Highland Pacific Elementary, Highland CA

Original Research by School Decision on Highland Pacific Elementary

Highland Pacific Elementary is a small public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in western Highland, a foothill city in the Inland Empire. The school enrolls roughly the size typical for its grade band in a suburban district, with enrollment split fairly evenly across grades and a kindergarten class that is the largest single cohort.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with Black, Asian, and white students also present. A very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting substantial economic need in the attendance area. Data on English learner enrollment and special education status were not available.

Highland sits in a car-oriented residential landscape. It is a growing community anchored by master-planned developments to the east, with older ranch-style and manufactured homes to the west. The historic commercial core and community gathering spaces remain along Palm Avenue, though retail and entertainment have shifted toward Baseline and Greenspot Road. The Yaamava' Resort & Casino is the largest employer in the area. Regional transit exists through Omnitrans bus routes, with connections to Metrolink rail at the San Bernardino Transit Center. The school's parent district, San Bernardino City Unified, serves both San Bernardino and western Highland and has adopted a strategic framework through 2030 emphasizing academic expectations, student wellness, equity, and safe learning environments. At the high school level, the district has built a model around Linked Learning career pathways integrating college prep with career-technical education and dual enrollment.

State test results show very low proficiency across all tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, students in grades three through six show proficiency rates in the low-to-mid twenties, with grade three performing highest. In mathematics, proficiency is considerably lower, ranging from single digits in several grades to roughly one in eight in grade four. Grade five science proficiency was similarly low. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of schools across San Bernardino County districts on an overall proficiency index. A parent may want to explore with the school what instructional strategies and supports are being deployed to address these performance gaps and what progress, if any, has been made in prior years or is anticipated going forward. Only one year of testing data was available, so trend information was not present.

Highland Pacific is a neighborhood school with a straightforward, regular public school model. It serves families seeking an accessible, local elementary option within a district framework that has committed to structured college and career pathways at the secondary level. Families considering the school should weigh the very low current test performance and understand what the school and district are actively doing to improve outcomes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 31% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 23% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 19% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 63%

School 3% · District 24% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 31% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 32% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 34% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 38% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 18% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolSan Bernardino City Unified, 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.