Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Boxford, Massachusetts - 2 schools
An equity score of 57/100 ranks Middleton #24 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $21,664 per pupil, Middleton ranks #187 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
725
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$21,664
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Middleton operates 2 public schools serving 725 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Essex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $21,664 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending. See how Massachusetts compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 11.8% local, 72.6% state, and 15.6% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 57/100, ranked #24 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 314.6:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 20.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 84.4% White, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% Asian across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Howe-Manning, enrolling 461 students (63% of the district's total enrollment).
Howe-Manning accounts for 63.2% of all Middleton student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Middleton a distant remainder — means Middleton-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Middleton student-counselor ratio is 315:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Middleton is typically wider than the Middleton-aggregate figure suggests.
Middleton chronic absenteeism rate is 20.5% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Middleton is typically wider than the Middleton-aggregate figure suggests.