is a lot compared to neighboring schools. (RIDE, 2010) Since the district is able to provide funding for their public schools, the students education is better than most. The majority of the students do not come from underprivileged families and are able to acquire the essential tools needed for their education without too much difficulty. During the survey, when the students were asked if they had to share books in any of their classes around 41% of them disagreed. When they were asked if their textbooks were more than 10 years old, about 46% of them agreed. The gym, according to most of the students, had enough equipment for everyone. This supports the idea that Middletown is a well-off district and that the high school is one of the more fortunate schools. (RIDE, 2009)

= __Conclusion:__ = Middletown High School is a safe, caring environment that supports learning and is perceived as an above-average school. There are many good things about this school and it is clearly evident. The school definitely prepares students for any future education aspirations and students are expected to achieve high standards. The teachers are qualified to teach and their methods seem to be working. Middletown's achievement is well above average and is classified as met AYP. The majority of students attend school; very few people are chronically absent. The majority of students perform proficiently on all standardized tests and almost everyone graduates. This school does not really have any educational issues and students and teachers have mutual respect for one another, even though the suspension rate is rather high. Although Middletown is not a very diverse community, the school offers services for special needs and bilingual students. The school also provides subsidized lunches for less fortunate students, but the percentage for eligibility is rather low because Middletown is such a wealthy community. This report will help parents decide if Middletown High School is the right school for their children.


 * 1) ^ Rhode Island Department of Education. (2009). InfoWorks LIVE! Survey Works. //Middletown High School Survey Works//. Retrieved October 31, 2011, from []
 * 2) ^ Rhode Island Department of Education. (2011). 2011 School Report Card. //School Report Card//. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from []
 * 3) ^ Rhode Island Department of Education. (2010). Middletown High School. //InfoWorks Live//. Retrieved October 31, 2011, from []