Liberal Middle School
Public middle school in Liberal, Missouri · Liberal R-II School District · Grades 6–8
Liberal Middle School serves 59 students in grades 6–8 in Liberal (Barton County). It is one of 3 schools in Liberal R-II School District. By enrollment it is the 393rd largest of 395 public middle schools in Missouri (median 426 students). With 10 students per full-time teacher, it has fewer students per teacher than the typical Missouri middle school (13).
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Rank and medians compare all 395 Missouri middle schools with enrollment listed on this site.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Students per teacher = students ÷ 5.89 full-time-equivalent teachers.
School facts
| School type | Regular School |
| Level | Middle |
| Grades | 6–8 |
| District | Liberal R-II School District |
| County | Barton County |
| Area type | Rural, distant |
| School meals | National School Lunch Program, free or reduced price for eligible students |
| NCES school ID | 291851002719 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 directory and school characteristics; area type from NCES EDGE locale codes.
Compared with the district and Missouri
| This school | Liberal R-II | Missouri middle schools (median) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 59 | 271 | 426 |
| Students per teacher | 10 | 8.9 | 13 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch eligible | 45.8% | 43.9% | 48.6% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. District figures add up its schools. 7% of Missouri middle schools have fewer students per teacher than this school (share of schools with a lower ratio). State test results aren't published here yet.
Liberal Middle School in context
Size
Liberal Middle School is the only middle school in Liberal R-II School District. Its 59 students are 21.8% of the district's 271. The 8 nearest middle schools are a median 27.6 miles away and have a median of 596 students, so Liberal Middle School is smaller than most of them.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 enrollment and school type. Share of district students = this school's students ÷ the district's students. Nearest schools by straight-line distance between NCES EDGE locations.
Grades
Its largest grade is grade 8 with 25 students, and its smallest is grade 6 with 15, against an average of 20 per grade. This year grade 8 has 67% more students than grade 6 (25 against 15). Each grade is a different group of students, so the gap is not a dropout or growth rate.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership by grade.
Students
White students are the largest group, at 93.2% of enrollment, about the same share as across Liberal R-II (95.9%). Students from 4 of the 7 race and ethnicity groups NCES reports are enrolled.
45.8% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, against 43.9% across Liberal R-II and a median of 48.6% for Missouri middle schools. 11.9% are directly certified for free meals, meaning their families take part in programs such as SNAP or TANF, so no application was needed. Families apply for free or reduced-price meals, and eligibility depends on household income.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership and school lunch program data. District shares weight each school by its enrollment.
Teachers
Liberal Middle School has 5.89 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 10 students per teacher. At the median Missouri middle school ratio of 13, a school with 59 students would have about 4.5 teachers, so Liberal Middle School has 1.4 more.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Expected teachers = this school's students ÷ the median students per teacher of Missouri middle schools (13).
Location
NCES classifies its location as rural, distant, which means it is in rural territory 5 to 25 miles from an urbanized area, or 2.5 to 10 miles from a town. The nearest other middle school is Lamar Middle School, 13.7 miles away in Lamar R-I School District. No other middle school is within 10 miles.
Source: NCES EDGE school locations and locale codes, 2024-25. Distances are straight lines.
Students by race and ethnicity
| White | 93.2% |
| Two or more races | 3.4% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1.7% |
| Hispanic | 1.7% |
50.8% of students are girls and 49.2% are boys.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Students by grade
| Grade 6 | 15 |
| Grade 7 | 19 |
| Grade 8 | 25 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Location and contact
205 N Payne, Liberal, MO 64762
Phone: (417)843-6033
Website: liberal.k12.mo.us
Locations: NCES EDGE. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Red: Liberal Middle School. Blue: the nearest middle schools.
Nearby middle schools
| School | District | Distance | Students | Per teacher | Free/reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Middle School | Lamar R-I | 13.7 mi | 255 | 11.9 | 57.6% |
| Nevada Middle School | Nevada R-V | 21.3 mi | 511 | 12.6 | 55.6% |
| Carl Junction Junior High School | Carl Junction R-I | 26.6 mi | 500 | 14.3 | 33.6% |
| Carl Junction Intermediate School | Carl Junction R-I | 26.9 mi | 769 | 14.6 | 39.3% |
| Webb City Middle School | Webb City R-VII | 28.3 mi | 681 | 15.3 | 49.8% |
| Webb City Junior High School | Webb City R-VII | 28.9 mi | 709 | 15.2 | 46.3% |
| Carthage 6th Grade Center | Carthage R-IX | 29.1 mi | 377 | 12.3 | 71.1% |
| Carthage Junior High School | Carthage R-IX | 30.0 mi | 773 | 13 | 65.1% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Distance in a straight line between NCES EDGE locations.
Other schools in Liberal R-II
| School | Level | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Elementary School | Elementary | Pre-K–5 | 116 |
| Liberal High School | High | 9–12 | 96 |