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Highlands Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

83^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 943 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 91% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Highlands Elementary School is a highly rated public school in Erie, Colorado, serving approximately 528 students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade within the St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J. The school earned a 5-star rating for the 2025–2026 school year and ranks 83rd out of 943 Colorado elementary schools (91st percentile), a steady climb from 107th place just a few years ago. That places it among the top-performing elementary schools in the Erie/Frederick area, trailing only Erie Elementary locally.

Academically, Highlands students perform well above district and state averages in every subject. In the most recent testing year, 69.5% of students met or exceeded state standards in English language arts, 64.2% in math, and 64.6% in 5th-grade science — roughly 18 to 28 percentage points above state averages. Compare that with nearby Grand View Elementary, where just 44.9% of students hit ELA benchmarks and 43.5% hit math benchmarks. Highlands' scores have improved steadily over the past four years, especially in ELA, and the school also posts strong results for both boys and girls, each ranking in the 85th percentile or higher statewide.

What truly sets Highlands apart, though, is attendance. Only 7.2% of students were chronically absent in 2024–2025 — a fraction of the district rate of 23.1% and state rate of 28.4%. Among nearby schools, only Meadowlark School (5.2%) is lower, while Grand View Elementary and Pioneer Bilingual Elementary School report rates above 16%. With a student–teacher ratio of 17.3 and a moderate free/reduced lunch rate near 15%, Highlands pairs strong academics with a school climate that keeps kids in class — a combination that points to continued success ahead.

528

Students ?

17.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,103

Per pupil spending ?

15.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

475 Highlands Circle
Erie, CO 80516

(303) 776-6200

District: St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J

Racial breakdown:

White:

66.3%

Hispanic:

15.9%

Two or more races:

8.3%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 89th percentile in 2023 → 91st in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Colorado average (67% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 9% of Colorado elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school67%

District avg49%

Colorado avg41%

83^rd of 943

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Top 9%▲ up 3 pts since 2023

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 32Elementary Schools in the St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J

23^rd of 115St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J among Colorado 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	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	88.6	83 of 943	91.2%	★★★★★
2025	88.2	96 of 950	89.9%	★★★★☆
2024	84.8	123 of 943	87.0%	★★★★☆
2023	86.1	107 of 933	88.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	81.2	105 of 692	84.8%	★★★★☆
2025	82.3	94 of 694	86.5%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	84.1	92 of 694	86.7%	★★★★☆
2025	83.0	94 of 700	86.6%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	72.6	127 of 546	76.7%	★★★★☆
2025	72.6	122 of 551	77.9%	★★★★☆
2024	70.7	127 of 539	76.4%	★★★★☆
2023	68.9	147 of 525	72.0%	★★★★☆

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)

Male (2026)87th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2026)85th percentile-6 vs school

White (2026)77th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts70%+25 vs state

