Enrollment
114
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063559010080
Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch — Santa Cruz, CA
Federal NCES profile for Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 6
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 56
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Santa Cruz City Elementary · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch reports 114 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 5.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 47% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 22.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 60% below the California average and 57% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 285 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.4:1 | ▲ 8% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.2% | ▼ 60% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 114 | top 11% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
22.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 60% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
23.4:1
students per teacher
— 8% above state mean
Top 65% in California — lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
17.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Support staff
Counselors0.4 FTE
Per 285 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 114 Top 11% in California — larger than 89% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 5.0
Students per teacher 23.4:1 +8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 22.2% -60% vs state
NCES ID 063559010080
Student demographics
White 55.3%
Hispanic or Latino 22.8%
Two or More 18.4%
Asian 2.6%
African American 0.9%
Largest group: White at 55.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.4
Students per counselor 285:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 481
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 453
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 394
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 314
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Santa Cruz
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Brook Knoll Elementary
Standard public school
498 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
De Laveaga Elementary
Standard public school
481 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
Westlake Elementary
Standard public school
453 students 22.5:1 students per teacher
Bay View Elementary
Standard public school
394 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Live Oak Elementary
Standard public school
362 students 22:1 students per teacher
Del Mar Elementary
Standard public school
322 students 22.8:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch
How many students attend Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch?
Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch has 114 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Santa Cruz, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch is 23.4:1, which is 8% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 47% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch?
22.2% of students at Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch?
The largest demographic group at Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch is White at 55.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Cruz, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch?
Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.