Palms Middle

Set in Los Angeles, California, Palms Middle is a high-enrollment junior high, operated by Los Angeles Unified. It teaches 1,081 students across grades 6 through 8. That puts it 64% bigger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 659 students.

Across the 784 schools in Los Angeles Unified (406,887 students total), Palms Middle accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Palms Middle reports that 46% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 25% Black, 14% White, 8% Asian, 8% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Los Angeles County as a whole.

On the resource side, Palms Middle records 55 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 19.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 20.7:1, putting Palms Middle tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 72% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Palms Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 36.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 49.7%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Los Angeles County put median household earnings sit near $90,112, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Los Angeles County's 2244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,265,907 students), Palms Middle is one campus in the mix.

Charnock Road Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Palms Middle at 4th of 8; the average score across the group is 56.0%.

Palms Middle operates from a downtown location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 20%: 1,353 students in 2018 compared to 1,081 in 2025. Over the same period, the Asian share decreased from 13% to 8%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 24.9:1 in 2018 to 19.6:1 today.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.