Compare Thomas Middle School with Lawson Middle School

Thomas Middle School earned a State accountability rating of C (70-79) based on three domains: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Scores are scaled from 0 to 100 to align with letter grades. The school scored 57 in student achievement, 79 in school progress and 73 in closing performance gaps. It scored 77 overall in post-secondary readiness, a broad term that refers to student preparedness to undertake multiple pathways after graduation, or specifically, their preparedness for college education.

On the other hand, Lawson Middle School earned a State accountability rating of B. The school posted 69 in student achievement, 89 in school progress, 81 in closing performance gaps and 87 overall in post-secondary readiness.

A distinction designation acknowledges districts and campuses for outstanding achievement based on the outcomes of several performance indicators. Distinction designations are awarded for achievement in several areas and are based on performance relative to a group of campuses of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics.

It is in this area where the two schools differ. Thomas Middle School's five out of seven distinctions are in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, with 25% student progress and 25% closing performance gaps. Lawson Middle School’s two out of seven distinctions are in with 25% student progress and 25% closing performance gaps.

Based on Racial/Ethnic Groups, the dominant group in Thomas Middle School is African Americans who make up nearly 67.43% of student population, followed by Hispanics (29.31%), Whites or Caucasians (1.34%), Two or More Races (0.96%), Asians (0.57%) and Native Americans (0.19%).

At Lawson Middle School, Hispanics are the biggest group, comprising 60.63% of student population, followed by African Americans (36.46%), Whites or Caucasians (1.53%), Two or More Races (0.87%), Asians (0.29%) and Native Americans (0.22%).

Based on household incomes, the Thomas Middle School’s economically disadvantaged students is lower at 95.79% compared to 97.09% at Lawson Middle School.

In terms of Limited English Proficiency (LEP), a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is not fluent in the English Language, mainly because it is not their native language, Thomas Middle School has 87 English Language Learners or ELLS or about 16.67% of student population. Lawson Middle School has significantly more ELLs at 559 or about 40.68% of student population.

In addition, Thomas Middle School has 15.90% bilingual students, 2.87% are in the gifted and talented program, while 20.69% are in the special education program. This stacks up against Lawson Middle School with 39.67% bilingual students, 8.95% gifted and talented students and 13.83% students in the special education program.

Thomas Middle School's 32 teachers have been working at the campus for an average of 4.7 years with individual teaching experience averaging 8.9 years. Teachers at Lawson Middle School, numbering 75 teachers, have been serving the school for an average of 5.1 years with individual teaching experience averaging 7.5 years.

Of its teaching staff, Thomas Middle School no teacher serving the school for over 30 years, has four teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, eight teachers have worked for 11-20 years, six teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 14 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including one beginning teacher only. Lawson Middle School has one teacher only serving the school for over 30 years, has four teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 18 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, 11 teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 29 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including 14 beginning teachers.

In both schools, female teachers outnumber the male teachers. At Thomas Middle School there are 19 female teachers and 13 male teachers. Of its teaching staff, four special education teachers are being assisted by seven teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has three staff members in the school administration department and ten more working as school support staff.

At Lawson Middle School there are 61 female teachers and 14 male teachers. Of its teaching staff, five special education teachers are being assisted by six teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has four staff members in the school administration department and 12 more working as school support staff.