Billy Mills Middle School

Billy Mills Middle School is a 6-8 campus of mid-sized scale in Lawrence, Kansas, run under Lawrence, serveing 494 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Kansas's public schools average about 402 students each, so Billy Mills Middle School sits 23% larger than that benchmark.

Billy Mills Middle School is one of 18 schools operated by Lawrence, a district that instructs 10,380 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Billy Mills Middle School reports that White students make up the majority at 55%. Other groups include 17% Hispanic, 15% multiracial, 6% Black, 4% Native American. The wider county runs roughly 78% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Billy Mills Middle School has 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.6:1. The state averages around 12.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 58% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Douglas County's rate of about 40%.

With demographic context factored in, Billy Mills Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 34.5%, the actual is 24.3%, a residual of -10.1 points.

Around the school, census data for Douglas County shows median household income runs about $69,746, 53% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. In all, Douglas County runs 30 public schools (combined enrollment of about 13,766 students), of which Billy Mills Middle School is one.

Lawrence High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.0 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Billy Mills Middle School comes 9th of 9 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 36.4%.

The campus sits in an inner-city setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Billy Mills Middle School's enrollment has contracted 19% since 2018, when it stood at 611 (now 494). White enrollment moved from 60% to 55% across the same window. Class-load math has widened: from 11.5:1 in 2018 to 14.6:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.