Hillside Elementary

Hillside Elementary is one of the middle-of-the-pack K-5 schools in San Bernardino, California, run under San Bernardino City Unified, with 586 students on its rolls from grades K through 6. That puts it 26% above the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Hillside Elementary is one of 72 schools operated by San Bernardino City Unified, a district that serves 44,080 students overall.

On demographics, Hillside Elementary lists that 86% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority; the rest consists of 6% Black, 5% White. By comparison, San Bernardino County as a whole is about 55% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Hillside Elementary shows 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 21.1:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. Around 90% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against San Bernardino County (around 74%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Hillside Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 25.7%; this one delivers 68.0%, a residual of +42.3 points.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for San Bernardino County indicate the typical household earns roughly $85,478 per year, roughly 23% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, San Bernardino County runs 583 public schools (combined enrollment of about 393,648 students), of which Hillside Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: North Park Elementary, around 0.7 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hillside Elementary ranks 1st on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 23.3%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 19%: 725 students in 2018 compared to 586 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share rose from 76% to 86%. Class-load math has tightened: from 24.2:1 in 2018 to 21.1:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.