Talmadge Middle School

Talmadge Middle School, a middle-of-the-pack 6-8 campus in Independence, Oregon, one of the schools within Central SD 13J, caters to 716 students, covering grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 45% bigger than the state mean of about 494.

Within Central SD 13J, which oversees 5 schools and 3,050 students, Talmadge Middle School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Talmadge Middle School records that 47% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest comes out to 45% White, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Polk County as a whole is about 16% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Talmadge Middle School records 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 18.8:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 95% of students at Talmadge Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Polk County (around 84%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Talmadge Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 25.9%, the actual is 22.2%, a residual of -3.7 points.

In the broader community, Polk County reports that median household earnings sit near $85,118, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Polk County runs 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,121 students), of which Talmadge Middle School is one.

Central High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 4 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Talmadge Middle School at 6th of 9; the average score across the group is 24.4%.

The school occupies a town-center site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 9%: 789 students in 2018 compared to 716 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 22.5:1 in 2018 to 18.8:1 today.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.