Willis Jepson Middle, Vacaville CA

Original Research by School Decision on Willis Jepson Middle

Willis Jepson Middle is a regular public middle school serving grades seven and eight in Vacaville, a mid-sized city on the I-80 corridor between Sacramento and San Francisco. The school sits within a community shaped by biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, and a historic downtown that contrasts with the car-oriented commercial sprawl elsewhere in the city.

The school's academic performance shows particular strength in English language arts, where roughly half of seventh graders and a substantial share of eighth graders meet or exceed proficiency standards. Mathematics proficiency is considerably lower, with fewer than one in three students in either grade reaching proficiency. Science performance, measured in eighth grade, is also modest. The school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among Solano County's districts, a position worth noting even as absolute proficiency rates suggest meaningful instruction gaps.

The student body is economically diverse. Roughly half the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. By race and ethnicity, the enrollment is fairly well distributed, with approximately equal shares of Hispanic and white students, plus a growing population of Asian and multiracial students, a smaller black population, and very few American Indian or Native Hawaiian students. Special population data—the counts of students with IEPs and English learners—is not publicly available, so a parent interested in how the school serves students with disabilities or multilingual learners should ask the school directly.

The school serves roughly a thousand students across its two grades, a typical middle school enrollment for its setting. Information on staffing, attendance, chronic absenteeism, course offerings beyond core academics, and discipline practices was not available in the data, so parents may want to visit the school or its website to understand the day-to-day environment, teacher ratios, or program depth in areas like electives or support services.

Willis Jepson sits within Vacaville Unified, which faces infrastructure strain. The district has pursued two consecutive school facilities bonds, both defeated by voters, leaving campuses aging and unmodernized. A planned new middle school is on hold. At the same time, the district is absorbing enrollment growth driven by the rollout of transitional kindergarten and continued housing development, including the Lagoon Valley conservation community and new growth areas in planning phases. This means the school is operating in a context of rising demand, deferred capital improvements, and crowding pressures. For families considering the school, facility condition and classroom space should be questions for the principal or district office.

The broader Vacaville housing market is moderately priced relative to the state median, with home values holding fairly steady and rental costs rising slightly. Employment is stable and diverse, anchored by major employers in biotech, healthcare, and retail. Downtown offers walkability and cultural amenities, while most residential neighborhoods are suburban and auto-dependent. The city is actively growing, which brings both new families and ongoing construction activity.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 27% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 19% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 49% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 40% · ▲ 4 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 58% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolVacaville Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income63%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income55%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income19%Higher-income43%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income33%18 pp gap