Elementary school (grades K-5) · San Bernardino, CA

Hillside Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Hillside Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063417009187
0/100100/10022/100
👥 S:T ratio
16
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Hillside Elementary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#33 of 51
elementary schools in San Bernardino · Resource Index
22
Resource Index · Lower
20.9:1
students per teacher
72.9%
free-lunch eligible

Hillside Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Hillside Elementary ranks #33 of 51 elementary schools in San Bernardino, CA.

Enrollment

586

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

28.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

72.9%

vs 55.5% California avg

+31% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Hillside Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Hillside Elementary

Hillside Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in San Bernardino, California, enrolling 586 students.

At 20.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 72.9% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 586 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 2,150 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #1,251.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 586 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 54.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 16.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among San Bernardino's elementary schools, it stands alongside Paakuma K-8 (940 students): Hillside Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (20.9:1 vs 20.9:1).

San Bernardino City Unified also operates Cajon High (2,748 students) and Arroyo Valley High (2,692 students) alongside Hillside Elementary.

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 Hillside Elementary compares

Hillside Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 20.9:1 ▼ 3% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 72.9% ▲ 31% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 586 top 34% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

20.9:1
Leaner classes than 13% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
586
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
72.9%
free-lunch eligible - 31% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.9:1
students per teacher - 3% below state mean
Top 42% in California - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
54.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,063
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 586 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 85.7%
African American 6.1%
White 4.9%
Two or More 1.4%
Asian 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 85.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 25.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 25.9, Hillside Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Bernardino City Unified, which includes Hillside Elementary.

$18,063
Per student
+9%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 11.5%
State 72.3%
Federal 16.3%

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 Hillside Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Cajon High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Arroyo Valley High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Indian Springs High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
San Bernardino High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
San Gorgonio High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Hillside Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

San Bernardino City Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in San Bernardino

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Hillside Elementary's federal record.

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 Hillside Elementary

How many students attend Hillside Elementary?

Hillside Elementary has 586 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in San Bernardino, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Hillside Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Hillside Elementary is 20.9:1, which is 3% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 33% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hillside Elementary?

72.9% of students at Hillside Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hillside Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Hillside Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 85.7% of enrollment, in San Bernardino, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Hillside Elementary?

Hillside Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Hillside Elementary rank among elementary schools in San Bernardino?

By Resource Investment Index, Hillside Elementary ranks #33 of 51 elementary schools in San Bernardino, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in San Bernardino on the city page.

Is Hillside Elementary a good school?

Hillside Elementary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in San Bernardino City Unified?

Besides Hillside Elementary, San Bernardino City Unified also operates Cajon High (2,748 students), Arroyo Valley High (2,692 students), and Indian Springs High (1,810 students). See the San Bernardino City Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.