William S Guy Middle School, Youngstown OH

Original Research by School Decision on William S Guy Middle School

William S Guy Middle School serves grades four through six in Youngstown, part of the Liberty Local school district. The school sits on Shady Road in the city's 44505 zip code and serves a student body that is almost entirely eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

The enrollment is small, concentrated around the early middle grades. The student body is racially mixed, with roughly equivalent shares of white and Black students, smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students, and very few Asian students. Students with disabilities and English learners are part of the population, though the district did not report counts for these groups.

On Ohio's state tests in 2024-25, the school's performance sat below the midpoint among districts in Trumbull County. In math, roughly half the students tested scored at proficient level or above. In English language arts, the rate was lower, just under half. Science showed a somewhat stronger result, with just over half of students at or above proficiency. The one older snapshot available, from 2016-17, showed similar performance in social studies. Only one year of test data is available; no trend can be drawn yet. Science had a smaller tested group, reflecting the grade span tested by the state.

The school is a regular public school operated by Liberty Local, not a charter, magnet, or special alternative school. State testing data was available for this school year, but information on chronic absenteeism, discipline referrals, course offerings, staffing levels, and attendance rates were not provided. A graduation rate does not apply, as the school does not serve students through grade twelve.

Liberty Local has recently secured stable operating funding. Voters approved a renewal levy in November 2024 that continues annual operating revenue through the late 2020s without raising property tax rates, meaning families who move into the district can expect current staffing and program levels to hold rather than face cuts tied to funding shortfalls.

Youngstown itself is a post-industrial Rust Belt city that peaked decades ago and has undergone steady population loss, though the rate of decline has been slowing in recent years. The city has adopted a managed-shrinkage approach, removing blight and right-sizing infrastructure rather than chasing growth. Downtown and the area around Youngstown State University have seen recent reinvestment: apartment conversions, new dining and entertainment, and public waterfront improvements. Mill Creek Park, one of the largest metropolitan parks in the country, anchors the South and West sides. The Western Reserve Transit Authority provides free bus service throughout Mahoning County. Housing in the zip code is very affordable, well below state and national medians, though prices have begun to rise modestly in the past year.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grades 3-858%

School 58% · District 46% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-847%

School 47% · District 48% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grades 3-860%

School 60% · District 49% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 653%

School 53% · district not reported

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

This schoolLiberty Local, 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 7Lower-income40%Higher-income80%40 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income43%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income100%Higher-income100%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income24%0 pp gap