NW Valley Times

The majority of students in Santa Cruz County schools were Latino in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Arizona Department of Education.

Of the 9,935 students attending Santa Cruz County schools, 96.5% were Latino. White students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 2.6% of Santa Cruz County students.

In the previous school year, Latino students still were the most common group in Santa Cruz County, representing 90.1% of the student body.

Wade Carpenter Middle School had the most even distribution of races among the county schools, which included 59.3% of White students and 31.7% of Latino students.

In the 2021-22 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased 0.8% when compared to the previous year.

In 2022 Arizona had roughly one teacher for every 19 students, compared to the national average of one teacher for 16 students. Teachers handling a higher number of students was found to have negative consequences for students’ school performance.

WalletHub claimed Arizona’s school system ranked among the worst across U.S. for class size, performance, funding, safety, and instructors’ credentials.

School name	Most prevalent ethnic group	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
A. J. Mitchell Elementary School	Latino	99.3%	293
Calabasas School	Latino	98.4%	1,064
Challenger Elementary School	Latino	99.2%	365
Coatimundi Middle School	Latino	95.1%	467
Desert Shadows Middle School	Latino	97.9%	722
Elgin Elementary School	White	59.3%	123
Francisco Vasquez De Coronado Elementary School	Latino	98.2%	501
Lincoln Elementary School	Latino	99.5%	403
Little Red Schoolhouse	Latino	97.8%	180
Mary L. Welty Elementary School	Latino	100%	343
Mountain View School	Latino	96.8%	379
Nogales High School	Latino	99.2%	1,800
Patagonia Elementary School	Latino	73.8%	107
Patagonia Union High School	Latino	66.2%	74
Pierson High School	Latino	100%	141
Rio Rico High School	Latino	96.7%	1,318
Robert Bracker Elementary	Latino	99.3%	267
San Cayetano Elementary School	Latino	96.8%	401
Wade Carpenter Middle School	Latino	99.8%	539