Public schools in Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz has 26 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 7 high, 3 middle, 14 elementary, 2 other, enrolling 8,991 students. They are run by 9 districts and agencies; Santa Cruz City Schools runs 7 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 9 districts and agencies that run Santa Cruz's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Santa Cruz | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz City Schools | 7 | 4,394 | not reported |
| Live Oak School District | 6 | 1,691 | $18,840 |
| Santa Cruz City Elementary | 5 | 1,724 | not reported |
| Santa Cruz County Office of Education | 3 | 1,070 | $47,221 |
| Pacific Collegiate School | 1 | 533 | $15,144 |
| Scotts Valley Unified | 1 | 2,168 | $14,354 |
| Soquel Union Elementary School District | 1 | 1,654 | $15,473 |
| Happy Valley Elementary | 1 | 120 | $16,825 |
| Bonny Doon Union Elementary | 1 | 115 | $22,104 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
7 high schools in Santa Cruz, 3,525 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz High | 1,093 | 23.8 | 21.5% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
| Harbor High | 1,013 | 18.5 | 35.9% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
| Santa Cruz County Community | 730 | 22.6 | 58.1% | Santa Cruz County Office of Education |
| Pacific Collegiate Charter | 536 | 17.6 | 8.8% | Pacific Collegiate School |
| Costanoa Continuation High | 77 | 22.8 | 57.1% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
| Ark Independent Studies | 56 | 27.2 | 41.1% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
| Santa Cruz County Court | 20 | 10.0 | 85.0% | Santa Cruz County Office of Education |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
3 middle schools in Santa Cruz, 1,397 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Hill Middle | 510 | 18.2 | 30.4% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
| Shoreline Middle | 478 | 18.4 | 56.7% | Live Oak |
| Branciforte Middle | 409 | 17.8 | 36.7% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
14 elementary schools in Santa Cruz, 3,854 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brook Knoll Elementary | 498 | 22.5 | 13.9% | Scotts Valley Unified |
| De Laveaga Elementary | 481 | 23.6 | 24.3% | Santa Cruz City Elementary |
| Westlake Elementary | 453 | 20.6 | 23.0% | Santa Cruz City Elementary |
| Bay View Elementary | 394 | 18.8 | 41.9% | Santa Cruz City Elementary |
| Live Oak Elementary | 362 | 24.1 | 51.9% | Live Oak |
| Del Mar Elementary | 322 | 23.0 | 56.8% | Live Oak |
| Gault Elementary | 314 | 22.4 | 45.2% | Santa Cruz City Elementary |
| Green Acres Elementary | 262 | 21.8 | 51.1% | Live Oak |
| Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary | 214 | 24.3 | 29.0% | Soquel Union Elementary |
| Tierra Pacifica Charter | 166 | 17.6 | 26.5% | Live Oak |
The other 4 elementary schools
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch | 114 | 22.8 | 24.6% | Santa Cruz City Elementary |
| Happy Valley Elementary | 106 | 16.6 | 7.5% | Happy Valley Elementary |
| Bonny Doon Elementary | 92 | 15.3 | 22.8% | Bonny Doon Union Elementary |
| Ocean Alternative Education Center | 76 | 21.5 | 40.8% | Live Oak |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
2 other schools in Santa Cruz, 215 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative Family Education | 110 | 27.6 | 33.6% | Santa Cruz City Schools |
| Santa Cruz County Special Education | 105 | 7.0 | 34.3% | Santa Cruz County Office of Education |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Santa Cruz's public schools compare with California's
The median Santa Cruz school has 21.6 students per full-time teacher, about the same as the California median of 21.6. Its median school enrolls 318 students (state 471).
| Santa Cruz | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 21.6 | 21.6 |
| Median school size (students) | 318 | 471 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | not reported | not reported |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 31% | 74% |
| Charter schools | 7.7% | 13% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 26 Santa Cruz schools and the 9,918 California schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Santa Cruz
- Santa Cruz City SchoolsRuns 7 of Santa Cruz's 26 public schools.
- Santa Cruz High, the largest high school in Santa Cruz1,093 students in 2024-25, 23.8 per teacher.1,093
- Compare Santa Cruz City Schools with Live Oak School DistrictSanta Cruz's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in CaliforniaCalifornia's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Santa Cruz addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in California
- Los Angeles564 schools
- San Diego283 schools
- San Jose232 schools
- Sacramento197 schools
- Fresno179 schools
- Bakersfield146 schools
- San Francisco123 schools
- Stockton122 schools
Questions about schools in Santa Cruz
How many public schools are in Santa Cruz, CA?
26 public schools with an address in Santa Cruz were open in 2024-25: 7 high, 3 middle, 14 elementary, 2 other, enrolling 8,991 students. 2 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz High, with 1,093 students in 2024-25 (Santa Cruz City Schools).Which districts run Santa Cruz's schools?
Santa Cruz City Schools (7 schools), Live Oak School District (6 schools), Santa Cruz City Elementary (5 schools), Santa Cruz County Office of Education (3 schools), and 5 more. A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25