James L. Day Middle

James L. Day Middle is one of the mid-tier middle-grades schools in Temecula, California, overseen by Temecula Valley Unified, with 932 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 41% bigger than the state mean of about 659.

Temecula Valley Unified runs 30 schools in total, collectively educating 26,274 students. James L. Day Middle is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, James L. Day Middle records that 38% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest consists of 34% White, 13% Asian, 11% multiracial, 4% Black. The wider county runs roughly 51% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably less Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 22.9:1. The state averages around 20.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 42% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Riverside County (around 74%), the school's rate is south of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), James L. Day Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 54.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 54.5%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Riverside County put median household income runs about $93,074, roughly 26% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Riverside County runs 543 public schools (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students), of which James L. Day Middle is one.

Nearest neighbor: Chaparral High, around 0.8 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around James L. Day Middle. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), James L. Day Middle ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 49.0%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 12%: 1,063 students in 2018 compared to 932 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 38% to 34%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 25.3:1 in 2018 to 22.9:1 today.

On this page, members of the James L. Day Middle community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.