The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District encompasses Monterey City schools as well as those of Marina, Fort Ord, Sand City, Seaside, and Del Rey Oaks. In addition to a well-rounded curriculum, the schools offer a gifted and talented program (GATE) for fourth and fifth grade students and an independent study program for motivated students who wish to study on their own.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Monterey public school system as of the 2002–2003 school year.
Total enrollment: 12,312
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 13
junior high/middle schools: 4
senior high schools: 2
other: 4
Student/teacher ratio: 20.9:1
Teacher salaries (2004-2005)
minimum: $34,186
maximum: $68,022
Funding per pupil: $7,994
Monterey is also home to several religious schools and to the York School associated with the Episcopal faith, Santa Catalina School (Catholic school for girls), and Possibility House, a Montessori pre-school.
Public Schools Information: Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, 700 Pacific St., Monterey CA 93940-5730; telephone (831)645-1200
Monterey's major institution of higher learning is Monterey Peninsula College. The college offers courses to prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions, to prepare for the workplace, to update work skills or prepare for a new career, to gain a general education, and to improve basic skills in mathematics, reading, writing, and science.
The Monterey Institute of International Studies offers graduate programs in international business, a graduate school of language and educational linguistics, a graduate school of translation and interpretation, and a graduate school of international policy studies. Other Institute programs are language intensives, an intensive English as a Second Language program, and court and medical interpreting. The school also offers tailored courses for individuals requiring intensive language and cultural training for work outside their native country or with foreign nationals in the United States.
The Naval Postgraduate School is an academic institution whose emphasis is on study and research programs relevant to the U.S. Navy's interests, as well as to the interests of other arms of the Department of Defense. Its campus houses state-of-the-art laboratories, academic buildings, a library, government housing, and recreational facilities to serve its nearly 1,500 students. The student body consists of officers from the five U.S. uniformed services, officers from approximately 30 other countries, and a small number of civilian employees. The school offers master of arts degrees in national security affairs, master of science degrees in a wide variety of fields, and bachelor's and doctoral degrees in various engineering fields. Another educational institution associated with the military is the Defense Language Institute operated by the Army. Its Foreign Language Center, located on the Presidio of Monterey, is the world's largest language institute.
Golden Gate University's Monterey Bay Campus offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, public administration, health care, and technology. The Orange County-based Chapman University maintains a Monterey campus which offers baccalaureate degrees in a variety of subjects. California State University's Monterey Bay campus on the grounds of Fort Ord offers 12 undergraduate programs to approximately 3,500 students.
Monterey Public Library is the largest public library on the Monterey Peninsula. The library houses more than 120,000 volumes, video and audio cassettes, and CDs, subscribes to 375 magazines and newspapers, and operates one bookmobile. The California History Room contains a unique collection of books, selected magazine and newspaper articles, maps, government documents, photographs, and archival material about the city of Monterey and the Monterey Peninsula. Additional library programs and collections include the Local History Partners, which provides access to local history materials through a partnership with the Colton Hall Museum, the Monterey History and Art Association, and the Teen Zone and Youth Services collections.
Other local libraries include the Colton Hall Museum Library, the CTB McGraw-Hill Library, the Maritime Museum of Monterey Library, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Library, the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula Medical Library, The Monterey County Herald Library, and the U.S. Navy Library. College libraries are housed at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, the Naval Postgraduate School, and Monterey Bay Peninsula College.
Local research institutes include the Monterey Institute of International Studies' Center for East Asian Studies, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's research program focuses on deep-sea exploration in Monterey Bay, one of the most biologically diverse bodies of water in the world. The Institute's two research vessels and remotely-operated vehicles provide access to the Monterey Canyon, an underwater canyon two miles deep. The Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy and Marine Corps' corporate research lab. The lab conducts research on the atmosphere, develops weather interpretation systems for the Department of Defense, and studies the effects of the atmosphere on Naval weapons systems.
Public Library Information: Monterey Public Library, 625 Pacific St., Monterey, CA 93940; telephone (831)646-3932; fax (831)646-5618