Holy Cross School is part of the Holy Cross Parish. The school was founded in 1862, originally as an orphanage. Its mission changed gradually, and it began to serve the needy children of Santa Cruz as well as become a girls school for Santa Cruz's Catholic families. The high school portion of the school was discontinued in the 1970s, and today the school serves children in preschool through eighth grade. The school focuses heavily on community involvement and international service, and itorganizes several projects for students to participate in, including raising funds to build schools in Afghanistan and growing food to donate to local soup kitchens.