Bowditch Middle

Set in Foster City, California, Bowditch Middle is a mid-sized intermediate school, overseen by San Mateo-Foster City. It hosts 929 students across grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 659 students per school, that is 41% larger than typical.

San Mateo-Foster City runs 22 schools in total, collectively educating 9,906 students. Bowditch Middle is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Bowditch Middle lists that the largest single group is Asian at 54%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder breaks down as 17% White, 16% Hispanic, 12% multiracial. That is noticeably more Asian than the county at large, where the share is closer to 31%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Bowditch Middle has 44 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 21.2:1. The state averages about 20.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 19% of students at Bowditch Middle qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, San Mateo County runs at roughly 34%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Bowditch Middle sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 68.0%; this one delivers 73.7%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for San Mateo County put median household earnings sit near $158,855, roughly 54% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across San Mateo County's 176 public schools (combined enrollment of about 82,403 students), Bowditch Middle is one campus in the mix.

Brewer Island Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bowditch Middle at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 75.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Bowditch Middle's enrollment has shrank 9% since 2018, when it stood at 1,025 (now 929). The White share of enrollment contracted from 26% to 17% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 23.0:1 in 2018 to 21.2:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.