Highland Elementary

As a mid-sized K-5 school in Burlington, North Carolina, Highland Elementary works with 661 students from grades K through 5, operated by Alamance-Burlington Schools. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 467 students each, so Highland Elementary sits 42% above that benchmark.

Highland Elementary is one of 37 schools operated by Alamance-Burlington Schools, a district that teaches 22,661 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Highland Elementary reports that 33% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 32% Black, 19% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 6% Asian. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 60%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Highland Elementary has 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Highland Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. About 54% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Alamance County (around 80%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Highland Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 62.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 53.4%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Alamance County shows median household earnings sit near $65,651, roughly 29% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, Alamance County runs 42 public schools (combined enrollment of about 25,737 students), of which Highland Elementary is one.

Marvin B Smith Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 2.5 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Highland Elementary comes 4th of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 46.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a low-density area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 8%: 715 students in 2018 compared to 661 in 2025. The White share of enrollment fell from 55% to 33% over that span.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Highland Elementary community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.