HILLCREST EL

Set in NEDERLAND, Texas, HILLCREST EL is a middle-of-the-pack K-5 school, operated by NEDERLAND ISD. It enrolls 717 students across grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 38% bigger than the state mean of about 519.

NEDERLAND ISD runs 8 schools in total, collectively educating 5,317 students. HILLCREST EL is one of those campuses.

Demographically, HILLCREST EL lists that the most-represented group is Hispanic (54%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder consists of 20% White, 11% Asian, 10% Black, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Jefferson County as a whole is about 24% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, HILLCREST EL has 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.6:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 62% of students at HILLCREST EL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is below Jefferson County's rate of about 71%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, HILLCREST EL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 46.8%; this one delivers 60.6%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Jefferson County put the typical household earns roughly $60,026 per year, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Jefferson County runs 92 public schools (combined enrollment of about 42,825 students), of which HILLCREST EL is one.

Nearest neighbor: CENTRAL MIDDLE, around 0.9 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts HILLCREST EL at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 53.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a residential area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 18%: 607 students in 2018 compared to 717 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share increased from 37% to 54%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.2:1 in 2018 to 15.6:1 today.

On this page, the feed for HILLCREST EL typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.