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Alumni: what's one memory from J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
936
Middle
DISTRICT 881 · STATE 531
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 361629001434
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
118 MERILINA AVE EXT, KINGSTON, NY 12401 · (845) 943-3940 · Ulster County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL936 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.5:1
99 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.3:1 · STATE 10.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
427 students
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 58%
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 | 224 | 24% |
| Grade 6 | 231 | 25% |
| Grade 7 | 246 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 222 | 24% |
| Ungraded | 13 | 1% |
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 72% · 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
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL→KINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL
Based on grade levels within KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NYS Assessments 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4)English Language Arts
43.0%
NY avg 58.3% . +4.0pp since 2023
Math
94.0%
NY avg 57.4% . +53.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the NYS Assessments, New York's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 94 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New York schools, those numbers are about 58 and 57. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 53 points.
NYS Assessments results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.0% | 94.0% |
| 2023-24 | 39.0% | 40.8% |
% Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: NYS Assessments. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
45.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.2%
based on NY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% typical for New York schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New York's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New York | In Ulster County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.4% | #518 of 766 | #8 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 94.0% | #88 of 768 | #2 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #458 of 768 | #5 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 936 | #97 of 796 | #1 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.5:1 | #193 of 683 | #9 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.0% | #176 of 688 | #2 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.8% | #298 of 524 | #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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
936
-113 (-11%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
9.5:1
was 12.1:1
% White
55%
was 56%
% Hispanic
27%
was 22%
% Black
7%
was 11%
% Asian
3%
was 3%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 936 | 98.9 | 9.5:1 | 46% (427) |
| 2023-24 | 943 | 102.9 | 9.2:1 | 48% (456) |
| 2022-23 | 968 | 101.1 | 9.6:1 | 53% (512) |
| 2017-18 | 1,049 | 87 | 12.1:1 | 57% (600) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL.
About J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is a large middle-grades school in KINGSTON, New York, (ZIP code 12401). The school teaches grades 5 through 8 and enrolls 936 students. The school is 76% larger than the average for middle schools in New York.
KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 10 schools with a combined 5,877 students. J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is one of them.
More than half of enrollment at J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is White: 55%. Enrollment also includes 27% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 7% Black, and 3% Asian. The school's White share is 19 points below the 75% share among Ulster County residents. The diversity index for J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is 61%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL has 98.9 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.5:1. Across middle schools in New York, the average ratio is 10.3:1. The school has 46% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 45.4%, compared with a predicted 58.2%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of New York schools on BeatsExpectations.
Census data for Ulster County show the median household earns about $86,271 a year, roughly 38% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Public schools in Ulster County number 45, with about 20,189 students.
About 0.1 miles separate J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL from the closest public school, HARRY L EDSON SCHOOL. The five-mile area around J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL holds at least 8 other public schools. J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL's average proficiency of 45.4% compares with 37.9% for its nearest scored neighbors.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Small, or inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment was 936 in 2024-25. In 2017-18, it was 1,049. The Black share of enrollment decreased from 11% to 7% over the same period. The ratio of students to teachers went from 12.1:1 to 9.5:1 over the same years.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Ulster County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
182,601
Census ACS
Median income
$86,271
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
45
20,189 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
- KINGSTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,749 students
- M CLIFFORD MILLER MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 826 students
- GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHOOLElementary · 492 students
- HARRY L EDSON SCHOOLElementary · 397 students
- ROBERT R GRAVES SCHOOLElementary · 325 students
- JOHN F KENNEDY SCHOOLElementary · 322 students
Other schools in KINGSTON
- KINGSTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,749 students
- GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHOOLElementary · 492 students
- HARRY L EDSON SCHOOLElementary · 397 students
- JOHN F KENNEDY SCHOOLElementary · 322 students
- CHAMBERS SCHOOLElementary · 306 students
Nearby schools
- HARRY L EDSON SCHOOL0.1 mi · 397
- GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHOOL1.1 mi · 492
- ERNEST C MYER SCHOOL1.8 mi · 213
- KINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL1.9 mi · 1,749
- CHAMBERS SCHOOL2.5 mi · 306
- JOHN F KENNEDY SCHOOL2.8 mi · 322
Frequently asked questions
About J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOLWhat is the total enrollment at J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL?
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL enrolls approximately 936 students in grades 05-08.
What age range does J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL serve?
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL serves students from grade 05 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is approximately 9.5:1 (99 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL?
At J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 55% White, 27% Hispanic, 7% Black, 3% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL public or private?
J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.