Highland Community

Located at 8521 A St., in Oakland, California, Highland Community is a mid-tier primary school that serves 457 students (grades K through 5), part of Oakland Unified.

Oakland Unified comprises 84 schools with combined enrollment of 33,973 students; Highland Community is among them.

In terms of who attends, Highland Community shows that Hispanic students make up the majority at 78%; the rest consists of 16% Black, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Alameda County as a whole is about 23% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 22.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 99% of students at Highland Community qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Alameda County's rate of about 49%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Highland Community sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 20.3%; this one delivers 7.6%.

Across the wider county, census data for Alameda County shows median household earnings sit near $129,367, about 52% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Alameda County's 394 public schools (combined enrollment of about 210,511 students), Highland Community is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is ACORN Woodland Elementary, roughly 0.4 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Highland Community comes 4th of 6 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 11.6%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Highland Community's enrollment has grew 30% since 2018, when it stood at 351 (now 457). The Hispanic share of enrollment shrank from 83% to 78% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 27.0:1 in 2018 to 22.3:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.