Summary
Monarch is an alternative K–12 school serving 225 students in San Diego, within the San Diego County Office of Education district. Its 2025–26 proficiency rates were 12% in English language arts (ELA), 4% in math, and 5% in science—37, 34, and 31 percentage points below California, respectively. Attendance and school completion are also serious concerns: chronic absenteeism was 56%, compared with 18% statewide, and the dropout rate was 28%, compared with 8% statewide. Although absenteeism has improved from 71% in 2022–23, the most pressing finding is that more than half of Monarch students were chronically absent in 2025–26.
Compared with nearby alternative schools, Monarch is around the middle in ELA and science but near the bottom in math: it ranked third of five in ELA, fourth of five in math, and second-lowest among four schools reporting science results. ELA was 12.0% versus a nearby average of 11.6%; math was 4% versus 7%, while science was 5.4% versus 5.5%. Against its district, Monarch was about 1 percentage point higher in ELA and science, but 2 points lower in math. It remains well below California in all three subjects. There is some brighter local context for completion: Monarch’s 67% graduation rate was higher than the 54% at San Diego County Court and 47% at San Diego County Community, though below the state’s 88%.
Scores have risen modestly over four years: from 2022–23 to 2025–26, ELA gained 4 percentage points, math 2, and science 1. The state gap narrowed by 1 point in ELA but widened by 1 point in math and 5 points in science. SchoolDigger does not provide a school-level rank or star rating for Monarch; its listed rating is for the district, which is ranked 688 of 968, in the 29th percentile, with 1 star. Monarch’s 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 14.4, close to the nearby-school average of 14.2. In 2024–25, 78% of Monarch students were directly certified for free meals; the school is flagged as likely participating in Community Eligibility, and all California students receive free school meals. The only nearby school with the same measure and year, San Diego County Court, reported 56%, a 23-point lower share.
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