Original Research by School Decision on New Diana H S
New Diana High School is a small, traditional public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Diana, an unincorporated rural community in eastern Upshur County. The school sits at the intersection of State Highway 154 and U.S. Highway 84, where the New Diana ISD campuses function as the civic anchor for a low-density area that has been growing with new residential subdivisions and custom homes attracting families from nearby Longview.
The enrollment is small for a high school, distributed fairly evenly across the four grades. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black and Hispanic students. Data on special populations such as students receiving special education services or English learners was not available.
On the most recent state assessments, the school's academic profile shows strength in science and some areas of English language arts, with widespread proficiency in those subjects. Mathematics shows lower proficiency, particularly at the "meets" and "masters" levels. Across all tested subjects, the majority of students reached at least the "approaches" level, the lowest proficiency tier. Performance in social studies falls between math and science, with most students approaching grade-level standards but fewer reaching or mastering them. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school on math support and tutoring, given the gap between reading and mathematics outcomes.
The comparison metrics that would typically position this school against other districts in Upshur County—overall proficiency index, four-year graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism rate—were not available in the state data, so we could not place the school's performance relative to its county neighbors.
Diana itself is a car-dependent rural area with no downtown core or public transit beyond county reservation-based service. The school operates alongside a middle school and elementary school in the same geographic cluster. Housing in the area is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, and much of the stock has been built recently as part of planned residential growth. The community's economy is primarily service-oriented locally, with most residents commuting to Longview, Gilmer, or other nearby cities for employment.
The parent district, New Diana ISD, approved a lasting property-tax increase in November 2023 through a tax ratification election that raised annual operating funds and adjusted the overall tax rate. The district cited budget deficits, inflation, teacher recruitment challenges, and the need to restore previously cut programs such as computer programming. The district also held a bond election in May 2024, though the specific projects and outcome were not confirmed in available sources. These are material fiscal decisions that affect residents' ongoing property-tax obligations and the school's operational capacity.
Program offerings, staffing levels, course breadth, and detailed college-preparation and career-pathway data were not available for this school, so a parent interested in those specifics should contact the school directly. A student's fit here depends on whether the rural setting, small school size, and academic profile align with the family's needs, and whether the parents value the property affordability and newer housing stock in the area against the limited local employment and distance from urban resources.
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