Located in east Murrieta, Dorothy McElhinney Middle School is one of the newer additions to the Murrieta Valley Unified School District.
Besides following the district's standards of academic excellence, McElhinney is a visual and performing arts school. Students are exposed to vocal and instrumental music, drama, dance and visual art, ceramics and computer arts.
The school's namesake, Dorothy McElhinney, owned the 400-acre Pinto Ranch on which the campus now stands. Feeder schools are Lisa J. Mails and Monte Vista elementary schools. McElhinney students feed into Vista Murrieta High School.