Enrollment
379
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063492005907
Highlands Elementary — San Mateo, CA
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 14
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 24
📋 Attendance 54
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
The verdict
Highlands Elementary earns a D Resource Investment Index (41/100), with class sizes near the California median.
- D
- Resource Index · 41/100
- 21.4:1
- students per teacher
- 17.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 379
- students enrolled
School address
District: San Mateo-Foster City · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
17.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Highlands Elementary reports 379 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 35% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 17.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the California average and 66% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 379 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding San Mateo-Foster City spends $22,374 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 79.9% from local sources (property taxes), 14.6% from the state, and 5.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Highlands Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.4:1 | ▼ 1% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 17.4% | ▼ 69% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 379 | top 37% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
21 smaller classes than 12% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
379 larger than 44% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
17.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.4:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 43% in California — lower ratio than 57% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$22,374
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 379 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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.
Overview
Enrollment 379 Top 37% in California — larger than 63% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 21.4:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 17.4% -69% vs state
NCES ID 063492005907
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 28.5%
Asian 27.2%
White 24.5%
Two or More 17.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.3%
African American 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 28.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 379:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Mateo-Foster City, which includes Highlands Elementary.
$22,374
Per student
+24%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 79.9%
State 14.6%
Federal 5.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 929
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 903
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 840
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 721
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 624
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
Similar elementary schools in San Mateo
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Bayside Academy
Standard public school
840 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Baywood Elementary
Standard public school
489 students 22.3:1 students per teacher
Laurel Elementary
Standard public school
469 students 22:1 students per teacher
College Park Elementary
Standard public school
431 students 24.1:1 students per teacher
Fiesta Gardens International Elementary
Standard public school
418 students 20.8:1 students per teacher
Parkside Montessori
Standard public school
418 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Highlands Elementary
How many students attend Highlands Elementary?
Highlands Elementary has 379 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in San Mateo, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands Elementary is 21.4:1, which is 1% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 35% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highlands Elementary?
17.4% of students at Highlands Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Highlands Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 28.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Mateo, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Elementary?
Highlands Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.