About MPUSD Community Schools

The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District overall has a strong need for community schools and the services and supports it provides. With a total of 9,649 students in 2018-2019 school year, MPUSD served a large population of students of color, with Latinx pupils comprising the largest group at 59% of our enrollment. During that year, 68% of our students were socioeconomically disadvantaged, 9% were homeless, and 28% English learners.

The 2021 YouthTruth student survey exemplified a decline by grade level of students’ sense of belonging: while 67% of 3rd graders reported that they felt like a real part of their school community “very often,” only 43% of 12th graders reported the same. The district faces particular deficits in school safety and culture, according to YouthTruth data. Addressing these issues is especially important as MPUSD continues to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; for 47% of elementary and high school students and 38% of middle school students, the virus “very much or significantly changed” their lives, the YouthTruth survey shows.