La Costa Heights Elementary

As a middle-of-the-pack primary school in Carlsbad, California, La Costa Heights Elementary educates 552 students from grades K through 6, part of Encinitas Union Elementary.

Across the 9 schools in Encinitas Union Elementary (4,298 students total), La Costa Heights Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, La Costa Heights Elementary reports that 67% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder reads as 15% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, 4% Asian. That is considerably more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 48%.

Looking at school resources, La Costa Heights Elementary records 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 24.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting La Costa Heights Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. About 14% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, San Diego County runs at roughly 54%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, La Costa Heights Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 70.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 78.2%.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (San Diego County) reports that median household earnings sit near $106,268, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across San Diego County's 766 public schools (combined enrollment of about 467,437 students), La Costa Heights Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Mission Estancia Elementary, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, La Costa Heights Elementary comes 2nd of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 69.9%.

La Costa Heights Elementary operates from a downtown location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 20%: 690 students in 2018 compared to 552 in 2025. The Asian share of enrollment decreased from 10% to 4% over that span.

On the community side, the feed for La Costa Heights Elementary typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.