Hillcrest Middle

Set in Sebastopol, California, Hillcrest Middle is a compact middle school, run under Gravenstein Union Elementary. It caters to 297 students across grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 55% below the state mean of about 659.

Gravenstein Union Elementary comprises 3 schools with combined enrollment of 798 students; Hillcrest Middle is among them.

On demographics, Hillcrest Middle reports that White students make up the majority at 61%; the rest reads as 25% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 4% Asian. That composition is broadly in line with Sonoma County as a whole.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 20.7:1, putting Hillcrest Middle tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 30% of students at Hillcrest Middle qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Sonoma County (around 51%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Hillcrest Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 61.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 56.3%.

In the broader community, Sonoma County reports that median household income runs about $104,674, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. In all, Sonoma County runs 184 public schools (combined enrollment of about 63,389 students), of which Hillcrest Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Gravenstein Elementary, roughly 1.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Hillcrest Middle. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hillcrest Middle ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 53.0%.

Hillcrest Middle operates from a town-based location. Hillcrest Middle operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Trend over the last 7 years. Hillcrest Middle's enrollment has expanded 19% since 2018, when it stood at 250 (now 297). White enrollment moved from 70% to 61% across the same window. Class-load math has loosened: from 13.6:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 in 2025.

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