Summary:
Zip code 80918 in Colorado Springs is home to just one middle school, Russell Middle School, part of Colorado Springs School District No. 11, serving grades 6 through 8 with 520 students. The school has a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.6, and 64.42% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a predominantly low-income community.
Academically, Russell Middle School trails both the district and state in nearly every subject. Proficiency rates for the 2025-2026 school year are 31.2% in English Language Arts, 25.3% in math, and 21.7% in 8th-grade science, leaving the school roughly 12 to 14 percentage points behind Colorado averages. The 6th-grade cohort struggles the most, with just 20.4% of students proficient in both ELA and math. However, 7th grade stands as a bright spot: 7th-grade ELA proficiency of 40.3% nearly matches the district's 40.4%, and 7th-grade math at 26.9% actually exceeds the district's 26.5%. Science scores also fell sharply, dropping 9.2 points year-over-year from 30.9% to 21.7%.
Attendance and engagement remain serious challenges. Nearly half of Russell students — 45.4% — are chronically absent, a rate 17 points higher than the state average of 28.4%. This likely plays a significant role in the school's low achievement. On a positive note, the dropout rate is just 0.8%, far below the district's 2.9% and the state's 1.6%, meaning students stay enrolled through 8th grade. Russell's state ranking has slipped from the 42nd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 35th percentile in 2025-2026, though it retains a 2-star rating. For parents, Russell offers a stable, close-knit environment in a high-poverty context, but the school faces notable uphill battles in academics and attendance.
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