The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in Math. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Bellamy Middle
Bellamy Middle School serves students in grades six through eight in Chicopee, a mixed-use city that grew from a collection of former mill villages and now functions as a multi-community hub for Hampden County. Chicopee is bisected by multiple interstate highways, giving it the feel of a place where cars are the primary way to get around, though older neighborhoods like Chicopee Center and Chicopee Falls retain more compact, walkable pockets. Westover Air Reserve Base is a major employer and a steady economic presence. The city’s population has grown modestly in recent decades, and new development has largely been infill, with the city filling in most of its open space rather than expanding outward.
The school itself sits within the Chicopee district, for which no recent parent-relevant changes such as curriculum shifts, building projects, or budget overrides were publicly reported. That leaves the district’s stability and the school’s current profile as the main things for a family to weigh.
Bellamy Middle is a regular public school, and its student body reflects the broader Chicopee community. The largest single group of students are white, followed closely by Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and Asian students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor were counts of students with individualized education programs or English learner classifications. A parent who wants to understand the school’s full support landscape should ask the school directly about those figures.
On state testing, the data is clear and merits attention. Bellamy Middle’s overall proficiency across tested subjects—math, English language arts, science, and eighth-grade social studies—falls below the midpoint when compared with other schools in Hampden County. In the most recent testing year, proficiency rates in math, ELA, science, and social studies were all modest, with math showing a somewhat higher rate than the other subjects. Looking back over several years, ELA proficiency has ranged from a high of around two-fifths to a low of roughly one-fifth, with the most recent year at the lower end of that band. Math proficiency was near two-fifths in the years before the pandemic, dropped sharply, and has since recovered partially to about where it was in the most recent year. Science and social studies results are available only for the most recent year and show rates similar to the current ELA figure. The school has near-universal participation in testing, so these results reflect nearly the whole student body. A parent considering Bellamy Middle will want to look closely at how the school supports students who are below grade-level expectations and what academic interventions are in place.
Because Bellamy serves only middle grades, there is no graduation rate to report. That metric applies only to high schools, so its absence here is a function of the grade band and not a missing piece of data.
The school building sits in a housing market that, by national standards, is relatively affordable. Home values and rents in the Chicopee area are below the Massachusetts statewide benchmark, and the median listing price in Hampden County has risen modestly year over year. The local market shows steady demand and a fairly fast turnaround on listings, which suggests the area remains a practical option for families seeking a more accessible entry point to the region’s housing stock.
For a family, the picture is specific. Bellamy Middle is a mid-sized middle school in a stable, working-class city with a strong sense of its industrial past. The school’s test results are soft compared to many other schools in the county, and a parent should expect to engage actively with the school around academic support. Chicopee itself offers a mix of older neighborhoods with character and newer infill developments, set within a region where the economy is anchored by the air base, healthcare, and specialty manufacturing. The absence of recent district-level changes reported means there is no major disruption or initiative to track, for better or worse. The school fits a family that values a straightforward, community-centered middle school experience and is prepared to work alongside the school on academics.
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