1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
889
Middle
DISTRICT 876 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MANCHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 330459000576
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School
201 Jack Lovering Drive, Manchester, NH 03109 · (603) 628-6247 · Hillsborough County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL889 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 0% of New Hampshire public middle schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·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 New Hampshire public middle schools
Student : Teacher
11.1:1
80 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.7:1 · STATE 11.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
43%
378 students
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 26%
Community
1
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 5 | 228 | 26% |
| Grade 6 | 202 | 23% |
| Grade 7 | 229 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 230 | 26% |
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 33% · 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
Test scores
NHSAS 2024-25 . % Above ProficientEnglish Language Arts
23.0%
NH avg 55.2%
Math
14.0%
NH avg 43.0%
What this means: On the NHSAS, New Hampshire's statewide test, about 23 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Hampshire schools, those numbers are about 55 and 43.
Source: NHSAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NH schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
17.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.0%
based on NH schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-18.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 17% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 36% typical for New Hampshire schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School's state test result (17.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School this school | 889 | 42.5% | 17.4% |
| Southside Middle School Manchester | 768 | 43.0% | 24.0% |
| Hillside Middle School Manchester | 1,071 | 48.2% | 18.6% |
| Middle School At Parkside Manchester | 775 | 56.4% | 18.4% |
| Brian S. McCarthy Middle School NASHUA | 649 | 44.1% | N/A |
| Pennichuck Middle School Nashua | 768 | 46.6% | 29.9% |
Matched among New Hampshire 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 Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Hampshire | In Hillsborough County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 17.4% | #85 of 85 | #27 of 27 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.0% | #82 of 85 | #27 of 27 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 23.0% | #84 of 85 | #27 of 27 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 889 | #6 of 101 | #3 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.1:1 | #39 of 74 | #13 of 28 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.1% | #3 of 74 | #3 of 28 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.5% | #17 of 90 | #7 of 29 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +19.8% | #7 of 15 | #7 of 9 |
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
889
+178 (+25%) vs 2020
-5% since 2000-01, when it was 934
Student : Teacher
11.1:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 889 | 80 | 11.1:1 | 43% (378) |
| 2023-24 | 679 | 68.5 | 9.9:1 | 45% (307) |
| 2022-23 | 660 | 66.5 | 9.9:1 | 49% (325) |
| 2020-21 | 711 | 58 | 12.3:1 | 40% (285) |
| 2017-18 | 742 | 60.6 | 12.2:1 | 53% (396) |
| 2015-16 | 747 | 55 | 13.6:1 | 53% (399) |
| 2010-11 | 824 | 61 | 13.5:1 | 49% (407) |
| 2000-01 | 934 | 65 | 14.4:1 | 32% (301) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 20% (742 to 889); teachers up 32% (60.6 to 80).
About Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School
Families in Manchester, New Hampshire, are served by Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School, a high-enrollment middle school. There are 889 students enrolled, covering grades 5 through 8. The school is 135% above the average for middle schools in New Hampshire.
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School sits within Manchester School District, which has 21 schools and 12,295 students.
The largest group at Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School is White students, at 49%. The school is also 26% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 10% Black, and 5% Asian. That is lower than the 82% White share among all Hillsborough County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 67%.
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School has 80 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 11.1:1. The average ratio among middle schools in New Hampshire is similar, at 11.1:1. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 43% at Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School. Public schools in Hillsborough County average 26%.
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School earns an F on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 0% of New Hampshire public middle schools.
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School is in the bottom 10% of New Hampshire schools on the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure. Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 36.0%. The school's actual rate is 17.4%, 18.6 points lower.
For the population of Hillsborough County, median household income comes to about $103,545, roughly 42% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Hillsborough County's 127 public schools enroll about 53,974 students and include Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School.
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School's nearest public school is Green Acres School (about 0.1 miles). The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School places 9th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School has an NCES locale of City: Mid-size.
Enrollment rose 25% over 4 years, reaching 889 in 2024-25. Its ratio of students to teachers was 12.3:1 in 2020-21, and 11.1:1 in 2024-25.
The Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Hillsborough County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
426,378
Census ACS
Median income
$103,545
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
42%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
127
53,974 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Manchester School District
- Manchester Memorial High SchoolHigh · 1,296 students
- Manchester Central High SchoolHigh · 1,130 students
- Hillside Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,071 students
- Middle School At ParksideMiddle · 775 students
- Southside Middle SchoolMiddle · 768 students
- Manchester West High SchoolHigh · 764 students
Other schools in Manchester
- Manchester Memorial High SchoolHigh · 1,296 students
- Manchester Central High SchoolHigh · 1,130 students
- Hillside Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,071 students
- Middle School At ParksideMiddle · 775 students
- Southside Middle SchoolMiddle · 768 students
- Manchester West High SchoolHigh · 764 students
Nearby schools
- Green Acres School0.1 mi · 343
- Manchester School of Technology (High School)0.8 mi · 302
- Manchester Memorial High School0.9 mi · 1,296
- Mill Falls Charter School0.9 mi · 168
- Southside Middle School1.1 mi · 768
- Jewett School1.1 mi · 443
Frequently asked questions
About Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School?
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School enrolls approximately 889 students in grades 05-08.
What grades does Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School serve?
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School serves grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School have?
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School employs 80 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School?
Student demographics at Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School are roughly 49% White, 26% Hispanic, 10% Black, 5% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School in?
Henry J. McLaughlin Jr. Middle School is part of Manchester School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.