Valders Middle

Located at 138 Jefferson St, in Valders, Wisconsin, Valders Middle is a low-enrollment middle-grades school that teaches 259 students (grades 5 through 8), part of Valders Area School District. By comparison, Wisconsin's public schools average about 381 students each, so Valders Middle sits 32% below that benchmark.

Valders Area School District runs 3 schools in total, collectively educating 961 students. Valders Middle is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Valders Middle shows that 91% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 7% Hispanic. Compared to Manitowoc County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 12.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 22% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is lower than Manitowoc County's rate of about 40%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Valders Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 63.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 60.3%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Manitowoc County indicate median household income runs about $69,148, roughly 23% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Manitowoc County runs 30 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,090 students), of which Valders Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Valders High, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Valders Middle comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 44.9%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count remained close to its prior level: 264 students in 2018 compared to 259 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 13.9:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Valders Middle typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.