HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY

HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY is an average-sized primary school in COTTAGE GROVE, Minnesota, part of South Washington County Schools. The school instructs 417 students in grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 21% bigger than the state mean of about 344.

Across the 28 schools in South Washington County Schools (19,578 students total), HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY shows that 59% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school lists 12% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 10% Black, 9% multiracial. By comparison, Washington County as a whole is about 78% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, On paper, HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY has 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.5:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. Around 32% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.0%; this one delivers 42.4%.

In the surrounding community, Washington County reports that median household earnings sit near $115,345, roughly 49% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. Across Washington County's 103 public schools (combined enrollment of about 46,313 students), HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: ARMSTRONG ELEMENTARY, around 0.5 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, HILLSIDE ELEMENTARY comes 1st of 5 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 36.0%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count remained close to its prior level: 410 students in 2018 compared to 417 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 73% to 59%.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.