1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Bedford (Gunning) Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
846
Middle
DISTRICT 708 · STATE 655
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLONIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 100023000208
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School
801 Cox Neck Road, New Castle, DE 19720 · (302) 832-6280 · New Castle County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL846 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 26% of Delaware public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Delaware public middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 16.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 275 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 291 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 280 | 33% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School→Penn (William) High School
Based on grade levels within Colonial School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
DeSSA + SBAC 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
27.5%
DE avg 41.4% . -4.0pp since 2023
Math
18.5%
DE avg 34.0% . +3.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the DeSSA + SBAC, Delaware's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Delaware schools, those numbers are about 41 and 34. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
DeSSA + SBAC results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 27.5% | 18.5% |
| 2023-24 | 31.5% | 15.0% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: DeSSA + SBAC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Bedford (Gunning) Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Delaware | In New Castle County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.5% | #27 of 38 ▲ 3 | #10 of 17 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 27.5% | #28 of 38 ▼ 3 | #10 of 17 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 846 | #9 of 40 | #5 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.1:1 | #21 of 39 | #13 of 17 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.1% | #22 of 39 | #13 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -20.7% | #9 of 23 | #5 of 15 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
846
-223 (-21%) vs 2020
-16% since 1990-91, when it was 1,003
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 18.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 846 | 56 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 908 | 53 | 17.1:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 936 | 54 | 17.3:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 1,069 | 57 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,067 | 52 | 20.5:1 | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 1,034 | 55 | 18.8:1 | 28% (294) |
| 2010-11 | 1,069 | 56 | 19.1:1 | 42% (444) |
| 2000-01 | 1,142 | 62 | 18.4:1 | 35% (394) |
| 1990-91 | 1,003 | 62 | 16.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bedford (Gunning) Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (1,067 to 846); teachers up 8% (52 to 56).
About Bedford (Gunning) Middle School
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School is a mid-sized middle-grades school in New Castle, Delaware. Students in grades 6 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 846 students. Middle schools in Delaware have about 655 students on average; enrollment here is 29% higher.
Federal data list 14 schools in Colonial School District, with 8,575 students enrolled.
Of every 100 students at Bedford (Gunning) Middle School, about 50 are Black. After that, the student body is 26% White, 15% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Among all residents of New Castle County, the Black share is about 26%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 65%.
For every teacher at Bedford (Gunning) Middle School, there are about 15.1 students; the school has 56 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, middle schools in Delaware average 16.4:1.
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School holds a C allk12 Grade, placing it above 26% of Delaware public middle schools.
The school is in New Castle County, where median household income comes to about $91,166, roughly 40% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. New Castle County counts 129 public schools with about 78,534 students.
The closest school to Bedford (Gunning) Middle School is Southern Elementary School, located about 0.2 miles away. Bedford (Gunning) Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with 5 others within five miles.
Locale data from NCES put Bedford (Gunning) Middle School in rural territory close to an urban area (Rural: Fringe).
Enrollment decreased 21% over 4 years, reaching 846 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 18.8:1 in 2020-21 to 15.1:1 in 2024-25.
The allk12 page for Bedford (Gunning) Middle School lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
New Castle County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
577,961
Census ACS
Median income
$91,166
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
78,534 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Colonial School District
- Penn (William) High SchoolHigh · 2,069 students
- Wilbur (Kathleen H.) ElementaryElementary · 1,052 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolElementary · 729 students
- Read (George) Middle SchoolMiddle · 662 students
- McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle SchoolMiddle · 615 students
- Castle Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 462 students
Other schools in New Castle
- Penn (William) High SchoolHigh · 2,069 students
- Charter School of New CastleElementary · 788 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolElementary · 729 students
- Read (George) Middle SchoolMiddle · 662 students
- McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle SchoolMiddle · 615 students
- Castle Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 462 students
Nearby schools
- Southern Elementary School0.2 mi · 729
- Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary2.4 mi · 1,052
- St. Georges Technical High School3.2 mi · 1,198
- Lorewood Grove Elementary School3.4 mi · 492
- Leasure (May B.) Elementary School4.8 mi · 316
- Oberle (William) Elementary School5.0 mi · 512
Frequently asked questions
About Bedford (Gunning) Middle SchoolHow many students attend Bedford (Gunning) Middle School?
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School enrolls approximately 846 students in grades 06-08.
Is Bedford (Gunning) Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Bedford (Gunning) Middle School?
Approximately 15.1:1 students per teacher at Bedford (Gunning) Middle School.
How diverse is Bedford (Gunning) Middle School?
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School reports a student body of 26% White, 15% Hispanic, 50% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Bedford (Gunning) Middle School in?
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School is part of Colonial School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.