Dartmouth Middle

Dartmouth Middle is one of the moderately sized junior highs in San Jose, California, operated by Union Elementary, with 903 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. That puts it 37% above the typical public school in California, which averages around 659 students.

Union Elementary comprises 8 schools with combined enrollment of 5,376 students; Dartmouth Middle is among them.

On demographics, Dartmouth Middle shows that 36% of students identify as Asian, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 31% White, 23% Hispanic, 8% multiracial.

In terms of school funding signals, Dartmouth Middle logs 42 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 21.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 20.7:1, putting Dartmouth Middle higher than the state norm the norm. About 17% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is south of Santa Clara County's rate of about 37%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Dartmouth Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 69.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 64.1%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Santa Clara County) logs that median household earnings sit near $164,281, 57% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 4%. In all, Santa Clara County runs 412 public schools (combined enrollment of about 230,059 students), of which Dartmouth Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Lietz Elementary, roughly 0.4 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Dartmouth Middle. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Dartmouth Middle ranks 5th on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 62.9%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Dartmouth Middle has ticked down 5%, going from 952 students in 2018 to 903 in 2025. Over the same period, the Asian share increased from 22% to 36%. Class-load math has tightened: from 23.2:1 in 2018 to 21.6:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.