The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Science. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Schaghticoke Middle School
Schaghticoke Middle School serves grades six through eight in New Milford, a large, sprawling town in western Connecticut with a compact walkable downtown but predominantly car-dependent residential and rural neighborhoods. The school sits on Route 7, away from the town center, and enrolls a student body of moderate size, with a mix that is majority white but includes a substantial share of Hispanic and other students, and a notable proportion who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Academic performance is a clear soft spot. The school's proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades cluster in the low to mid range. In mathematics, proficiency hovers around one-third of students in grades six and seven, and dips slightly lower in grade eight. English language arts shows modest strength by comparison, with roughly four in ten students proficient in sixth and seventh grade, rising to just under half in eighth grade. Science, measured only in grade eight, sits at roughly just above half. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the Western Connecticut Planning Region's middle schools and high schools. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are available for students who are not yet proficient, what underlying factors the school has identified, and what interventions or curriculum changes are underway. Test participation is strong across all grades and subjects, suggesting that results reflect actual performance rather than low engagement.
The broader district context matters here. In spring 2025, New Milford's Board of Finance unexpectedly cut the school budget substantially, resulting in non-renewal notices for a significant number of non-tenured teachers. After community pushback, voters rejected the budget as insufficient, and a second referendum in June restored funding and reversed the layoffs. That fiscal turbulence likely affected staffing stability and morale in the 2024-25 school year. The restored budget did require a meaningful increase in property taxes for homeowners in the district, a consideration for families weighing a move to the area. The school's housing market is moderately priced for Connecticut, with home values above the state average and monthly mortgage costs correspondingly substantial, though unemployment and median household income remain stable.
New Milford itself is a town of contradictions. Its historic downtown, centered on a long town green, is genuinely walkable and mixed-use, with shops, restaurants, and civic anchors like the renovated library. But the town is the largest in Connecticut by land area, and most of it is rural and car-dependent. Schools are on separate campuses away from downtown. The town's population has been stable over the past couple of decades, with recent development activity focused on affordable housing and downtown mixed-use projects. The major employers reflect a mix of manufacturing, healthcare, and retail, with Kimberly-Clark as the largest industrial employer.
What Schaghticoke offers as a district-assigned school is stability, neighborhood assignment, and the prospect of feeding into the district's high school. What it faces, based on current test data, is a student body whose proficiency lags regional peers and whose immediate future depends on how the district executes its recovery from budget turmoil. Families should seek direct conversation with the school about academic support structures, special education services, and any curriculum or staffing initiatives in response to recent performance and budget cycles.
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