Dulce Middle

Dulce Middle is a small middle school in Dulce, New Mexico — the seat of the Jicarilla Apache Nation in the state's far north — serving about 130 students in grades 6 through 8, or roughly 43 students per grade. It is part of Dulce Independent Schools. Because there are no other schools within 20 miles, parents have no nearby school to compare against; the useful benchmarks are the district and the state as a whole, and the school's grade-level results are identical to the district's for grades 6–8, meaning it is the only local provider of those grades.

Academically, results sit in the bottom tenth of New Mexico middle schools and have for more than a decade. In 2025–26 the school ranked 175th of 191 middle schools, at the 8th percentile — the highest position in its entire record, though still very low. Language arts proficiency was 17.8%, compared with 43.34% statewide; 8th-grade science was 16.67% against 34.19% statewide; and mathematics was reported as under 10%, against roughly 25.5–27.9% statewide. The state suppresses the exact math figure, so no precise number is available. The school has never earned a star rating in any year on record.

There are signs of modest progress alongside clear concerns. Language arts climbed from 11% in 2022–23 to about 18%, and the low-income student group rose from the 0th to the 20th percentile — the strongest figure in the data — though progress has flattened over the last two years. Seventh grade is the weakest point: its language arts score is under 20%, versus 46.63% statewide, while 6th grade (28.12%) is the only grade near a quarter proficient. Nearly every student (98.5–100%) is economically disadvantaged, and the student–teacher ratio has risen from 9.1:1 to 14:1 in two years.