Chatham Middle School, Chatham NY

Original Research by School Decision on Chatham Middle School

Chatham Middle School serves students in grades six through eight in a small public middle school just outside the village of Chatham, a walkable commercial hub in the upper Hudson Valley with a recent cultural renaissance. The school sits on Woodbridge Avenue, separated from the village center but accessible to families throughout Columbia County.

The school enrollment is small, under three-hundred students, with roughly equal numbers across each grade. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a moderate-income population typical of a rural-to-suburban Hudson Valley community. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic population and a handful of students from other backgrounds.

Academic results paint a mixed picture. Math proficiency is stronger in the earlier grade: sixth graders reached about a moderate rate of proficiency, but seventh grade dips significantly below that, and eighth grade remains low. English language arts shows a different pattern—sixth and seventh grades are notably weak, but eighth graders perform considerably better. Science, tested only in eighth grade, reaches about a moderate-high proficiency rate. Overall, proficiency in tested subjects sits above the midpoint among the seven districts in Columbia County, but within the school itself, performance varies sharply by grade and subject. A parent may want to ask the school directly about what accounts for the gains in eighth-grade ELA and science, and what supports are in place for seventh graders, whose math scores in particular lag.

The school is part of Chatham Central School District, which has been investing in curriculum expansion. In recent years, the district added electives including robotics, software development, printmaking, sculpture, and residential maintenance and repair, with no cuts to existing programs. The district is also in the middle of a multi-year capital improvement project to address aging building infrastructure. These developments suggest a district working to broaden academic offerings while managing facility needs.

The village of Chatham itself is experiencing demographic change and cultural investment. A renovated historic theater, performing-arts centers, and galleries have drawn weekenders and artists to settle permanently, reshaping the character of a small village with a strong walkable downtown. The surrounding area remains rural, with farms and estates. Housing values have risen moderately in line with regional trends. The combination of a small-school setting, rural-village surroundings, and a district focused on program breadth makes Chatham Middle School a fit for families seeking a close-knit middle-grades environment with access to expanding academic electives, though performance gaps by grade warrant closer inspection.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	11	100.0%
Science	8	100.0%

Math

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 35% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 3 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 23 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

even with state median

Science

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 22 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 584%

School 84% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 874%

School 74% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolCHATHAM CENTRAL 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 5Lower-income55%Higher-income66%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income25%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income33%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income61%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income48%Higher-income72%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income63%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income46%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income57%33 pp gap