Middle Schools in Regional School District 15

Regional School District 15 serves two middle schools in the suburban Connecticut communities of Middlebury and Southbury: Memorial Middle School and Rochambeau Middle School, both covering grades 6–8 with enrollments of roughly 420 and 412 students respectively. Both schools serve predominantly economically advantaged families, with free/reduced-price lunch rates around 11–13%, and both maintain low student-teacher ratios near 11:1. Per-student spending is above typical levels at both schools, with Rochambeau spending about $664 more per student than Memorial.

Rochambeau Middle School is the stronger overall performer. It has earned a 4-star rating for three consecutive years, while Memorial Middle School has held just 3 stars for the past two. In the most recent school year, Rochambeau ranked 63rd of 258 schools in Connecticut (76th percentile), compared to Memorial's 83rd (68th percentile). Averaging SBAC English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency across grades 6–8, Rochambeau posted 61.4% proficiency in 2025–2026 versus Memorial's 55.1%, with the district at 58.0% and the state at 47.5%. However, Memorial stands out in one subject: its 8th-grade Science proficiency reached 80.8% in 2025–2026, far above the district's 74.5%, the state's 50.9%, and Rochambeau's 69.1% — a dramatic 12.7-point improvement from the prior year.

The two schools differ most notably by grade level. Rochambeau dominates in 6th grade with proficiency rates roughly 15 points higher than Memorial in both ELA and Math, yet by 8th grade Memorial actually surpasses Rochambeau in ELA. Chronic absenteeism also differs: Memorial's rate of 10.2% is above the district average of 9.0%, while Rochambeau's 8.3% sits below it. Spending does not clearly explain these differences, as Rochambeau's edge in funding is modest. Families choosing between these two strong schools might weigh Rochambeau's consistently higher overall performance and rankings against Memorial's impressive upper-grade and Science results, particularly in 8th grade.