The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westlake Ms
Westlake Middle School is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in the Millcreek Township School District, located on the west side of Erie. The enrollment is stable, with roughly evenly distributed grade cohorts. A substantial majority of students come from households qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of multiracial, Hispanic, Asian, and Black students. About a quarter of the school's students are multiracial or non-white.
In the most recent Pennsylvania System of School Assessment results, Westlake's performance is mixed. English language arts proficiency sits at just under three-fifths of students, which is a relative strength. Mathematics proficiency is considerably lower, at about one-third of students meeting or exceeding the proficient level. Science proficiency, measured most recently in the prior school year, reached one-half of students. Across the three subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the districts in Erie County.
The mathematics result warrants attention. A parent evaluating Westlake may want to explore directly with the school what approaches are being used to support students struggling with mathematical reasoning and procedural fluency, and whether there are tutoring, small-group interventions, or diagnostic resources available. The ELA performance is better, suggesting reading, writing, and communication instruction is reaching a majority, though half the cohort is still not meeting proficiency.
The Millcreek Township School District, which includes Westlake, has committed to a Portrait of a Graduate framework emphasizing critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability, communication, and empathy across all grade levels from kindergarten through high school. That philosophy is now being woven into classroom instruction, curriculum, and school culture. The district has also raised property taxes in consecutive years to cover rising operational costs including salaries, benefits, and transportation, as well as growing charter-school tuition costs that the district must fund. For a family considering the Millcreek area, that tax trajectory is a material factor in the long-term cost of homeownership in the district.
Westlake's location in suburban western Erie puts it in a car-dependent zone, though parts of the broader Millcreek area and nearby neighborhoods have access to walkable commercial districts and the seasonal Presque Isle Express route that connects downtown Erie through Millcreek to Presque Isle State Park. Erie itself is a mid-sized lakefront city with a strong institutional core downtown and a reinvestment cycle underway, anchored by healthcare, insurance, and higher education, alongside remaining manufacturing. Housing values in the school's ZIP code are below the state and national medians, and rents are moderate relative to household income.
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