Best Middle Schools in Townsend, MA

Townsend, Massachusetts is served by a single middle school in the available data: Hawthorne Brook, which enrolls 449 students in grades 4–8 and belongs to the North Middlesex district. Because there is only one school, there is no cross-town comparison to make; instead, the school is best understood by how it compares with its own district and with the state. Reported context is limited: the student-to-teacher ratio was 12:1 in 2024–2025 and per-student spending was $17,000 in 2020–2021, while the free/reduced lunch rate is not reported, so it is unknown rather than zero.

In 2025–2026, Hawthorne Brook scored below both its district and the state in every all-grade subject available. Mathematics was the largest weakness at 24.77% proficient, 16.34 percentage points below the state, followed by ELA at 27.08% (12.95 points below) and Science at 30.32% (10.66 points below). Eighth-grade Civics was 18.87% proficient, 20.90 points below the state and also below the district's 24.14%. A few grade-level results stood out positively: eighth-grade Mathematics (37.04%) was above the district, seventh-grade Mathematics (32.32%) was essentially tied with the district, and eighth-grade ELA (35.19%) was the school's strongest ELA grade. One result is a severe outlier — sixth-grade Mathematics at 6.67% proficient, more than 35 points below the state.

Year over year, the school's results weakened while the district and state changed far less. Science fell 13.01 percentage points, dropping from above the state in 2024–2025 to 10.66 points below it in 2025–2026; ELA fell 10.83 points and Civics 9.70 points, while Mathematics slipped 2.69 points. Rankings reflect that trend: Hawthorne Brook remained at 2 stars but fell from the 47th percentile in 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 to the 31st percentile in 2025–2026, ranking 328th of 478 schools. The North Middlesex district itself ranks 229th of 351 statewide at the 35th percentile. Overall, families should know this is a 2-star school currently performing below both its district and the state, with Mathematics and Civics the clearest concerns and eighth-grade Math and ELA the strongest bright spots.