The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Calais Middle/high School
Calais Middle/High School sits in a small border city that serves as a regional commercial hub for eastern Washington County, Maine, and the neighboring Charlotte County in New Brunswick. The city's identity is shaped by its location on the St. Croix River, directly across from St. Stephen, with three international border crossings connecting the two communities. Retail, service, and construction businesses anchor the local economy, and Calais Regional Hospital is the largest employer. Washington County Community College, a two-year institution, is also located in town, giving the community a modest postsecondary presence.
The school serves grades seven through twelve and draws a predominantly white student body, with a sizable American Indian and Alaska Native population relative to most Maine schools. A little over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is small for a combined middle-high school, which means students across six grades share the same building and likely the same faculty resources. Calais operates its own school district, which also includes an elementary school and the St. Croix Regional Technical Center, giving middle and high school students access to career and technical education without leaving the city.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed. English language arts proficiency sits above the midpoint, with a solid share of tested students meeting or exceeding state expectations. Mathematics proficiency was suppressed for the most recent testing cycle, so no public result is available, and a parent may want to ask the school directly about current math performance. Science proficiency came in lower, with a modest portion of tested students reaching proficiency. The science result is worth a closer conversation with the school, since it suggests a gap between literacy and science outcomes that could reflect staffing, curriculum sequencing, or the challenges of assessing a small tested group.
Several data points that parents often look for were not available. No graduation rate was provided, which limits the read on how well the school moves students through to completion. IEP and English learner counts were missing as well. Locale classification, course access details, staffing ratios, discipline data, and attendance figures were also absent from the available information, so those dimensions of school environment could not be assessed here. The district brief turned up no recent referendums, curriculum overhauls, property-tax shifts, or other parent-relevant changes, so the school appears to be operating in a period of relative continuity.
The housing market in Calais stands well below both the Maine state benchmark and the national benchmark, making it one of the more affordable places to buy a home in the state. The price-to-income ratio is favorable, and estimated monthly mortgage costs are modest relative to typical household earnings. Rental data was not available. For families considering a move, this means housing costs are unlikely to be a barrier, though the broader Washington County economy has limited employment diversity beyond healthcare, retail, and cross-border services.
The community itself has a traditional downtown Main Street corridor along the river, with a historic district and a Romanesque Revival public library at its core. The Downeast Sunrise Trail, a long multi-use path, passes through Calais and connects it to communities across the county. The city recently acquired the Devil's Head recreational property, adding hiking trails and river frontage. Daily life outside the downtown core is largely car-dependent, given the low population density spread across roughly forty square miles. The Ferry Point and Milltown border crossings remain open to pedestrians, which gives the city an unusual cross-border walkability few American towns can offer.
For a family weighing Calais Middle/High School, the strengths are the small scale, the career and technical pathway available through St. Croix Regional Technical Center, and the ELA results that suggest the school is doing reasonable work in literacy. The soft spots are science, the missing math result, and the absence of graduation and outcome data that would round out the picture. A parent would do well to visit, ask about math performance and science instruction, and learn how the technical center's programs feed into the high school schedule.
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