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Highland Gardens Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

554^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 680 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Highland Gardens Elementary School is a public elementary school in Montgomery, Alabama, serving 447 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Montgomery County School District, which is ranked 109 out of 135 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Highland Gardens Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 10% of Alabama elementary schools over the past decade, with a ranking between 623-678 out of around 680-690 schools. The school significantly underperforms compared to the Montgomery County and Alabama state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 27.96% of 3rd graders, 21.43% of 4th graders, and 29.41% of 5th graders were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to 45.47%, 41.76%, and 39.31% at the state level, respectively. Additionally, Highland Gardens Elementary has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 14.8% to 38.4% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average.

While Highland Gardens Elementary is the lowest-performing school in the immediate area, there are some nearby schools that perform significantly better, such as Forest Avenue Elementary, a magnet school that ranks 1st out of 680 Alabama elementary schools and has exceptional academic achievement across all grades and subjects. Despite the school's low performance, its per-student spending of $9,237 is higher than the state average, suggesting that factors beyond just funding may be contributing to the school's struggles.

468

Students ?

18.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,237

Per pupil spending ?

79.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2801 Willena Ave
Montgomery, AL 36107-1096

(334) 269-3685

District: Montgomery County

Students who attend Highland Gardens Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Capitol Heights Middle School
High:	Percy Julian High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

61.5%

Hispanic:

32.3%

White:

3.2%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare Highland Gardens Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2015 → 19th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 15 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (32% vs 52% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (27% vs 12% Alabama)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg34%

Alabama avg52%

554^th of 680

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▲ up 14 pts since 2015

From bottom 4% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^th of 29Elementary Schools in the Montgomery County

109^th of 135Montgomery County among Alabama districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	18.8	554 of 680	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	627 of 684	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.6	623 of 680	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	639 of 687	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.3	668 of 692	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.8	678 of 681	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.8	674 of 680	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	7.0	671 of 688	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	6.7	678 of 691	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	9.1	662 of 691	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	16.3	612 of 695	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	30.5	585 of 696	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.6	632 of 696	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	36.5	539 of 709	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	42.1	501 of 704	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	30.3	565 of 696	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	51.6	367 of 698	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	32.7	553 of 698	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	29.2	560 of 689	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	26.9	573 of 688	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	21.6	532 of 623	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	42.2	232 of 427	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.6	345 of 420	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.0	386 of 427	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.1	375 of 426	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.0	396 of 426	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.6	422 of 426	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.7	412 of 423	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	13.2	323 of 336	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	42.0	78 of 142	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.7	98 of 131	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.9	72 of 123	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.7	92 of 110	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.0	96 of 100	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.3	72 of 74	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.5	63 of 65	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	511 of 649	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	578 of 650	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	577 of 645	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.2	632 of 656	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.8	630 of 656	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.5	629 of 646	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	3.8	638 of 640	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.3	628 of 639	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	29.8	155 of 206	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.1	173 of 196	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.6	141 of 184	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.2	154 of 175	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.4	161 of 164	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.8	152 of 152	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.1	136 of 140	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	16.3	124 of 130	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	28.3	492 of 660	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.5	606 of 670	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	558 of 623	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.4	568 of 651	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.9	621 of 653	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.1	645 of 649	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.6	644 of 651	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	7.1	557 of 567	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	16.8	550 of 651	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.3	591 of 655	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.4	600 of 649	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.6	592 of 669	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.1	644 of 669	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.1	648 of 650	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.7	625 of 650	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.8	604 of 639	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	45.7	22 of 53	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	15.7	56 of 59	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.8	63 of 65	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	13.1	61 of 63	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.8	58 of 58	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2019	3.9	526 of 529	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Native American (2025)58th percentile+40 vs school

African American (2025)46th percentile+27 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)45th percentile+27 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)25th percentile+7 vs school

Hispanic (2025)25th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)16th percentile-3 vs school

White (2019)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?

