Highland Elementary

Highland Elementary, a mid-tier elementary campus in CROOKSTON, Minnesota, operated by Crookston Public School District, educates 474 students, covering grades K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 38% bigger than the state mean of about 344.

Across the 5 schools in Crookston Public School District (1,140 students total), Highland Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Highland Elementary lists that 58% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder consists of 29% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 5% Native American, 4% Black. The wider county runs roughly 86% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Highland Elementary has 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Roughly 58% of students at Highland Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Polk County runs at roughly 43%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Highland Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Minnesota public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 34.0%; Highland Elementary posts 47.6%, +13.6 points above that line.

Around the school, census data for Polk County shows median household income runs about $73,107, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Polk County's 20 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,075 students), Highland Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Crookston Secondary, around 1.0 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 4 other public schools cluster around Highland Elementary. On composite proficiency, Highland Elementary comes 1st of 6 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 26.5%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 7%: 445 students in 2018 compared to 474 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 62% to 58% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 14.3:1 in 2018 to 12.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Highland Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.