Crossroads Alternative Education Center

Set in Los Banos, California, Crossroads Alternative Education Center is a micro-enrollment unified-grade school, operated by Los Banos Unified. It enrolls 183 students across grades K through 12. That puts it 70% smaller than the typical public school in California, which averages around 602 students.

Across the 16 schools in Los Banos Unified (11,020 students total), Crossroads Alternative Education Center accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Crossroads Alternative Education Center records that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (88%). Beyond that, the school shows 8% White. By comparison, Merced County as a whole is about 63% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Crossroads Alternative Education Center has 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.2:1. The state averages around 18.6:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 87% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Merced County indicate median household income runs about $65,510, 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 16%. Crossroads Alternative Education Center is one of 117 public schools in Merced County (combined enrollment of about 59,456 students).

Henry Miller Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a town-based setting. Instruction is delivered virtually rather than at a physical campus, and enrollment crosses district lines.

Five-year trend. Crossroads Alternative Education Center's enrollment has climbed 68% since 2018, when it stood at 109 (now 183). White enrollment moved from 24% to 8% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 18.2:1 in 2018 to 22.2:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Crossroads Alternative Education Center community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.