New Brighton Middle

Located at 250 Washburn Ave., in Capitola, California, New Brighton Middle is a mid-sized middle school that educates 585 students (grades 6 through 8), run under Soquel Union Elementary.

Soquel Union Elementary comprises 5 schools with combined enrollment of 1,525 students; New Brighton Middle is among them.

Demographically, New Brighton Middle shows that White students make up the majority at 56%. The remainder breaks down as 34% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Santa Cruz County as a whole.

On the income-and-resources front, New Brighton Middle reports 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 20.9:1. The state averages about 20.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 30% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Santa Cruz County (around 52%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, New Brighton Middle is in the bottom 10% of California public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 61.5%; New Brighton Middle posts 46.1%, -15.3 points below that line.

In the broader community, census data for Santa Cruz County shows median household earnings sit near $111,093, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Santa Cruz County runs 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,316 students), of which New Brighton Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Soquel Elementary, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), New Brighton Middle ranks 4th on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 41.7%.

The campus sits in a residential setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. New Brighton Middle's enrollment has ticked down 17% since 2018, when it stood at 702 (now 585). White enrollment moved from 60% to 56% across the same window.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.