Enrollment
372
Middle
DISTRICT 359 · STATE 364
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BANGOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 230282000054
William S. Cohen School
304 Garland Street, Bangor, ME 04401 · (207) 941-6230 · Penobscot County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL372 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 77% of Maine public middle schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Maine public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.4:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.0:1 · STATE 11.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
132 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 48%
Community
0
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 | 122 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 125 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 125 | 34% |
Student demographics
39%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 28% · 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
William S. Cohen School→Bangor High School
Based on grade levels within Bangor Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MEA 2024-25 . % At or Above State ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
67.8%
ME avg 64.1%
Math
59.3%
ME avg 50.6%
What this means: On the MEA, Maine's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maine schools, those numbers are about 64 and 51.
Source: MEA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Schools most like William S. Cohen School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| William S. Cohen School this school | 372 | 35.5% | N/A |
| Loranger Memorial School Old Orchard Beach | 251 | 41.8% | N/A |
| Brunswick Jr High School Brunswick | 544 | 33.1% | N/A |
| Saco Middle School Saco | 586 | 36.7% | N/A |
| Shapleigh School Kittery | 357 | 24.4% | N/A |
| Orono Middle School Orono | 154 | 39.0% | N/A |
Matched among Maine middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where William S. Cohen School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Maine | In Penobscot County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 59.3% | #12 of 74 | #2 of 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.8% | #29 of 80 | #4 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 372 | #37 of 85 | #2 of 14 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.4:1 | #54 of 67 | #6 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.7% | #8 of 67 | #1 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.5% | #60 of 82 | #10 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.7% | #21 of 51 | #3 of 7 |
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
372
-7 (-2%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 433
Student : Teacher
12.4:1
was 12.2:1
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 | 372 | 30.1 | 12.4:1 | 35% (132) |
| 2023-24 | 364 | 29.1 | 12.5:1 | 29% (105) |
| 2022-23 | 364 | 30.1 | 12.1:1 | 30% (109) |
| 2020-21 | 379 | 31 | 12.2:1 | 29% (110) |
| 2017-18 | 436 | 32.1 | 13.6:1 | 37% (160) |
| 2015-16 | 429 | 30 | 14.3:1 | 33% (143) |
| 2010-11 | 394 | 31 | 12.7:1 | 37% (146) |
| 2000-01 | 511 | 34 | 15.0:1 | 24% (123) |
| 1990-91 | 433 | 28 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for William S. Cohen School.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (436 to 372); teachers down 6% (32.1 to 30.1).
About William S. Cohen School
William S. Cohen School serves students in Bangor, Maine, as a medium-sized middle-grades school. The school had 372 students in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25.
Bangor Public Schools counts 10 schools and 3,436 students, including William S. Cohen School.
White students make up a majority at William S. Cohen School, at 77%. The remaining shares are 8% Black, 7% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and 2% Native American. Census estimates put the White share of Penobscot County's population at about 92%. Pick two students at random and there is a 39% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The count of teachers at William S. Cohen School is 30.1 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 12.4:1. That is 1.2 students per teacher above the 11.2:1 average for middle schools in Maine. Around 35% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Public schools in Penobscot County average 48%.
William S. Cohen School is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 77% of Maine public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
In Penobscot County (population about 154,710), the median household income is $66,356, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 30% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 9%. There are 69 public schools in Penobscot County, enrolling about 18,646 students in all.
Fruit Street School is located about 0.2 miles from William S. Cohen School. The five-mile area around William S. Cohen School holds at least 8 other public schools.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 379 to 372.
The William S. Cohen School community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Penobscot County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
154,710
Census ACS
Median income
$66,356
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
69
18,646 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bangor Public Schools
- Bangor High SchoolHigh · 1,068 students
- James F. Doughty SchoolMiddle · 346 students
- Fruit Street SchoolElementary · 310 students
- Downeast SchoolElementary · 288 students
- Mary Snow SchoolElementary · 266 students
- Fairmount SchoolElementary · 259 students
Other schools in Bangor
- Bangor High SchoolHigh · 1,068 students
- James F. Doughty SchoolMiddle · 346 students
- Fruit Street SchoolElementary · 310 students
- Downeast SchoolElementary · 288 students
- Mary Snow SchoolElementary · 266 students
- Fairmount SchoolElementary · 259 students
Nearby schools
- Fruit Street School0.2 mi · 310
- Abraham Lincoln School0.5 mi · 184
- Mary Snow School1.0 mi · 266
- James F. Doughty School1.7 mi · 346
- Vine Street School1.9 mi · 190
- Fairmount School1.9 mi · 259
Frequently asked questions
About William S. Cohen SchoolHow many students attend William S. Cohen School?
William S. Cohen School enrolls approximately 372 students in grades 06-08.
Is William S. Cohen School an elementary, middle, or high school?
William S. Cohen School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at William S. Cohen School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at William S. Cohen School is approximately 12.4:1 (30 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at William S. Cohen School?
At William S. Cohen School, the student body is approximately 77% White, 7% Hispanic, 8% Black, 5% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees William S. Cohen School?
William S. Cohen School is overseen by Bangor Public Schools in Penobscot County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.