T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary

Set in Watsonville, California, T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus, overseen by Pajaro Valley Unified. It educates 438 students across grades K through 5.

Across the 33 schools in Pajaro Valley Unified (16,482 students total), T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary reports that 91% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The remainder breaks down as 6% White, 2% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 35% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary lists 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 22.0:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 93% of students at T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Santa Cruz County's rate of about 52%.

With demographic context factored in, On a poverty-adjusted basis, T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 24.1%; actual is 7.5%, a gap of -16.6 points.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Santa Cruz County put 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), T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Ann Soldo Elementary, roughly 0.4 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary ranks 7th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 13.4%.

The school occupies an inner-city site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 28%: 607 students in 2018 compared to 438 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 2% to 6% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 23.4:1 in 2018 to 22.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.