The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Newcomb Middle
Newcomb Middle sits in a small, rural census-designated place on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County, along US Highway 491, roughly 35 miles south of Shiprock and 58 miles north of Gallup. The community is overwhelmingly Native American and functions as a residential and institutional hub for surrounding Navajo communities such as Burnham, Two Grey Hills, Sheepsprings, and Littlewater. There is no traditional downtown. Civic life clusters around the Chapter house, a senior center, a rural library, a fire station, and the schools themselves. A single Shell gas station is the primary retail establishment. The built environment is sparse and auto-dependent, with no sidewalk network or commercial corridor to speak of. Public transit does not exist. Many working residents likely commute to Shiprock or Farmington for employment, and institutional employers like Central Consolidated Schools and Navajo Nation government entities are the main sources of local work. The area is experiencing population decline rather than growth, and the Chapter's stated vision centers on stabilization, infrastructure, and youth enrichment rather than expansion. No new housing developments were identified.
The school is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight, part of the Central Consolidated School District. Enrollment is small for a middle school. The student body is predominantly American Indian and Alaska Native, with a small Hispanic presence and a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the high poverty rate the broader community faces. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here. A parent wanting to understand special education services or language supports would need to ask the school directly.
State assessment results from the most recent year are available and are low across all tested subjects. In math, the proficiency rate is very low, with only a handful of students testing proficient. In English language arts, proficiency is higher than math but still falls well below what most middle schools post, with fewer than a quarter of tested students reaching proficiency. Science results are reported as a range and sit at the bottom of that band, with only a few students demonstrating proficiency. No trend data is available beyond the current year, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent an improvement, a decline, or a steady state. Average scale scores were not reported. Participation rates were also missing. A parent may want to look into what supports the school is putting in place around math instruction in particular, given how few students are currently meeting the state bar.
Because Newcomb Middle serves only grades six through eight, there is no graduation rate to report, and that absence reflects the grade band rather than any shortcoming. No advanced coursework, career and technical education, dual-credit, or extracurricular program data was provided, so this account cannot speak to the breadth of offerings beyond core academics. Staffing, attendance, and discipline data were also absent from the available records. The district brief did not surface any parent-relevant changes or initiatives of lasting impact, so there is little to relay about district-level direction.
What emerges from the available picture is a small, community-anchored middle school in a remote, economically pressed Navajo reservation community, serving a nearly entirely Native student body from high-poverty households. The academic results as measured by state tests are low, most starkly in math. The school's identity is bound up with its place: the campus sits alongside the Chapter house and other civic buildings, and the school functions as one of the community's main social anchors. For a family weighing this school, the most productive next step would be to talk directly with school leadership about instructional support, especially in math, and about what programs and services exist beyond what the data captures.
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