Robert J Kaiser Middle School, Monticello NY

Original Research by School Decision on Robert J Kaiser Middle School

Robert J Kaiser Middle School sits in the heart of Monticello, serving grades six through eight in a community where education faces real constraints and where family need runs high. About two-thirds of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment draws from a diverse population: roughly a third identify as Hispanic, another third as white, with substantial numbers of Black and multiracial students. A handful speak English as a second language or receive special education services, though exact counts were not available in the data.

The school's recent state test results reflect a district and community under strain. Across math and English language arts, proficiency rates sit well below the midpoint for Sullivan County districts. In sixth-grade math, about one in nine students reached proficiency. That rate ticks up modestly in seventh-grade math, then drops sharply again by eighth grade, where test participation itself declines noticeably, suggesting attendance or engagement challenges at that point. In English language arts, proficiency runs between about one in seven and one in four students across the grade band, with the strongest showing in eighth-grade ELA. Science proficiency at eighth grade reaches about one in five. Data on social studies is outdated. A parent may want to look into current offerings and supports in literacy and numeracy directly with the school, as these results point to real academic headwinds the school is navigating.

The district has moved on some infrastructure. Voters approved a major capital project in May 2024 that broke ground a year later, targeting athletic facilities and security improvements at elementary schools, plus repairs across other buildings. That work was financed largely through existing reserves, limiting the immediate tax bump on families. More recently, in May 2025, the district secured voter approval for a budget that added staff positions while staying under the tax cap, and established a new capital reserve fund for future projects without immediate tax increases. An earlier round of operating and technology referendums failed in November 2021, which meant the district had to cut back rather than invest.

Monticello itself is a small city in the Catskills where the housing market reflects modest affordability pressures. The median home value in the area runs modestly lower than the state benchmark, though costs have risen year over year. Rental housing sits in the mid-range for the region. The local economy carries an unemployment rate near the national average and median household income slightly above it. The area is developing but not booming; families here tend to have tighter budgets and fewer options than those in wealthier suburban districts.

This is a school working with real resource limits and a student population carrying genuine academic gaps. It is not a school that will offer breadth of advanced coursework or specialized programs. What it offers is a direct middle grades pathway serving a working-class town, with a staff attuned to student need. The participation rates in testing suggest some attendance or engagement issues to investigate. A family choosing this school should understand its academic profile plainly, ask what literacy and math supports are in place, and think through whether the school's current trajectory and community fit their child's needs.

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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
Science	57	96.0%
Math	51	86.0%

Math

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 34 pts below state median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 19% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 33 pts below state median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 26 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 32 pts below state median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 15% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 31 pts below state median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 23 pts below state median

Science

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 21% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 872%

School 72% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median

This schoolMONTICELLO 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 6Lower-income10%Higher-income25%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income15%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income38%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income8%Higher-income18%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income29%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income12%Higher-income7%4 pp gap