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Does Highlands Elementary have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
666
Elementary
DISTRICT 624 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SAUGUS UNION·NCES 063597006155
Highlands Elementary
27332 Catala Ave., Saugus, CA 91350 · (661) 294-5320 · Los Angeles County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL666 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
24.7:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 26.5:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
34%
227 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 141 | 21% |
| Grade 1 | 86 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 91 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 96 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 83 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 101 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 68 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (141) is 107% larger than its 6th grade class (68).
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
62.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +17.1pp since 2014
Math
58.9%
CA avg 37.7% . +22.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 17 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 23 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 31.6% | 30.5% | 21.9% | 15.9% |
| Math | 30.3% | 28.6% | 25.1% | 16.0% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.1% | 58.9% |
| 2023-24 | 53.3% | 51.6% |
| 2022-23 | 52.0% | 48.3% |
| 2021-22 | 59.5% | 53.8% |
| 2018-19 | 46.4% | 35.0% |
| 2017-18 | 49.1% | 41.2% |
| 2016-17 | 47.4% | 34.6% |
| 2015-16 | 49.0% | 38.0% |
| 2014-15 | 45.0% | 36.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
56.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Highlands Elementary
Highlands Elementary's state test result (56.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands Elementary this school | 666 | 34.1% | 56.5% |
| Willow Glen Elementary San Jose | 660 | 35.9% | 50.5% |
| Valley Elementary Poway | 663 | 37.3% | 45.2% |
| Denton Elementary Visalia | 648 | 35.8% | 66.1% |
| Alvin S. Hatch Elementary Half Moon Bay | 544 | 36.2% | 28.3% |
| Luigi Aprea Elementary Gilroy | 722 | 36.0% | 46.2% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Highlands Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 56.5% | #1,308 of 5,151 | #297 of 1,126 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.9% | #1,119 of 5,172 ▲ 311 | #264 of 1,129 ▲ 56 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.1% | #1,196 of 5,172 ▲ 471 | #267 of 1,129 ▲ 97 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.8pp | #2,047 of 5,116 | #550 of 1,116 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 666 | #920 of 5,915 | #162 of 1,300 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.7:1 | #4,223 of 5,352 | #957 of 1,213 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.8% | #2,257 of 5,354 | #348 of 1,214 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.1% | #4,598 of 5,625 | #1,103 of 1,276 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +83.5% | #17 of 1,139 | #4 of 181 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
666
-2,564 (-79%) vs 2020
-2% since 1990-91, when it was 678
Student : Teacher
24.7:1
was 27.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 666 | 27 | 24.7:1 | 34% (227) |
| 2023-24 | 583 | 24 | 24.3:1 | 30% (176) |
| 2022-23 | 561 | 24 | 23.4:1 | 22% (126) |
| 2020-21 | 3,230 | 118 | 27.4:1 | 24% (772) |
| 2017-18 | 363 | 16 | 22.7:1 | 37% (133) |
| 2015-16 | 430 | 18 | 23.9:1 | 27% (115) |
| 2010-11 | 550 | N/A | N/A | 20% (110) |
| 2000-01 | 738 | 33 | 22.4:1 | 7% (54) |
| 1990-91 | 678 | 25 | 27.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highlands Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 83% (363 to 666); teachers up 69% (16 to 27).
About Highlands Elementary
Highlands Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school with an address in Saugus, California. Its grade span covers kindergarten through 6, with 666 students on the rolls. That compares with an average of about 465 students for elementary schools in California.
Saugus Union has a total of 15 schools and 9,359 students, Highlands Elementary among them.
More than half of the students at Highlands Elementary are Hispanic (61%). The rest of enrollment is 26% White, 5% Asian, 5% multiracial, and 3% Black. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Los Angeles County's population at about 48%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Highlands Elementary scores 56%.
With 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 24.7:1. Elementary schools in California average 22.3:1, 2.4 fewer students per teacher than here. Roughly 34% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The rate at public schools in Los Angeles County averages 70%, higher than here.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Highlands Elementary would be expected to post about 59.6%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 56.5%.
Census data for Los Angeles County show median household income comes to about $90,112, about 36% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. There are 2,244 public schools in the county, enrolling about 1,265,907, Highlands Elementary among them.
Saugus High, about 0.3 miles away, is the closest public school. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Highlands Elementary. On state test proficiency, Highlands Elementary ranks 8th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
In the federal locale system, Highlands Elementary is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Highlands Elementary enrolled 3,230 in 2020-21 and 666 in 2024-25. Changes in grade configuration can produce shifts of this size. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 24.7:1, from 27.4:1.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Highlands Elementary. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Los Angeles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,808,667
Census ACS
Median income
$90,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2,244
1,265,907 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Saugus Union
- West Creek AcademyElementary · 983 students
- Mountainview ElementaryElementary · 917 students
- Plum Canyon ElementaryElementary · 876 students
- Bridgeport ElementaryElementary · 866 students
- Emblem AcademyElementary · 810 students
- Rosedell ElementaryElementary · 660 students
Other schools in Saugus
- Saugus HighHigh · 2,317 students
- Mountainview ElementaryElementary · 917 students
- Plum Canyon ElementaryElementary · 876 students
- Emblem AcademyElementary · 810 students
- Rosedell ElementaryElementary · 660 students
- James Foster ElementaryElementary · 508 students
Other Highlands Elementary schools
24 other US public schools in 13 states are named Highlands Elementary. Highlands Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 25.
- Highlands ElementaryConcord, CA · 512 students
- Highlands ElementaryPittsburg, CA · 480 students
- Highlands ElementarySan Mateo, CA · 379 students
- Highlands ElementarySpring Valley, CA · 357 students
- Highlands Elementary SchoolHIGHLANDS, TX · 868 students
Nearby schools
- Saugus High0.3 mi · 2,317
- Santa Clarita Elementary0.7 mi · 170
- Arroyo Seco Junior High0.8 mi · 1,239
- James Foster Elementary0.8 mi · 508
- Emblem Academy0.9 mi · 810
- Rosedell Elementary1.0 mi · 660
Frequently asked questions
About Highlands ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Highlands Elementary?
Highlands Elementary enrolls approximately 666 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Highlands Elementary serve?
Highlands Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Highlands Elementary?
Approximately 24.7:1 students per teacher at Highlands Elementary.
How diverse is Highlands Elementary?
Highlands Elementary reports a student body of 26% White, 61% Hispanic, 3% Black, 5% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Highlands Elementary?
Highlands Elementary is overseen by Saugus Union in Los Angeles County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.