Science65%+28 vs state

Math64%+27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Highlands Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CMAS English Language Arts (2026)							CMAS Math (2026)							CMAS Science (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CMAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math 6th Grade	CMAS Math 7th Grade	CMAS Math 8th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	CMAS Science 8th Grade	Total
Highlands Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	475 Highlands Circle	Erie	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	No	No	No	No	(303) 776-6200	528	31	17.3	15.3%	350 (66.3%)	7 (1.3%)	84 (15.9%)	40 (7.6%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	44 (8.3%)	88.6	83^rd of 943 public elementary schools	91.2%		88.2	96^th of 950 public elementary schools	89.9%	13	67.1	71.9	68.7				69.5	62.5	66.7	62.7				64.2	64.6		$18,103
Soaring Heights Pk-8	Public	PK, KG-8	3280 County Road 5	Erie	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	No	No	No	No	(303) 702-8020	1,211	72	16.7	12.6%	891 (73.6%)	10 (0.8%)	178 (14.7%)	65 (5.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (5.4%)	85.2	131^st of 943 public elementary schools	86.1%		80	172^nd of 950 public elementary schools	81.9%	41	65.2	64.7	68.6	57.9	57.8	57.6	61.6	76.3	58.5	61.5	54.0	51.6	66.4	61.1	59.4	45.0	$17,217
Aspen Ridge Preparatory School	Public, Charter	K-8	705 Austin Avenue	Erie	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	Yes	No	No	No	(720) 242-6225	581	38	15.2	10.8%	468 (80.6%)	5 (0.9%)	47 (8.1%)	28 (4.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.5%)	59.3	363^rd of 943 public elementary schools	61.5%		57.8	385^th of 950 public elementary schools	59.5%	22	68.3	42.9	52.5	38.3	39.1	65.4	50.4	65.6	46.4	46.8	37.7	42.4	53.7	48.5	24.1	35.8	$13,299
Erie Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4137 E County Line Rd.	Erie	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	No	No	No	No	(303) 828-3395	486	28	17.2	17.5%	335 (68.9%)	3 (0.6%)	84 (17.3%)	37 (7.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.1%)	92	55^th of 943 public elementary schools	94.2%		88.4	91^st of 950 public elementary schools	90.4%	36	63.0	74.6	78.3				72.7	70.9	69.0	67.6				69.0	68.1		$18,412
Red Hawk Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1500 Telleen Ave.	Erie	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	No	No	No	No	(303) 774-2700	588	32	18.1	12.6%	469 (79.8%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (7.7%)	37 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	35 (6.0%)	83	151^st of 943 public elementary schools	84.0%		74.7	229^th of 950 public elementary schools	75.9%	78	63.5	67.3	64.6				65.2	69.8	61.2	56.6				62.2	49.5		$17,291
Black Rock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2000 Mountain View Blvd	Erie	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	No	No	No	No	(720) 890-3995	597	30	20.0	19.3%	394 (66.0%)	7 (1.2%)	95 (15.9%)	63 (10.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.4%)	82.7	155^th of 943 public elementary schools	83.6%		80.8	168^th of 950 public elementary schools	82.3%	13	47.4	78.0	73.3				67.7	46.1	62.0	64.4				58.3	64.0		$17,381
Meadowlark School	Public	PK, KG-8	2300 Sweet Meadow Lane	Erie	80516	Boulder County	Boulder Valley School District No. Re2	No	No	No	No	(720) 561-5104	747	40	18.7	10.3%	503 (67.3%)	16 (2.1%)	76 (10.2%)	73 (9.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (10.3%)	80	174^th of 943 public elementary schools	81.5%		86.9	110^th of 950 public elementary schools	88.4%	64	55.4	68.8	69.1	62.0	76.4	75.0	67.6	48.6	48.8	61.8	63.3	64.4	64.7	58.4	51.5	65.7	$19,194
Thunder Vista P-8	Public	PK, KG-8	3461 Preble Creek Parkway	Broomfield	80023	Broomfield County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-2900	725	44	16.4	10.1%	511 (70.5%)	5 (0.7%)	108 (14.9%)	57 (7.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (5.7%)	85.3	129^th of 943 public elementary schools	86.3%		91.8	54^th of 950 public elementary schools	94.3%	75	71.0	68.3	77.1	60.0	78.8	51.5	68.5	76.5	53.1	71.1	41.5	63.7	47.0	59.4	55.4	46.5	$17,262
Kenneth Homyak Pk-8	Public	PK, KG-8	3927 York Street	Dacono	80514	Weld County	Weld re-8 schools	No	No	No	No	(303) 857-3380	311	21	15.0	18.6%	172 (55.3%)	3 (1.0%)	107 (34.4%)	10 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	13 (4.2%)	62	334^th of 943 public elementary schools	64.6%		59.4	367^th of 950 public elementary schools	61.4%	33	51.4	48.4	52.5		56.4		53.0	48.6		50.0		43.6	75.0	48.6	40.0	58.3	$14,504
Grand View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6601 Aggregate Blvd	Frederick	80516	Boulder County	St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J	No	No	No	No	(303) 702-8000	446	26	17.4	31.8%	279 (62.6%)	4 (0.9%)	123 (27.6%)	25 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.4%)	50.4	432^nd of 943 public elementary schools	54.2%		56.6	393^rd of 950 public elementary schools	58.6%	39	41.8	47.0	46.0				44.9	47.8	41.8	40.6				43.5	30.2		$17,180

Frequently Asked Questions about Highlands Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Highlands Elementary School?

Students at Highlands Elementary School are 66% White, 16% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 8% Asian, 1% African American.

What district is Highlands Elementary School in?

St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J

Is Highlands Elementary School a good school?

Yes. Highlands Elementary School ranks in the top 8.8% of Colorado elementary schools.

How many students attend Highlands Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 528 students attended Highlands Elementary School.

Rate Highlands Elementary School!

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2025–26 CMAS, PSAT10, PSAT9 & SAT test scoresAug 19, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 13, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataAug 27, 2025

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