Other / mixed grade configuration · Santa Cruz, CA

Santa Cruz County Court

Federal NCES profile for Santa Cruz County Court, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 069103609251
0/100100/10055/100
👥 S:T ratio
80
🌟 Gifted program
30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Santa Cruz County Court earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.

#1 of 6
schools in Santa Cruz · Resource Index
55
Resource Index · Higher
5:1
small classes for California
95.4%
free-lunch eligible

Santa Cruz County Court has class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Santa Cruz County Court ranks #1 of 6 schools in Santa Cruz, CA.

Enrollment

20

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

4.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-77% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

95.4%

vs 55.5% California avg

+72% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Santa Cruz County Court compares with California and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Santa Cruz County Court

Santa Cruz County Court is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Santa Cruz, California, enrolling 20 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 5:1, Santa Cruz County Court is leaner than roughly 99% of California schools and 77% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need is high: 95.4% of students qualify for free meals, 72% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

This is a small campus: fewer students than 97% of California schools, with 20 enrolled.

Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.

Against 65 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #24.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (75%) and White (20%) (diversity index 40/100).

The surrounding Santa Cruz County Office of Education spends $48,496 per pupil, 194% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Santa Cruz's public schools, it stands alongside Santa Cruz County Community (730 students): Santa Cruz County Court is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (5:1 vs 24.3:1).

Santa Cruz County Office of Education also operates Santa Cruz County Community (730 students) and Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter (207 students) alongside Santa Cruz County Court.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Santa Cruz County Court compares

Santa Cruz County Court on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 5:1 ▼ 77% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 95.4% ▲ 72% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 20 top 97% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

5:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
20
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
95.4%
free-lunch eligible - 72% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
5:1
students per teacher - 77% below state mean
Top 1% in California - lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$48,496
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 75.0%
White 20.0%
Two or More 5.0%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 39.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 39.5, Santa Cruz County Court is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Cruz County Office of Education, which includes Santa Cruz County Court.

$48,496
Per student
+194%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+192%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 37.3%
State 52.7%
Federal 10.0%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Santa Cruz County Court Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Santa Cruz County Community Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Santa Cruz County Special Education Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Santa Cruz County Court's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Santa Cruz County Office Of Education · 3 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Santa Cruz

5 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Santa Cruz County Court's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Santa Cruz County Court

How many students attend Santa Cruz County Court?

Santa Cruz County Court has 20 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Santa Cruz, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Cruz County Court?

The student-teacher ratio at Santa Cruz County Court is 5:1, which is 77% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 68% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Santa Cruz County Court?

95.4% of students at Santa Cruz County Court are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Cruz County Court?

The largest demographic group at Santa Cruz County Court is Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment, in Santa Cruz, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Cruz County Court?

Santa Cruz County Court has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.

How does Santa Cruz County Court rank among schools in Santa Cruz?

By Resource Investment Index, Santa Cruz County Court ranks #1 of 6 schools in Santa Cruz, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Santa Cruz on the city page.

Is Santa Cruz County Court a good school?

Santa Cruz County Court earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Santa Cruz County Office of Education?

Besides Santa Cruz County Court, Santa Cruz County Office of Education also operates Santa Cruz County Community (730 students), Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter (207 students), and Santa Cruz County Special Education (105 students). See the Santa Cruz County Office of Education district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.