Los Arboles Middle

As a modestly sized junior high in Marina, California, Los Arboles Middle serves 408 students from grades 7 through 8, overseen by Monterey Peninsula Unified. That puts it 38% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 659 students.

Monterey Peninsula Unified comprises 18 schools with combined enrollment of 9,308 students; Los Arboles Middle is among them.

Looking at the student body, Los Arboles Middle lists that 63% of the student body identifies as Hispanic; the rest looks like 15% Asian, 12% White, 6% Black, 2% Pacific Islander. That composition is broadly in line with Monterey County as a whole.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Los Arboles Middle has 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.9:1. The state averages around 20.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 75% of students at Los Arboles Middle qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Los Arboles Middle sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 34.5%; this one delivers 23.5%.

Around the school, Monterey County reports that the typical household earns roughly $97,230 per year, about 28% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Monterey County's 153 public schools (combined enrollment of about 73,845 students), Los Arboles Middle is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Marina High, around 0.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Los Arboles Middle comes 6th of 7 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 32.3%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Los Arboles Middle has contracted 35%, going from 628 students in 2018 to 408 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share climbed from 52% to 63%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 21.4:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Los Arboles Middle community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.