Middle Schools in East Haven School District

The East Haven School District contains exactly one middle school—Joseph Melillo Middle School—serving grades 6 through 8 with 461 students in East Haven, CT. As the only middle school in the district, it serves as the sole bridge between elementary and high school for the community. The school currently ranks 161 out of 258 Connecticut middle schools, placing it at the 38th percentile with a 2-star rating. That is notably stronger than the district overall, which ranks in the bottom 11% of Connecticut districts with a 1-star rating. Roughly 65% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, making this a high-poverty school community.

On state assessments, the school beats its own district average in every math subject and in 7th- and 8th-grade ELA, yet trails state averages in all subjects. In 2025-2026, 7th-grade ELA came closest to the state, with 45.5% proficiency versus 52.2% statewide, while 6th-grade ELA showed the largest deficit at 28.1% versus 51.2% statewide—a 23-point gap. Math proficiency is consistently lower than ELA, with 6th-grade math at 27.4% and 8th-grade math at 32.4%. The school maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 9.4:1 and spends $18,319 per student, suggesting meaningful investment in resources.

Several trends stand out. Between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, 8th-grade math improved dramatically from 20.6% to 32.4% proficiency—a nearly 12-point gain—while 6th-grade ELA declined sharply from 37.8% to 28.1%. Seventh grade is consistently the strongest year relative to state averages across both years of data. Chronic absenteeism sits at 16.8%, slightly above both the district (15.2%) and state (16.4%) averages. Given the high poverty rate and elevated absenteeism, these factors likely play a significant role in academic outcomes. Overall, Joseph Melillo Middle School is a middle-performing school in a low-performing district, showing strengths in 7th grade and encouraging improvement in 8th-grade math, but there is still substantial ground to cover to reach Connecticut state averages.