Summary:
ZIP code 01469 covers four public schools in Townsend, Massachusetts, all within the North Middlesex district: two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, serving 1,662 students in total. The district overall ranks 229th of 351 in Massachusetts, at the 35th percentile with 2 stars, but that single district number hides wide differences among the individual schools.
Spaulding Memorial is the strongest performer, ranking 334th of 899 (63rd percentile, 3 stars), and it is the only school consistently above both district and state in the latest core MCAS results — 45.89% proficient in ELA versus 36.39% district and 40.03% state, and 50.96% in math versus 35.59% district and 41.11% state. North Middlesex Regional ranks 168th of 353 (52nd percentile, 3 stars), with a graduation rate of 90.9% above the district's 88.8% and a dropout rate of 6.2% close to the district's 6.1%. Science is a relative strength there (44.27% proficient in 10th grade vs 42.03% district and 40.50% state), while ELA and math were above state in 2024–2025 but slipped to near or slightly below state in 2025–2026.
Hawthorne Brook is the clearest concern, at the 31st percentile with 2 stars and below district and state in ELA (27.08%), math (24.77%), and science (30.32%), with 6th-grade math at just 6.67% proficient compared with 26.38% district and 42.59% state. Squannacook Early Childhood Center has no test or rank data, so it cannot be compared academically; it has the highest student-teacher ratio (17.1) and per-pupil spending ($21,737, from 2020–2021). Free/reduced lunch data is missing for every school, and resources do not track simply with results — Hawthorne Brook has the lowest ratio (12.0) but the weakest outcomes.
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