Middle Schools in Lakeland District

The Lakeland District in Idaho is home to two middle schools—Lakeland Middle School and Timberlake Middle School—both serving grades 6–8 and together enrolling 1,047 students in the Rathdrum and Spirit Lake areas. The district itself ranks 21st out of 101 Idaho districts with a 4-star rating, giving families a solid overall foundation for middle-level education.

Timberlake Middle School stands out as the stronger academic performer in 2025–2026, posting the highest proficiency rates in both math and English Language Arts. Its math proficiency of 52.7% and ELA proficiency of 64.3% both exceed district and state averages, and its 8th-grade math proficiency of 59.1% is a remarkable 16.4 points above the district and 17.9 points above the state. This is especially noteworthy because Timberlake serves a higher-need population, with a 32.0% free/reduced lunch rate and 17.5% chronic absenteeism—both higher than Lakeland Middle School's figures of 24.6% and 13.1%. Meanwhile, Lakeland Middle School is the district's consistent ranking improver, climbing from the 61st percentile in 2023–2024 to the 70th percentile in 2025–2026 and earning a 4-star rating.

The biggest internal challenge for the district is math, particularly at Lakeland Middle School, where math proficiency fell from 45.8% to 41.2%—below both the district (49.4%) and state (43.1%) averages. ELA is a shared strength: both schools exceed the state average, with Timberlake 10.3 points above the state and Lakeland 5.1 points above. Chronic absenteeism at Timberlake Middle School remains a concern, affecting roughly one in six students despite strong test scores. Families comparing the two schools should note that Timberlake offers the strongest academics, while Lakeland offers a larger enrollment, lower absenteeism, and steadily improving state rankings.