Timothy L. Johnson Academy Middle

Timothy L. Johnson Academy Middle is a small charter school serving roughly 150 students in grades 6–8 on Werling Drive in southeast Fort Wayne (46806), and it is the only school in its comparison group that operates as its own district, unlike most nearby campuses, which belong to Fort Wayne Community Schools. It is by far the smallest middle school in the area — the next smallest enrolls 380 — and it serves a high-poverty population, with 78% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Its academic results are the weakest among the ten nearby schools. In 2025–26, 13.58% of students were proficient in English/language arts and 4.32% in math — both dead last in the group — while science proficiency was 15%, second lowest. Statewide, the school ranked 452nd of 486 middle schools, in the 7th percentile, though that is still its best mark in the seven years shown. The sharpest contrast is between spending and results: Timothy L. Johnson Academy Middle spends $16,848 per student, roughly 38% more than the average nearby school and more than any of them, up from $7,489 four years earlier. Math also falls steeply by grade, from 10% proficient in grade 6 to 1.85% in grade 7 and 0% in grade 8.

There are signs of progress: science proficiency jumped to 15%, now above Miami Middle School's 12.42%, and English/language arts has drifted up over four years to 13.58%. Attendance is the clearest concern — 29.1% of students were chronically absent in 2024–25, nearly double Indiana's 16.7% rate. Nearby Memorial Park Middle School serves a similarly high-need population, spends less ($12,619 per student), and posts ELA 50.26%, math 39.65% and only 10.0% chronic absenteeism — showing the school's results are not simply determined by its students' circumstances.