Enrollment
510
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Naperville, IL
Highlands Elem School
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Elem School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 172771002932
👥 S:T ratio 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 68
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Highlands Elem School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Illinois schools.
- #17 of 27
- elementary schools in Naperville · Resource Index
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15:1
- large classes for Illinois
- 510
- students enrolled
Highlands Elem School has class sizes larger than 70% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Highlands Elem School ranks #17 of 27 elementary schools in Naperville, IL.
School address
District: Naperville Cusd 203 · Illinois
NCES ID 172771002932 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands Elem School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Highlands Elem School
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Highlands Elem School is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Illinois schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
No single support indicator dominates
Highlands Elem School's available federal support indicators do not reveal an extreme in advanced-course access, specialist staffing, chronic absence, or IDEA enrollment. The most responsible reading is therefore component by component rather than a sweeping verdict: current counseling availability, health support, program schedules, and attendance policy still warrant direct confirmation. Missing or middle-range federal fields are not evidence that services are either strong or weak.
Highlands Elem School is a mid-sized elementary school in Naperville, Illinois, enrolling 510 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15:1 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 510 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is led by White (63%) and Asian (23%) (diversity index 55/100).
12.7% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Naperville Cusd 203 spends $21,103 per pupil, 24% above the Illinois average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Naperville's elementary schools, it stands alongside Elmwood Elem School (726 students): Highlands Elem School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15:1 vs 16.1:1).
Naperville Cusd 203 also operates Naperville Central High School (2,589 students) and Naperville North High School (2,467 students) alongside Highlands Elem School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Highlands Elem School compares
Highlands Elem School on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15:1 | ▲ 7% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 510 | top 29% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15:1
Leaner classes than 47% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
510
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
15:1
students per teacher
- 7% above state mean
Top 70% in Illinois - lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
12.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$21,103
per pupil, district-wide
- above Illinois avg of $17,042
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 62.5%
Asian 23.3%
Two or More 8.0%
Hispanic or Latino 5.7%
African American 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 62.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.5, Highlands Elem School is more mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Naperville Cusd 203, which includes Highlands Elem School.
$21,103
Per student
+24%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
+27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 69.9%
State 25.6%
Federal 4.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Highlands Elem School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naperville Central High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Naperville North High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Kennedy Junior High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Jefferson Jr High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lincoln Jr High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Highlands Elem School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,589
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 2,467
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 937
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 832
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 774
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
Similar elementary schools in Naperville
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Elmwood Elem School
Standard public school
726 students 16.1:1 students per teacher
May Watts Elementary School
Standard public school
668 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Steeple Run Elem School
Standard public school
622 students 13.2:1 students per teacher
Beebe Elem School
Standard public school
619 students 14.1:1 students per teacher
Mill Street Elem School
Standard public school
600 students 12.8:1 students per teacher
Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary
Standard public school
589 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Illinois, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~510 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Highlands Elem School's federal record.
- Compare Highlands Elem School against another school. Compare schools
- Naperville Cusd 203's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Highlands Elem School
How many students attend Highlands Elem School?
Highlands Elem School has 510 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Naperville, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Elem School?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands Elem School is 15:1, which is 7% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands Elem School?
The largest demographic group at Highlands Elem School is White at 62.5% of enrollment, in Naperville, IL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Elem School?
Highlands Elem School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Highlands Elem School rank among elementary schools in Naperville?
By Resource Investment Index, Highlands Elem School ranks #17 of 27 elementary schools in Naperville, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Naperville on the city page.
What other schools are in Naperville Cusd 203?
Besides Highlands Elem School, Naperville Cusd 203 also operates Naperville Central High School (2,589 students), Naperville North High School (2,467 students), and Kennedy Junior High School (937 students). See the Naperville Cusd 203 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.