Hilltop Elementary

Hilltop Elementary operates as a mid-sized elementary-level community in Seattle, Washington, operated by Highline School District. Current enrollment sits at 519 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 37% bigger than the state mean of about 380.

Hilltop Elementary is one of 36 schools operated by Highline School District, a district that enrolls 18,072 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Hilltop Elementary reports that Hispanic students make up the majority at 66%. The remainder is composed of 15% Asian, 6% multiracial, 6% White, 6% Black. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 11%.

In terms of school funding signals, Hilltop Elementary shows 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 17.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 76% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, King County runs at roughly 38%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Hilltop Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 29.1%; actual is 17.5%, a gap of -11.7 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (King County) records that the typical household earns roughly $124,746 per year, 57% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across King County's 544 public schools (combined enrollment of about 278,492 students), Hilltop Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Cascade View Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Hilltop Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Hilltop Elementary at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 28.9%.

Hilltop Elementary operates from a suburban location.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hilltop Elementary has shrank 17%, going from 629 students in 2018 to 519 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 55% to 66% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 20.1:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Hilltop Elementary community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.