English41%-24 vs state

Mathematics26%-16 vs state

Science21%-21 vs state

★

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Schools Near Highland Gardens Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2025)			Summative Assessment Science (2025)	Summative Assessment English (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Highland Gardens Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2801 Willena Ave	Montgomery	36107	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 269-3685	468	25	18.7	79.7%	15 (3.2%)	288 (61.5%)	151 (32.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.0%)	18.8	554^th of 680 public elementary schools	18.5%		11.3	627^th of 684 public elementary schools	8.3%	73	28.0	21.4	29.4	21.4	44.3	36.8	41.2	$9,237	$2,199	$6,988
Morningview Elementary School	Public	K-5	2849 Pelzer Ave	Montgomery	36109	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 260-1028	434	26	16.6	78.6%	21 (4.8%)	264 (60.8%)	139 (32.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	7.1	665^th of 680 public elementary schools	2.2%		9.7	651^st of 684 public elementary schools	4.8%	14	16.2	11.8	6.3	17.7	26.8	28.1	32.3	$7,725	$1,429	$6,245
Chisholm Elementary School	Public	K-5	307 E Vandiver Blvd	Montgomery	36110	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 269-3643	493	31	15.9	81.5%	7 (1.4%)	287 (58.2%)	186 (37.7%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.0%)	4.5	677^th of 680 public elementary schools	0.4%		3.4	684^th of 684 public elementary schools	0.0%	7	6.5	10.5	7.7	10.5	18.5	21.3	21.9	$8,694	$1,983	$6,660
Highland Avenue Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2024 Highland Avenue	Montgomery	36107	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 269-3690	453	27	16.7	78.8%	6 (1.3%)	272 (60.0%)	166 (36.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.8%)	4.4	678^th of 680 public elementary schools	0.3%		5.6	675^th of 684 public elementary schools	1.3%	3	7.6	2.0	8.8	10.2	17.7	22.9	33.3	$8,784	$1,782	$6,952
Dalraida Elementary School	Public	K-5	440 Dalraida Rd	Montgomery	36109	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 260-1007	711	35	20.3	74.5%	67 (9.4%)	470 (66.1%)	118 (16.6%)	7 (1.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	46 (6.5%)	25.8	507^th of 680 public elementary schools	25.4%		27.8	502^nd of 684 public elementary schools	26.6%	5	32.2	27.8	9.5	40.0	44.7	47.4	50.0	$8,822	$1,660	$7,111
Forest Avenue Elementary School	Public, Magnet	K-5	1700 W 5th St	Montgomery	36106	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	Yes	No	No	(334) 269-3673	617	38	16.2	25.6%	139 (22.5%)	190 (30.8%)	21 (3.4%)	226 (36.6%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	37 (6.0%)	98.7	1^st of 680 public elementary schools	99.9%		99.1	1^st of 684 public elementary schools	99.9%		96.6	87.2	94.4	88.3	100.0	97.9	100.0	$7,213	$507	$6,655
Flowers Elementary School	Public	K-5	3510 Harrison Rd	Montgomery	36109	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 260-1015	387	25	15.4	83.5%	30 (7.8%)	304 (78.6%)	32 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.4%)	17.8	561^st of 680 public elementary schools	17.5%		22.3	530^th of 684 public elementary schools	22.5%	31	26.7	26.7	22.0	25.4	32.0	39.7	40.7	$9,912	$1,876	$7,985
Nixon Elementary School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-5	1000 Edgar D Nixon Ave	Montgomery	36104	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	Yes	No	No	Yes	(334) 269-3012	476	30	15.8	83.6%	4 (0.8%)	391 (82.1%)	69 (14.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.5%)	7.9	657^th of 680 public elementary schools	3.4%		6.1	673^rd of 684 public elementary schools	1.6%	16	18.6	7.8	20.6	9.8	27.5	28.0	23.9	$12,030	$3,698	$8,282
Morris Elementary School	Public	K-5	801 Hill St	Montgomery	36108	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 223-6920	414	23	18.0	90.3%	5 (1.2%)	388 (93.7%)	12 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.2%)	18.9	552^nd of 680 public elementary schools	18.8%		12.5	609^th of 684 public elementary schools	11.0%	57	27.3	22.2	18.2	22.2	42.4	48.2	43.6	$8,147	$1,609	$6,487
Dannelly Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3425 Carter Hill Rd	Montgomery	36111	Montgomery County	Montgomery County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 269-3657	588	37	15.8	84.5%	7 (1.2%)	488 (83.0%)	79 (13.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.0%)	14.3	594^th of 680 public elementary schools	12.6%		12.4	611^th of 684 public elementary schools	10.7%	17	17.7	22.4	17.2	24.7	28.3	42.9	37.1	$8,784	$1,396	$7,337

Frequently Asked Questions about Highland Gardens Elementary School

What district is Highland Gardens Elementary School in?

Montgomery County

What is the racial makeup of Highland Gardens Elementary School?

Students at Highland Gardens Elementary School are 62% African American, 32% Hispanic, 3% White, 3% Two or more races.

How many students attend Highland Gardens Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 468 students attended Highland Gardens Elementary School.

Is Highland Gardens Elementary School a good school?

Highland Gardens Elementary School ranks in the bottom 18.5% of Alabama elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Highland Gardens Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Highland Gardens Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Capitol Heights Middle School
High : Percy Julian High School

Rate Highland Gardens Elementary School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.