Middle school (grades 6-8) · Gaithersburg, MD

Gaithersburg Middle

Federal NCES profile for Gaithersburg Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 240048000837
0/100100/10048/100
👥 S:T ratio
54
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
50
📋 Attendance
18
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Gaithersburg Middle earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Maryland schools.

#5 of 5
middle schools in Gaithersburg · Resource Index
48
Resource Index · Typical
11.6:1
small classes for Maryland
56.5%
free-lunch eligible

Gaithersburg Middle has class sizes smaller than 85% of Maryland schools. Computed live against every Maryland school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Gaithersburg Middle ranks #5 of 5 middle schools in Gaithersburg, MD.

Enrollment

869

Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

75.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.6:1

vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg

-20% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

56.5%

vs 49.0% Maryland avg

+15% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Gaithersburg Middle compares with Maryland and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Gaithersburg Middle

Gaithersburg Middle is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, enrolling 869 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 11.6:1, Gaithersburg Middle is leaner than roughly 85% of Maryland schools and 20% under the state's 14.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 56.5% lands close to the Maryland typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 869 puts it in the larger third of Maryland schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,382 scored Maryland schools.

Against 233 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #30.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (58%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 60/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 248 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Gaithersburg's middle schools, it stands alongside Lakelands Park Middle (993 students): Gaithersburg Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.6:1 vs 13.6:1).

Montgomery County Public Schools also operates Montgomery Blair High (3,266 students) and Walter Johnson High (3,016 students) alongside Gaithersburg Middle.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Gaithersburg Middle compares

Gaithersburg Middle on the metrics families compare, against Maryland and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Maryland Maryland avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 11.6:1 ▼ 20% 14.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 56.5% ▲ 15% 49.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 869 top 18% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

11.6:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
869
Bigger than 88% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
56.5%
free-lunch eligible - 15% above the Maryland average of 49.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.6:1
students per teacher - 20% below state mean
Top 15% in Maryland - lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
32.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,101
per pupil, district-wide - below Maryland avg of $20,446
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.5 FTE
Per 248 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 47 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 58.0%
African American 21.4%
White 8.1%
Asian 6.9%
Two or More 5.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 58.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 60.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 60.3, Gaithersburg Middle is more mixed than the Maryland school average of 52.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Montgomery County Public Schools, which includes Gaithersburg Middle.

$18,101
Per student
-11%
vs Maryland
Avg $20,446
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.0%
State 23.7%
Federal 10.3%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Gaithersburg Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Montgomery Blair High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Walter Johnson High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Wheaton High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Gaithersburg High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Seneca Valley High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Gaithersburg Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Montgomery County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Gaithersburg

4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maryland, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Gaithersburg Middle's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Gaithersburg Middle

How many students attend Gaithersburg Middle?

Gaithersburg Middle has 869 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Gaithersburg, MD.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Gaithersburg Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Gaithersburg Middle is 11.6:1, which is 20% lower than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 26% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Gaithersburg Middle?

56.5% of students at Gaithersburg Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gaithersburg Middle?

The largest demographic group at Gaithersburg Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 58.0% of enrollment, in Gaithersburg, MD. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Gaithersburg Middle?

Gaithersburg Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Gaithersburg Middle rank among middle schools in Gaithersburg?

By Resource Investment Index, Gaithersburg Middle ranks #5 of 5 middle schools in Gaithersburg, MD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Gaithersburg on the city page.

Is Gaithersburg Middle a good school?

Gaithersburg Middle earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Maryland schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Montgomery County Public Schools?

Besides Gaithersburg Middle, Montgomery County Public Schools also operates Montgomery Blair High (3,266 students), Walter Johnson High (3,016 students), and Wheaton High (2,794 students). See the Montgomery County Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.