Highland Elementary School

Highland Elementary School serves 443 students in grades K–5 in Pierce, Colorado, and is part of Weld County School District No. Re-9, a district that ranks in the bottom tier of Colorado school districts. Over the past decade, Highland has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of elementary schools statewide, and its most recent ranking places it at the 19th percentile with a 1-star rating. Test scores paint a difficult picture: only 24.4% of students are proficient in English Language Arts and 25.0% in Math, compared to state averages of 44.7% and 37.3%. Science proficiency in 5th grade is just 14.3%, far below the state's 36.1%.

The gap between Highland and neighboring schools is striking. Within a 7–14 mile radius, nearby schools like Galeton Elementary School, Eaton Elementary School, and Rice Elementary School achieve substantially higher scores—often double Highland's proficiency rates—even though several serve similar or higher percentages of students from low-income families. For example, Galeton has a higher free/reduced-price lunch rate than Highland yet posts ELA proficiency around 50% and Math near 58%. Highland's 3rd-grade ELA proficiency of just 10% is especially concerning, since this is the foundational year for reading; without strong early literacy, students struggle to catch up in later grades.

Chronic absenteeism appears to be a major factor, affecting about 30% of Highland students—far higher than many peer schools, where rates often fall below 12%. With 36.6% of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch, poverty alone does not explain the outcomes, especially when neighboring schools with comparable or higher poverty rates perform dramatically better. The school's student-teacher ratio is also mid-pack, suggesting class size is not the issue. After more than a decade of stagnant rankings, Highland faces entrenched challenges in early literacy, attendance, and instructional quality that will likely require significant intervention to turn around.