Bridges Elementary School, Gilbert AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Bridges Elementary School

Bridges Elementary School is a regular public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Gilbert, a large, fast-growing suburban community southeast of Phoenix. It belongs to the Higley Unified School District, one of two main school districts in Gilbert, alongside the larger Gilbert Public Schools. The school’s location places it in a context of master-planned subdivisions, wide arterial roads, and extensive park space. The town has transformed from its agricultural roots into a major residential suburb, and the housing market reflects that, with area home values and rents near the higher end of the national range.

The school enrolls a sizeable number of students for its kindergarten-through-sixth-grade span. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority and smaller shares of students who identify as two or more races, Asian, and Black. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor were counts of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the range of family economic backgrounds and the level of specialized academic support available.

Academically, the evidence points to strong performance. State assessment results, from the 2024-25 school year, show high proficiency rates in both math and English language arts across every tested grade from third through sixth. In math, proficiency was reported at a strong level in third grade and a very high level in fourth grade, with fifth and sixth grades also well above the midpoint. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: fourth grade posted an especially high proficiency rate, and the other tested grades were also strong. Science results for fifth grade matched that same high standard. These figures place the school’s overall proficiency index in the top quartile when compared with other schools across the 387 districts in Maricopa County, a broad and competitive field. The school’s performance has been consistently high, with the multi-year trend showing stability in both math and English language arts, with combined proficiency rates holding at strong levels across a small number of recent data points.

Because Bridges Elementary serves only kindergarten through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet. Information on its Title I status was not provided. No data on chronic absenteeism came with the payload, and details on course access, discipline, and staffing were likewise missing; these are areas a parent may wish to explore during a school visit or conversation with the principal.

For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. Bridges Elementary demonstrates consistently high academic results across all tested subjects and grades. The school sits within a well-resourced suburb that has experienced decades of rapid growth, and the district is one of the area’s major employers. The limited public data on student support programs and family economic diversity means that a parent looking for specific information about services for students who learn differently, or about the full economic mix of the student body, should follow up directly. For families prioritizing strong, sustained proficiency numbers in a suburban, single-family-home setting, this school presents an academically solid option.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 60% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 487%

School 87% · District 62% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 58% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 682%

School 82% · District 58% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 59% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 67% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 58% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 685%

School 85% · District 64% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Science

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 53% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

This schoolHigley Unified School District (4248), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.