Summary:
Zip code 06226 in Willimantic, Connecticut is served by just one middle school: Windham Middle School, part of the Windham School District. This mid-size school enrolls 583 students across an unusual grade span of 5 through 8, and it serves a predominantly low-income population, with 76.33% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Academically, Windham Middle School has ranked in the bottom quarter of Connecticut middle schools for three straight years, earning a 1-star rating and placing in the low-20s percentile statewide. Proficiency on the SBAC and NGSS trails district and state averages in nearly every subject and grade. English language arts is the relative strength, with 7th and 8th graders posting about 33% proficiency, still roughly 18 points below the state. Math is a much larger concern: 6th-grade math proficiency fell to just 14.9% in 2025–2026, a nearly 30-point gap from the state average. The one clear bright spot is 8th-grade science, where 41.4% met proficiency in 2024–2025, only about 9 points below the state. The school reports a favorable 10.4:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $16,392, though these resources have not translated into higher test scores.
Attendance and poverty are significant challenges. The chronic absenteeism rate is 25.2%, about 1.5 times the state average of 16.4%, meaning roughly one in four students is chronically absent. While the school shows mixed cohort-level progress — 7th and 8th grade ELA improved slightly year over year, while 6th grade math dropped sharply — the overall picture is one of persistent, broad-based struggle. For parents, this means a supportive staffing ratio and a few relative strengths, but also considerable gaps in math and the clear impact of high poverty and absenteeism on the learning environment.
Thank you for your feedback!