Ocean Alternative Education Center

Located at 984 Bostwick Ln. Ste. 6, in Santa Cruz, California, Ocean Alternative Education Center is a minimally staffed elementary school that serves 76 students (grades K through 8), overseen by Live Oak Elementary. By comparison, California's public schools average about 465 students each, so Ocean Alternative Education Center sits 84% leaner than that benchmark.

Live Oak Elementary comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 1,666 students; Ocean Alternative Education Center is among them.

On demographics, Ocean Alternative Education Center reports that the largest single group is White at 53%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest is composed of 32% Hispanic, 14% multiracial.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 4 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 21.5:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Ocean Alternative Education Center tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 47% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

With demographic context factored in, Ocean Alternative Education Center performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 51.3%, the actual is 54.0%, a residual of +2.7 points.

In the surrounding community, Santa Cruz County reports that median household income runs about $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 Ocean Alternative Education Center is one.

The closest other public school is Tierra Pacifica Charter, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Ocean Alternative Education Center. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Ocean Alternative Education Center at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 42.8%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Ocean Alternative Education Center's enrollment has ticked down 5% since 2018, when it stood at 80 (now 76). Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 71% to 53%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 22.9:1 in 2018 to 21.5:1 in 2025.

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