Gardner Student Data

The Schools

• Gardner Elementary School, Pre-K through grade 4, at 278 Pearl Street.
• Gardner Middle School.
• Gardner High School.
• Gardner Academy for Learning and Technology, the district’s alternative high school program.

Who the Students Are

• Low income: 60.6 percent of students.
• High needs: 71.1 percent, the state’s combined measure of students who are low income, English learners or have disabilities.
• Students with disabilities: 24.8 percent.
• English learners: 10.9 percent.
• First language not English: 19.0 percent.

Those shares matter for money as well as for teaching. State education aid is weighted toward exactly these categories, so a district’s enrollment profile is part of what determines the size of the budget the School Committee approves and the City Council funds.

Spending and Outcomes

• Total spending per pupil: $18,538.65.
• In district spending per pupil: $17,987.18.
• Four year graduation rate: 87.8 percent.
• Full state profile: DESE profile for Gardner (code 01030000).

The gap between the two per pupil figures is the money that follows students placed outside the district. It is a real line in the budget and it is one of the reasons a school budget can rise without a single new program appearing in a Gardner building.

Where These Numbers Get Decided

The School Committee approves the school budget before it goes to the City Council, and the Council votes the city budget that funds it. Both bodies meet in public and both take comment. If you want to move one of the numbers on this page, those are the two rooms, and the budget season is the month to be in them.