Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter, Freedom CA

Original Research by School Decision on Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter

Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter is a twelfth-grade-only school located in Freedom, a small unincorporated residential community in the Pajaro Valley near Watsonville in southern Santa Cruz County. The school serves about one hundred seventy students, nearly all in their final year of high school.

The enrollment is predominantly Latino, reflecting the demographic character of the broader Pajaro Valley. About one in six students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a modest rate that suggests a mix of economic backgrounds, though specific data on English learner status and special education enrollment were not available. The community itself is heavily agricultural and farmworker-based, centered on the berry industry that dominates the regional economy, with Driscoll's and other major agricultural operations headquartered in nearby Watsonville.

Because this school serves only grade twelve, state testing and graduation rate data do not apply. The school building sits on Green Valley Road in the Freedom area, part of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education system. Data on what academic programs, course offerings, and support services the school provides were not available in the materials reviewed, so a parent would want to contact the school directly to learn whether it offers dual-credit college pathways, career training sequences, counseling support, or other specific resources for twelfth graders.

Freedom itself is a quiet, car-dependent residential area of single-family homes without a downtown center; residents travel to neighboring Watsonville for most shopping and services. The community has grown modestly in recent years with infill development like Tabasa Gardens, an affordable apartment complex that opened in 2024 with units designated for farmworkers and households experiencing homelessness. Housing values in the zip code are moderate to above California's state benchmark, and monthly rents have risen at a steady pace. Civic anchors include the Freedom Branch Library and public transit via Santa Cruz METRO's Route 71, which connects to Watsonville and downtown Santa Cruz.

A parent considering this school should reach out to the school to understand what pathways it offers twelfth graders, what the academic focus is, and how it serves students in their final year before graduation or career entry. The limited data available reflects the specialized nature of a single-grade school, which often serves a particular purpose within a district's overall offerings.

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Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

<=20%Cohort of 30 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.