Middle Schools in Gilroy Unified

The Gilroy Unified school district in California is home to three middle schools: Solorsano Middle, Brownell Middle, and South Valley Middle. These schools serve students in grades 6-8 and provide a range of academic and extracurricular opportunities.

Among the three middle schools, Brownell Middle stands out as the top performer. It has the highest statewide school ranking, with a ranking of 894 out of 2,777 California middle schools for the 2023-2024 school year, compared to 1,118 for Solorsano Middle and 1,596 for South Valley Middle. Brownell Middle also boasts the highest proficiency rates in both English Language Arts and Mathematics across most grade levels and end-of-course assessments, often exceeding the district and state averages. Additionally, Brownell Middle has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 24.4%, compared to 30.3% for Solorsano Middle and 25.0% for South Valley Middle.

While Brownell Middle stands out as the top performer, the data also reveals some areas of concern across the district. South Valley Middle lags behind the other two schools in academic proficiency, and Solorsano Middle has the highest chronic absenteeism rate, which can be linked to lower academic achievement. Additionally, the differences in free/reduced lunch rates among the schools suggest that socioeconomic factors may play a role in the observed performance disparities, and further investigation into the specific practices and resources at each school could provide valuable insights to address these gaps.