In 2026, readers of Growing Up in Santa Cruz voted Mount Madonna School the Best High School in Santa Cruz County and gave our elementary and middle schools Silver Stars. In 2025, they voted us Best Private School, Best High School, Best Middle School and Best Elementary School.
We have also earned:
- An A+ overall grade on Niche
- A place on the College Board’s AP School Honor Roll: Platinum in 2023 and Silver in 2024
- The President’s Environmental Youth Award, four times
- Two California state volleyball championships, in 2007 and 2019
We are a small school on 380 acres of redwoods above Monterey Bay, and everything we do rests on three pillars: academic excellence, creative self-expression and positive character development. Your child can stay with us from preschool through high school graduation.
Bus Pickup in Santa Cruz, Soquel and Aptos
Our students come from all over Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. Our bus makes three stops nearby each morning, so your child can ride with friends from the area:
- Santa Cruz: Pacific Cultural Center, 7:30 AM
- Soquel: Sunnyside Produce, 7:40 AM
- Aptos: Soquel Drive and Heather Terrace, 7:50 AM
Brothers and sisters of every age can ride together, even our preschoolers. In the afternoon, the bus returns to these stops in reverse order, and you can find the details on our transportation page.
Families who prefer to drive have good options too. Many carpool, and we are happy to connect you with other local families. Even if you drive on your own, our campus is about 35 to 50 minutes from most of the area.
| From | To the nearest bus stop* | To campus* |
|---|---|---|
| Aptos Village and Rio del Mar | About 5 minutes | About 35 minutes |
| Seascape | About 10 minutes | About 40 minutes |
| Soquel Village and Capitola | About 5 minutes | About 40 minutes |
| Downtown Santa Cruz, Seabright and Pleasure Point | About 5 minutes | About 45 minutes |
| Pasatiempo and Scotts Valley | About 10 minutes | About 45 minutes |
| Westside Santa Cruz | About 10 minutes | About 50 minutes |
* Drive times are approximate, and traffic can add time. An annual bus fee applies; please see tuition and fees.
Individual Attention for Every Child
Every parent wants to know that someone at school truly understands their child. In our small classes, your child’s teachers learn how they think, what excites them and what they find hard, and then they adjust the work to fit. A child can move ahead in a subject that comes easily and take more time with one that doesn’t.
That attention extends to your family. We talk with parents every day, so when you have a question or a concern, someone who knows your child is ready to listen.
A Natural Next Step After Nature-Based, Waldorf and Montessori Schools
Santa Cruz County is home to excellent nature-based, Waldorf and Montessori schools, and many families join us after wonderful years there. They often come to us at a point of transition: from kindergarten to first grade, from fifth grade to sixth, or from eighth grade to ninth.
These families find much that is familiar here, because our school continues that kind of education. Children keep learning outdoors, with their hands and through the arts, and their teachers care about the whole child. Your child can then stay with us through high school graduation, so this can be the last school your family has to choose.
Our Fifth Graders Have Earned a Presidential Award Four Times
Our fifth graders have received the President’s Environmental Youth Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency four times, for the yearlong environmental project they take on. One class worked with researchers from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to test the water and clean up a beach in Santa Cruz, and they found microplastic fibers in every sample. Fifth graders also write letters to their representatives, and they learn early that their voices matter.
Work like that grows from years spent outdoors. Our youngest students begin each day with a morning walk, and Lower School children hike with their older buddies to the newt and duck ponds on campus. Along the way, they build a strong foundation in reading, writing and math.
A Middle School Where Every Child Belongs
These are the years when children most need to feel that they belong. Our middle schoolers open the year on a camping trip, so new and returning students get to know their classmates and teachers before classes begin. During the school day, students use phones and devices only for learning and under a teacher’s supervision, so at their breaks they talk with one another and enjoy the outdoors.
Our students and faculty have agreed on what we expect of one another: to be welcoming, honest, inclusive and kind. We do not tolerate bullying in any form, on campus or online, including exclusion, teasing and ridicule. In a school this small, every child is known, so teachers notice when a child is having a hard day and can step in to help. Our commitment to inclusion extends to every child and family, whatever their race, culture, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or income.
Our High School Earned the Top Tier of the AP Honor Roll
In 2023, the College Board placed Mount Madonna School in the Platinum tier, the highest level of its AP School Honor Roll. That year, every one of our seniors had taken at least one AP exam and had scored a 3 or higher on at least one. We returned to the honor roll with a Silver distinction in 2024.
Our students also learn by going out into the world. High school students open the year on a rafting trip, and each year brings a new learning journey, to Yosemite, Catalina Island, Washington, D.C., and India. Students prepare their own questions and interview the people they meet, and in Washington, the students who once wrote to their representatives sit down with politicians and ask their questions in person.
Nearly all of our graduates go on to a four-year university, and over the years, alumni have attended Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Cornell, UCLA and UC Berkeley. College counseling begins in the second semester of junior year, and seniors meet with their counselor every week during the first semester.
We Are a Volleyball School!
A child who grew up playing volleyball on the beaches of Santa Cruz will feel at home in our gym, the Hawks’ Nest. Our girls’ varsity team has won two California state championships, in 2007 and 2019, and four Central Coast Section Division V titles. In the 2019 state final, they beat a school about 25 times our size. Our boys’ varsity team has won Central Coast Section titles of its own, in 2002 and 2013.
We are just as proud of what our players do in the classroom. Our girls’ and boys’ varsity teams have each earned the highest team GPA of any varsity volleyball team in the Central Coast Section. Students can start on our middle school teams and go on to compete in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League in high school, and the game is part of everyday life here. At lunch, it’s not unusual to see sixth graders and seniors playing together.
Our Tuition Is Affordable
We set each family’s tuition individually, according to your income and circumstances, and more than 70 percent of our families receive need-based tuition assistance. To apply, you complete a financial application through FACTS, an independent service, and we use that assessment to determine your family’s tuition. Families with more than one student may receive additional support.
Tuition includes most activities and field trips, as well as the middle school camping trips and the learning journeys from eighth grade on, so your child can take part in every one of them. Assistance is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to apply for it at the same time you apply to the school. We are glad to go through what it would cost your family.
Come See What Families Voted For
A vote can only tell you so much. Many parents tell us that meeting our juniors and seniors is what convinced them to choose Mount Madonna School, so we would love for you to meet them too. Come walk among the redwoods with your whole family, talk with our teachers and students, and bring all of your questions. A tour takes about 90 minutes and includes a good deal of walking, so please wear comfortable shoes. We are touring now for 2027-28 and for 2026-27 transfers.
Schedule your campus tour
- Tell us about your child. It takes a few minutes.
- Under “What would you like to do?”, choose a personal tour or a group tour.
- Choose a group tour and we’ll email your confirmation. Choose a personal tour and you can pick a time right after you submit.
Do you have questions first? Call Admissions at 408-846-4042.
