Hillside Middle

Hillside Middle is a roomy middle-grades school in Simi Valley, California, part of Simi Valley Unified. The school caters to 1,138 students in grades 6 through 8. That puts it 73% bigger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 659 students.

Across the 27 schools in Simi Valley Unified (15,418 students total), Hillside Middle accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Hillside Middle lists that the largest single group is Hispanic at 45%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest breaks down as 32% White, 17% Asian, 5% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, On paper, Hillside Middle has 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.8:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 20.7:1 average. Around 46% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Ventura County runs at roughly 59%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Hillside Middle sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 52.4%; this one delivers 44.4%.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Ventura County) records that median household earnings sit near $109,797, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Ventura County's 238 public schools (combined enrollment of about 147,841 students), Hillside Middle is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Crestview Elementary, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hillside Middle ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, below the local average of 47.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a bedroom-community area.

Over the past 7-year window. Hillside Middle's enrollment has expanded 22% since 2018, when it stood at 935 (now 1,138). White enrollment moved from 48% to 32% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 23.8:1 in 2018 to 22.8:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Hillside Middle community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.