Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch

Set in Santa Cruz, California, Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch is an one-room-style K-5 school, one of the schools within Santa Cruz City Elementary. It enrolls 114 students across grades K through 5. That puts it 75% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Santa Cruz City Elementary runs 5 schools in total, collectively educating 1,756 students. Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch records that the largest single group is White, at 55% of enrollment. The remainder consists of 23% Hispanic, 18% multiracial, 3% Asian.

On the resource side, On paper, Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch has 5 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.8:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 27% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is lower than Santa Cruz County's rate of about 52%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Santa Cruz County indicate median household income runs about $111,093, 44% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 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), Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Ark Independent Studies, roughly 0.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch has ticked down 20%, going from 143 students in 2018 to 114 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 64% to 55% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 25.1:1 in 2018 to 22.8:1 today.

On this page, the feed for Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.