Summary:
ZIP code 95062 has six elementary schools: five serve kindergarten through grade five, while Ocean Alternative Education Center serves kindergarten through grade eight. Across the six schools, the 2025–26 average was 48% proficient in English language arts (ELA), 41% in mathematics and 43% in science, compared with state results of 49%, 38% and 36%. The clearest area-wide finding is the sharp difference in science results: schools ranged from 32% to 58%, a 26-point spread.
Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education–Monarch stands out in ELA and science, with 57% and 58% proficient, respectively—the highest results in the group; those scores are 7 and 22 points above the state. Green Acres Elementary leads mathematics at 46%, about one point above Monarch. At the other end, Live Oak Elementary has the lowest ELA and science results, at 45% and 32%, while Ocean has the lowest mathematics result, at 32%. Grade-level results add a different perspective: Live Oak leads the K–5 schools in third-grade ELA and math, at 58% and 68%.
Recent changes are mixed: the six-school ELA average was essentially flat from 2024–25 to 2025–26, while the math and science averages rose by 1 and 3 points. Individual schools moved differently: Gault Elementary gained 5 points in math and 7 in science, while Monarch fell 11 points in ELA, 3 in math and 13 in science. Context measures also do not give a simple ordering of results. For 2024–25, the reported free/reduced lunch eligible measures were 59% at Live Oak, 62% at Del Mar Elementary, 54% at Green Acres and 27% at Monarch. Student-teacher ratios ranged from 21.5:1 to 24.1:1, without a consistent match to achievement. Because Ocean serves K–8 while the other schools serve K–5, all-grades comparisons are not fully like-for-like.
Thank you for your feedback!