Sam H. Lawson Middle

Set in Cupertino, California, Sam H. Lawson Middle is a mid-tier junior high, one of the schools within Cupertino Union. It educates 841 students across grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 659 students per school, that is 28% bigger than typical.

Across the 23 schools in Cupertino Union (13,526 students total), Sam H. Lawson Middle accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Sam H. Lawson Middle records that the student body is overwhelmingly Asian (84%). Other groups include 6% White, 5% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 41% Asian, putting the school's mix noticeably more Asian than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Sam H. Lawson Middle logs 44 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 19.3:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 20.7:1 average. An estimated 15% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Santa Clara County runs at roughly 37%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Sam H. Lawson Middle is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 70.4%; this one delivers 86.6%, a residual of +16.1 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Santa Clara County put median household income runs about $164,281, about 57% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. Across Santa Clara County's 412 public schools (combined enrollment of about 230,059 students), Sam H. Lawson Middle is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: L. P. Collins Elementary, around 0.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Sam H. Lawson Middle ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 79.3%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Looking at the recent track record. Sam H. Lawson Middle's enrollment has fell 32% since 2018, when it stood at 1,228 (now 841). Class-load math has tightened: from 21.3:1 in 2018 to 19.3:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.