Murray Middle

Murray Middle operates as a reasonably sized 6-8 campus in Ridgecrest, California, run under Sierra Sands Unified. Current enrollment sits at 643 students spanning grades 6 through 8.

Within Sierra Sands Unified, which oversees 10 schools and 4,974 students, Murray Middle is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Murray Middle shows that the most-represented group is White (43%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest reads as 36% Hispanic, 7% Black, 7% multiracial, 5% Asian. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, The school currently runs with 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 21.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 20.7:1, putting Murray Middle higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 56% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is south of Kern County's rate of about 76%.

After controlling for student poverty, Murray Middle falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 46.0%; this one comes in at 29.1%, -16.9 points off the demographic line.

In the area at large, census data for Kern County shows median household earnings sit near $70,210, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 15%. Murray Middle is one of 279 public schools in Kern County (combined enrollment of about 197,431 students).

Burroughs High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Murray Middle. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Murray Middle ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 34.6%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Murray Middle has declined 4%, going from 670 students in 2018 to 643 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 60% to 43% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 22.9:1 in 2018 to 21.7:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.