Recognized for demonstrating consistent high student academic achievement and making significant progress toward closing achievement gaps among all their students were 12 schools from Temecula Valley Unified School District, eight from Lake Elsinore Unified, four from Murrieta Valley Unified and two from Menifee Union.

The Star School designation ---- which is given to campuses with significant populations of socioeconomically disadvantaged students who have shown a large increase in grade-level proficiency and achievement gap reduction over four years ---- went to Lake Elsinore's Elsinore, Railroad Canyon, Wildomar and Withrow elementary schools and Terra Cotta Middle School and Temecula's Vail Elementary.

Named Scholar Schools ---- a designation given to schools that have reached significant academic achievement levels, but do not have high socioeconomically disadvantaged student populations ---- were Lake Elsinore's Luiseno, Rice Canyon and Tuscany Hills elementary schools; Menifee's Evans Ranch and Ridgemoor elementaries; Murrieta's Alta Murrieta, Antelope Hills, Cole Canyon and Tovashal elementary schools; and Temecula's Abby Reinke, Alamos, Crowne Hill, French Valley, Helen Hunt Jackson, Pauba Valley, Rancho, Red Hawk, La Vorgna and Vintage Hills elementaries and Temecula Valley Charter School.

In all, 1,304 schools were named to the 2009 Honor Roll.