Highlands Elementary

· San Mateo County · San Mateo-Foster City
Public San Mateo County 🏛 San Mateo-Foster City → CDS 4169039…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

San Carlos Charter Learning Center → Summit Preparatory Charter High → Design Tech High School → Los Robles-Ronald Mcnair Academy → Oceana High School → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Highlands Elementary.

This school doesn't appear in UCOP's source-school records (it may send few or no applicants to UC). Its enrollment trend and similar-school comparison are still below.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment
554 (2018)349 (2026)
-37.0%

If this trend holds (-5.6%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~329 -20 $0
3 yr (2029) ~293 -56 $0
5 yr (2031) ~261 -88 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the San Mateo County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Stability rate
94.9%
375 of 395 students

20 of 395 students who enrolled at Highlands Elementary this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (5.1% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Mateo County median
92.9% · school is in the 76th percentile of 37 HS
Statewide median
88.7% · in the 86th percentile of 2,648 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (123) 90.2%
Hispanic / Latino (118) 89.8%
Asian (96) 95.8%
White (94) 98.9%
English learners (81) 90.1%
Two or more races (53) 100.0%

Nearest peer high schools

San Carlos Charter Learning Center 98.7% Summit Preparatory Charter High 92.1% Design Tech High School 97.4% Los Robles-Ronald Mcnair Academy 88.1% Oceana High School 95.8%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: total enrollment.

Chronic absent
11.2%
43 of 385 students

Absenteeism is up 8.4 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

San Mateo County median
20.3% · school is better than 76% of 37 HS
Statewide median
20.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

Highlands Elementary — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • At its recent rate (-5.6%/yr), enrollment projects to ~293 by 2029 — about 56 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

349 students (2026)
~293 projected (2029)
at -5.6%/yr

That's about 56 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Highlands Elementary Public 349
Peer-group median 50.7% +2%
San Carlos Charter Learning Center Public 367
Summit Preparatory Charter High Public 380 +38%
Design Tech High School Public 563 69.6% +2%
Los Robles-Ronald Mcnair Academy Public 305
Oceana High School Public 450 50.7% -26%
North Star Academy Public 553
City Arts & Leadership Academy Public 393 +33%
Aspire East Palo Alto Charter Public 449 -46%
Everest Public High School Public 224 11.5% -46%
Marshall (thurgood) High Public 420 +15%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

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