Summary:
Kathleen Middle School is a public middle school in Lakeland, Florida, serving 821 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Polk County School District, which is ranked 60th out of 67 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Kathleen Middle School has consistently been ranked in the bottom half of Florida middle schools, with a 1-star rating as well.
Kathleen Middle School faces several significant challenges compared to nearby schools. The school has a much higher chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 40.4% to 48.5% in recent years, which is much higher than the state and district averages. Additionally, the school's test scores are consistently lower than the state and district averages across various subjects and grade levels, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math around 24-30%, compared to state averages of 47% and 54%, respectively. The school also has a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 65.96% to 69.82%, and a higher student-teacher ratio of 18.6, compared to nearby schools with ratios ranging from 15 to 21.1.
Despite these challenges, Kathleen Middle School has a more diverse student population, with a higher percentage of Hispanic and African American students (58.59% in 2022-2023) compared to the nearby schools, such as Berkley Accelerated Middle School, Lakeland Highlands Middle School, and Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, which have significantly higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and higher rankings. The school's spending per student has also decreased from $11,834 in 2020-2021 to $9,292 in 2022-2023, which is lower than the nearby schools, which have spending per student ranging from $6,794 to $9,917.
Detail:
Public 6-8
District:
Polk
SchoolDigger Rank:
1046th of 1,185 Florida Middle Schools
Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,292
Students who attend Kathleen Middle School usually attend:
Feeder schools for Kathleen Middle School:
Student/teacher ratio: 18.6
Number of students: 821
Racial breakdown:
Hispanic:
40.6%
White:
38.2%
African American:
18.0%
more
Two or more races:
2.8%
Asian:
0.4%
Free/discounted lunch recipients: 67.8%
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