Westside Middle School Academy, Danbury CT

Original Research by School Decision on Westside Middle School Academy

Westside Middle School Academy is a mid-sized public middle school serving grades six through eight in Danbury. The school enrolls students across three grades in roughly equal numbers, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and a student body that reflects significant Hispanic enrollment alongside White, Asian, and Black students in smaller proportions.

The school's academic profile shows moderate proficiency overall. In English language arts, students in grades seven and eight perform near or at the midpoint—roughly half of eighth graders meet state proficiency standards—while sixth grade performance trails that of upper grades. Math presents a steeper challenge; only about one in four sixth graders meet proficiency, rising to about two in five by seventh grade before dipping again in eighth. Science, measured in eighth grade only, is the school's strongest subject, with proficiency above the midpoint. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Western Connecticut Planning Region, suggesting its students enter high school with academic preparation below the regional average.

The school operates within the Danbury School District, which is currently undergoing significant restructuring. The district recently opened Danbury High School West, a new facility created to accommodate rapid enrollment growth, and has adopted a career-academy model across high schools that organizes learning around themed pathways students select based on career interests. This represents a material shift in how the district structures high school academics and options. At the middle school level, Westside students feed into a district navigating this transition and building out new capacity and instructional models downstream.

Danbury itself is a diversifying mid-sized city with a downtown revitalization effort underway, anchored by Metro-North rail service and a historic Main Street district. New housing development—both market-rate and affordable—is active, though the city has a documented housing shortage and a modest annual population growth rate. Property values in the area have appreciated significantly, and the district's mill rate was lowered substantially after a 2022 revaluation, easing the direct tax burden on homeowners. The immediate school location sits on School Ridge Road in the city's Westside area, near the Western Connecticut State University Westside campus.

For a family considering the school, the key question centers on whether sixth to eighth grade preparation at Westside would position students adequately for the district's emerging high school pathway model. The school's academic performance, particularly in math, lags regional benchmarks, and parents may want to explore with the school directly what supports exist for students working below proficiency and what academic trajectory the school aims for. The district's investment in new facilities and career-focused academies reflects growth and intentional restructuring; families should understand how that shapes both the peer environment and the kinds of learning Westside students will encounter both at the school and in transition to high school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 19% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 21% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 19% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 32% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 31% · ▲ 19 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 34% · ▲ 16 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Science

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 36% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolDanbury School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income34%Higher-income50%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income60%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income44%Higher-income58%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income39%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income52%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income37%8 pp gap