J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL

Set in KINGSTON, New York, J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is a large middle-grades school, run under KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. It educates 936 students across grades 5 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 531 students per school, that is 76% larger than typical.

KINGSTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 10 schools in total, collectively educating 5,877 students. J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL reports that White students make up the majority at 55%. Other groups include 27% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 7% Black, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 75% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 99 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 9.5:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 10.3:1 average. An estimated 46% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 58.2%; this one delivers 45.4%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Ulster County) records that median household income runs about $86,271, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Ulster County's 45 public schools (combined enrollment of about 20,189 students), J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: HARRY L EDSON SCHOOL, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL. On composite proficiency, J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL comes 4th of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 37.9%.

The campus sits in an inner-city setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL has ticked down 11%, going from 1,049 students in 2018 to 936 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment fell from 11% to 7% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 12.1:1 in 2018 to 9.5:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.