Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 95065

At a glance

Schools

801

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedHappy Valley Elementary323^rd of 5,857 California elementary schools

See the top-ranked California schools →

Summary:

In the Santa Cruz, CA area covered by zip code 95065, there are three public elementary schools—De Laveaga Elementary, Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary, and Happy Valley Elementary—serving students from kindergarten through 5th or 6th grade across three different districts.

Happy Valley Elementary stands out as the top performer, consistently ranking among the best schools in the state with exceptional test scores, particularly in math, and a low student-teacher ratio. De Laveaga Elementary, part of the Santa Cruz City Elementary district, is a larger school with solid, above-average academic results. Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary in the Soquel Union Elementary district has shown some recent declines in ranking and struggles with math proficiency compared to the others.

An interesting finding is that the highest-performing school has a higher rate of chronic student absenteeism, while the others have better attendance, suggesting factors beyond just attendance influence results. Mathematics proficiency is a key differentiator between the schools, with scores varying widely. The small Happy Valley Elementary district's school demonstrates remarkable consistency, while performance in the larger districts shows more variability from year to year.

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% DTP (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% DTP KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Happy Valley Elementary	Public	K-6	3125 Branciforte Dr.	Santa Cruz	95065	Santa Cruz County	Happy Valley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-1456	106	6	16.5	7.5%	82 (77.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (7.5%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (13.2%)	95.1	323^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	94.5%		95.5	305^th of 5869 public elementary schools	94.8%	18	64.3	64.3	77.8	61.1	92.9	93.3	80.0	94.4	77.8	78.6	80.0	83.1				$37,670	$37,180	$490
De Laveaga Elementary	Public	K-5	1145 Morrissey Blvd.	Santa Cruz	95065	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3807	481	20	23.5	27.7%	221 (45.9%)	6 (1.2%)	200 (41.6%)	19 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (7.1%)	66.6	1761^st of 5857 public elementary schools	69.9%		70.8	1559^th of 5869 public elementary schools	73.4%	202	42.0	42.0	50.0	56.0	62.5		55.9	51.7	50.7	39.5		47.4	96.6	96.6	96.6	$24,104	$23,622	$482
Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary	Public	K-5	8005 Winkle Ave.	Santa Cruz	95065	Santa Cruz County	Soquel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 464-5670	214	9	24.3	30.4%	113 (52.8%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (38.3%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (7.5%)	53.2	2414^th of 5857 public elementary schools	58.8%		55.7	2251^st of 5869 public elementary schools	61.6%	163	43.8	43.8	37.5	57.1	54.8		49.5	37.5	46.4	25.0		35.9				$18,864	$18,084	$780

Cities Near Zip Code 95065

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Santa Cruz	0.83 mi	30	237^th
Soquel	1.78 mi	4	200^th
Scotts Valley	3.14 mi	4	158^th
Capitola	3.16 mi	1	170^th
Aptos	3.69 mi	6	346^th

See the top CA California cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.