[3] Monarch is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and aligned with Common Core Standards.

The nonprofit organization was initially headed by Ronne Froman, a former Navy admiral and former chief operating officer of the City of San Diego.

[5] In January 2012, Froman became chairman of the board of directors and Erin Spiewak replaced her as CEO.

[6] The school originated in 1988 as "The PLACE," an acronym for Progressive Learning Alternative for Children's Education.

[9] From 2001 until 2013 the campus was located on West Cedar Street in the Little Italy neighborhood of downtown San Diego.

Ground was broken in February 2012 for a much larger facility in a remodeled warehouse at 1625 Newton Street in the East Village neighborhood.