Summary:
Richland School District in the Tri-Cities area of southeastern Washington has four public middle schools serving grades 6–8, with about 3,000 students enrolled across Leona Libby Middle School, Carmichael Middle School, Enterprise Middle School, and Chief Joseph Middle School.
Leona Libby Middle School is the clear academic leader in the area, ranking 65th of 514 Washington middle schools and in the 87th percentile. In 2025–26, 67.72% of students were proficient in English language arts, 56.48% in math, and 65.04% in science—well above both district and state averages. It led every reported grade-level ELA and math comparison and was especially strong in grade 8 math. Enterprise Middle School occupies the middle position overall, with 47.17% ELA, 40.92% math, and 54.85% science proficiency. Its strongest areas were grade 7 math and grade 8 science, where it exceeded district and state results. The other two schools have similar statewide rankings, although their profiles differ: Chief Joseph Middle School outperformed Carmichael Middle School in ELA and science, while Carmichael had slightly stronger math results.
Across the four schools, math is the broadest challenge, averaging about 40.7% proficiency, with grade 8 math particularly weak at Carmichael and Chief Joseph. ELA proficiency declined at every school from the prior year, most sharply at Enterprise, while science improved at Leona and Enterprise. Reported free- and reduced-price lunch rates range from 20.62% at Leona to 58.42% at Chief Joseph, and spending ranges from $15,525 to $17,874 per student; these measures provide context but do not by themselves explain school outcomes. Overall, families will find substantial variation within Richland School District, with Leona standing out for consistently high performance, Enterprise offering a notable science strength, and Carmichael and Chief Joseph presenting greater opportunities for academic improvement.
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