Highland Elementary

Highland Elementary operates as a big elementary school in Sanford, North Carolina, run under Harnett County Schools. Current enrollment sits at 854 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 467 students each, so Highland Elementary sits 83% above that benchmark.

Within Harnett County Schools, which oversees 29 schools and 20,095 students, Highland Elementary is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Highland Elementary shows that the largest single group is White at 45%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder comes out to 28% Hispanic, 18% Black, 7% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 62% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Highland Elementary reports 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.1:1. The state averages about 14.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 55% 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, Harnett County runs at roughly 74%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Highland Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 62.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 58.0%.

In the surrounding community, census data for Harnett County shows the typical household earns roughly $71,287 per year, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Harnett County runs 31 public schools (combined enrollment of about 20,611 students), of which Highland Elementary is one.

Highland Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Highland Elementary comes 2nd of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 47.1%.

Highland Elementary operates from a countryside location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Highland Elementary has ticked down 23%, going from 1,105 students in 2018 to 854 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 15% to 28% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.3:1 in 2018 to 15.1:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.