M Clifford Miller Middle School, Lake Katrine NY

Original Research by School Decision on M Clifford Miller Middle School

M. Clifford Miller Middle School is a regular public middle school in Lake Katrine, serving grades five through eight in the Kingston City School District. The school enrolls a diverse population of students, with roughly equal representation across its four grade bands. About three-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community with modest to moderate income levels. The student body is substantially White and Hispanic, with smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students, and a very small share of Native American students.

The school's state test results reveal persistent gaps in proficiency across both math and English language arts. In math, proficiency rates vary sharply by grade: fifth graders show minimal proficiency, sixth graders reach roughly a third, seventh graders fall back to about a quarter, and eighth graders drop to single digits. In English language arts, the pattern is similarly weak, ranging from roughly a quarter to a third across grades five, six, and seven, with eighth grade at about a quarter. Science proficiency in fifth grade sits near a fifth, and eighth-grade science is slightly higher. A parent may want to look further into what support structures and interventions the school has in place to address these learning gaps, especially the sharp declines in math and the low overall proficiency levels. The data available does not show whether these patterns reflect schoolwide challenges, particular grade cohorts, or prior trends, so direct conversation with school leadership would help clarify the drivers and the school's response.

Participation in testing is generally strong in the lower grades but declines notably in seventh and eighth grade, particularly in eighth-grade math and science, where participation falls to about half. This may indicate challenges with engagement or attendance in upper grades that merit understanding.

The Kingston City School District recently completed a major five-year capital project approved by voters, which funded air-conditioning, ventilation, and other facility upgrades across its schools. This means the learning environment at Miller should reflect more recent investment in climate control and building systems. The district has also implemented the Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts program across all K-5 classrooms, aligning with current science of reading approaches. The district expanded its senior citizen property tax exemption, though this affects the broader tax structure families encounter rather than the school's direct operations.

Lake Katrine itself is a small hamlet within the Town of Ulster, the county's commerce hub. The local economy centers on health care, retail, and food service, with employers including nursing facilities and retail anchors along Route 9W. Housing values are moderate for the region, and the community has remained stable in population over recent decades. Public transit is provided through Ulster County's fare-free bus system, and outdoor recreation around the lake and nearby preserves shapes daily life. The area is not particularly dense, and civic life is oriented toward the broader Kingston area rather than Lake Katrine itself.

Among districts in Ulster County, Miller's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This positioning, combined with the specific grade-by-grade data showing particularly weak performance in eighth-grade math, suggests families should understand that this school is working with an enrollment base facing academic headwinds. The profile does not provide data on chronic absenteeism, staffing, discipline, or course offerings, so a parent seeking a fuller picture of what the school offers or how it supports students should request that information directly from the school or district.

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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	43	77.0%
Science	18	94.0%

Math

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 19% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 34% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 728%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 15% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 34% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 42% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 31% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 40% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 26% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 866%

School 66% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median

This schoolKINGSTON CITY 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-income22%Higher-income39%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income51%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income34%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income34%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income8%Higher-income19%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income54%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income36%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income3%Higher-income10%7 pp gap