Mission Hill Middle

Mission Hill Middle is one of the low-enrollment intermediate schools in Santa Cruz, California, one of the schools within Santa Cruz City High, with 510 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 659 students per school, that is 23% below typical.

Mission Hill Middle is one of 9 schools operated by Santa Cruz City High, a district that educates 4,455 students overall.

On demographics, Mission Hill Middle reports that the most-represented group is White (53%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school records 33% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, 3% Asian.

On the resource side, Mission Hill Middle shows 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 18.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 20.7:1, putting Mission Hill Middle tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 32% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Santa Cruz County runs at roughly 52%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Mission Hill Middle falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 60.5%; this one comes in at 45.5%, -14.9 points off the demographic line.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Santa Cruz County shows median household income runs about $111,093, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Santa Cruz County's 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,316 students), Mission Hill Middle is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Santa Cruz High, roughly 0.3 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Mission Hill Middle comes 3rd of 4 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 57.6%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 17%: 615 students in 2018 compared to 510 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 24.8:1 in 2018 to 18.2:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for Mission Hill Middle typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.