Highland Park Elementary

Located at 1212 5th St SW, in Roanoke, Virginia, Highland Park Elementary is an intimate elementary school that hosts 362 students (grades pre-K through 5), operated by Roanoke City Public Schools. Compared to the state average of about 499 students per school, that is 27% below typical.

Roanoke City Public Schools comprises 24 schools with combined enrollment of 13,811 students; Highland Park Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Highland Park Elementary shows that the most-represented group is White (43%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 27% Black, 15% multiracial, 13% Hispanic. By comparison, Roanoke city as a whole is about 57% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Highland Park Elementary lists 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.9:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. About 102% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, Highland Park Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 60.4%; this one delivers 74.8%, a residual of +14.3 points.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Roanoke city) reports that the typical household earns roughly $55,378 per year, about 30% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 14%. Highland Park Elementary is one of 30 public schools in Roanoke city (combined enrollment of about 14,392 students).

Nearest neighbor: Wasena Elementary, around 1.0 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Highland Park Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Highland Park Elementary at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 58.1%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Looking at the recent track record. Highland Park Elementary's enrollment has remained close to its prior level since 2018, when it stood at 355 (now 362). The Black share of enrollment contracted from 42% to 27% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 14.8:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for Highland Park Elementary typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.