Navajo Middle School

Navajo Middle School is a grades 6–8 school serving 224 students in Navajo, New Mexico, a predominantly Native American community in McKinley County, and it is part of Gallup-McKinley City Schools.

After roughly a decade in the bottom quarter of New Mexico middle schools, Navajo Middle School posted its strongest showing on record in 2025-2026: 104th of 191 schools, or the 46th percentile — up from the 7th percentile the year before. English language arts is the engine of that change. ELA proficiency rose from 26.50% to 48.05% in a single year, moving the school from about 18 points below the state to 3.4 points above it, and above its own district (39.37%). Math roughly doubled, from 8.50% to 17.11%, but remains below the district (26.30%) and the state (27.85%), making math the clearest area for continued work.

Compared with the nearest comparable school, Tohatchi Middle about 16 miles away, Navajo Middle performs substantially better in ELA (48.05% vs. 32.79%) and ranks higher overall (104th vs. 116th), while trailing in math and 8th-grade science. Two of the school's largest student groups — Native American students and students from low-income families — now rank in the low 70s percentile with 4 stars, above the school's overall standing. Parents should read these results with some caution: grade-level cohorts are small (roughly 30–45 students), so percentages can shift noticeably from year to year, and the reported 8th-grade math result is given only as "under 20%." The school's very low reported student-teacher ratio (4.9) is also unusual for a school this size and is worth asking about directly.