Dorothy McElhinney Middle School

We have two kids in this school and started at Lisa J when it opened. We have loved our experience from the get go. From Faythe at Lisa J to Garrett at DMMS, the staff and facualty have always been caring, supportive and demonstrates a genuine "best interest of the children". The road hasn't always been smooth for my kids but any situation that has arised has been dealt with swiftly and fairly. We love this school and will miss it when we move on. Thank you DMMS!!! The Gallups
--Submitted by a parent

I'm very happy with this school and would highly recommend it compared to other middle schools in the area. I enjoy having both the elementary and middle school at the same "location", although different campuses. I have enjoyed the teachers my kids have had, and parent involvement is good. I feel as if the middle school stays a bit more innocent because of that.
--Submitted by a parent

I am familiar with the various middle schools in the valley, and am pleased to have a school like McElhinney in Murrieta. It is a fairly new school, with lots of opportunities for a good education and extra-curricular activities. Our son has settled into middle school nicely, and has found the whole experience encouraging. This is noteworthy due to his sensitive nature. As one who observes the parents and students during pick up and drop off, it is apparent that these students come from good families. The curriculum has an art focus, offering a well rounded education. The teachers communicate well via email and the grades are readily available through the Aeries system. All of my interactions with the staff, teachers and the principal, were professional and cordial. Beginning in 6th grade, homework was very time consuming. After my son was accustomed to the teachers and the expectations, the time involved diminished, and he became more efficient. School parking lots can be very challenging. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary compared to other schools in the district. Many times we were early and had no wait at all. The new schedule will eliminate some challenges.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has attended McElhinney for all 3 years of his middle school education. I can't say enough about the staff and the students that work at and attend this amazingly higher AP score school. This is not your ordinary public facility, this is a higher learning institution that is arts focused. The staff are among the elite in all surrounding counties, the students are of the same magnitude. If you want to truly change your son or daughters education and take it up a notch, enroll them in this Avid, Honors core curriculum offered at this public school which acts like a private school. From a proud parent with a son headed to college, his way has been paved with a good attitude set by the staff and teachers at LJM & McElhinney! GO COLTS!
--Submitted by a parent

The school is new, Teachers are good as well as the staff....but kids are kids. I sent my daughter to this school because I heard there aren't the fights, bullying, inappropriate language that you hear goes on at other middle schools. Wishful Thinking. Kids are kids......

The traffic in and out of the school is horrendous...sometimes taking me as long as an hour! I found the curriculum and overall school environment no different than Warm Springs. I transferred my son back and he has adjusted beautifully and is happier being with his friends.
--Submitted by a parent

I'm a student at Dorothy Mcelhinney Middle School and this school is the best school i've been to! The teachers are really nice and encourage us to do better in class if our grades are bad. One of my teachers usually has a talk with us to be thankful for our education and take it seriously. Not many kids in my class talk and we all pay attention. The traffic is a bit of a problem but they're fixing in and most of the time, the traffic isn't that bad when you drop us off early. The staff is really polite and helpful. The band is amazing and since our school is a performing arts school, one of our electives is dance! We're the only school in the MVUSD to have that as an elective and we love it! I highly recommend this school and i gurantee your child will love it there!

Moving out here from Orange County and transferring our daughter to MVUSD has been the BEST thing EVER! I have seen a HUGE improvement since my daughter has been attending Dorothy McElhinney! All of her teachers stay in touch with me and give me updates via email! Out of 970(rough estimate) students, about 600(rough estimate) made the Honor Roll and that's between 6th-8th grade! How awesome is that?! If you live in Murrieta/Temecula, I highly recommend Dorothy McElhinney Middle School! AND.... If your child has special needs or is Autistic, they do NOT treat your child as a "labeled" child! They will challenge them to get the best out of them!
--Submitted by a parent

Dorothy McElhinney is probably the best public middle school in Murrieta . The teachers are exellent ! They are always willing to take time & help there students . No child at this school feels "unwelcome" or bullied . They are a very spirited school . & They do prepair your child for Highschool . Although , there is a lot of traffic in the mornings . They ARE working on making two lanes . So traffic flows faster . It is worth taking the time & dropping your child off at this school . Because they are a Performing Arts school . There are many different elective actives that are exciting ; Dance , Art , Drama , & Computer Arts . And also , the Physical Education teachers are great ! GO COLTS ! (:

The traffic is a problem but they are working on it. The school should have known that having Lisa J. Mails next door that this would be a huge problem. This same thing happened last year at Mails. Now add 600 more kids - major traffic. This could have been prevented if the administrators would have paid attention to all the signs instead of being in a hurry to open a new school. Now they say that they are working on it. I have yet to see anything happening to remedy the situation. Now as for the school itself and the teachers. Its been wonderful. The school is still small enough for the teachers to know my child's name and the communication between the staff and teachers is excellent. My boys love it there and my youngest can't wait to go there next year.
--Submitted by a parent