Columbia Middle School

Columbia Middle School, a minimally staffed 6-8 campus in BURBANK, Washington, operated by Columbia (Walla Walla) School District, works with 174 students, covering grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 577 students per school, that is 70% leaner than typical.

Columbia Middle School is one of 3 schools operated by Columbia (Walla Walla) School District, a district that works with 776 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Columbia Middle School shows that White students make up the majority at 57%. Beyond that, the school logs 41% Hispanic. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 73%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 11 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.8:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 18.9:1 average. An estimated 59% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

With demographic context factored in, Columbia Middle School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 40.5%; this one comes in at 24.8%, -15.7 points off the demographic line.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Walla Walla County put median household earnings sit near $74,202, about 30% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. Across Walla Walla County's 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,516 students), Columbia Middle School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Columbia High School, roughly 0.1 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Columbia Middle School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 23.7%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Columbia Middle School's enrollment has changed only slightly since 2018, when it stood at 170 (now 174).

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Columbia Middle School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.