Whaley Middle

Federal records list Whaley Middle as a middle-grades school in Compton, California. The school runs grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 429 students. By comparison, middle schools in California enroll about 659 students on average.

Whaley Middle is part of a district of 36 schools: Compton Unified, with 16,304 students.

Whaley Middle is 87% Hispanic by enrollment. Next come 11% Black. That compares with about 48% Hispanic among all Los Angeles County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 23%.

Classroom staffing at Whaley Middle totals 17.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 24.3:1. The average for middle schools in California is 20.7:1, so this school has more students per teacher. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at Whaley Middle is about 93%. For comparison, public schools in Los Angeles County average 70%.

Based on student poverty, the model expects 25.2% at Whaley Middle; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 37.2%.

In the surrounding county, Los Angeles County, the median household earns about $90,112 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Counting Whaley Middle, Los Angeles County has 2,244 public schools.

Janie P. Abbott Elementary sits about 0.6 miles from Whaley Middle. Whaley Middle has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 37.8% proficiency; Whaley Middle posts 37.2%.

Whaley Middle falls in the Suburb: Large locale category, used for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Enrollment fell by 27% across 4 years, from 585 in 2020-21 to 429 in 2024-25.

Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Whaley Middle. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.