Highlands Elementary School

Highlands Elementary School is a small PK–6 school in Boise, Idaho, serving 291 students in the Boise Independent District. Located on Bogus Basin Road, it sits in a cluster of Boise elementary schools that span a wide range of socioeconomic and academic profiles. Highlands is one of Idaho's consistently highest-performing elementary schools, with a 5-star rating in every year of reported rank history.

Academically, Highlands outperforms its district and the state by wide margins. In 2025–26, 71.6% of students were proficient in math, compared with 46.4% for the district and 43.1% statewide; ELA proficiency was 77.3% versus 53.3% district and 54.0% state; and 5th-grade science proficiency reached 77.5% versus 48.1% district and 44.0% state. The school has ranked between #2 and #17 in Idaho over the past decade, placing it in the 95th–99th percentiles. Chronic absenteeism is also low, at 11.4% in 2025–26, compared with the district's 22.5%. Nearby Taft Elementary School and Whittier Elementary School have 97–98% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility and proficiency rates below 35%, while Highlands serves a much more economically advantaged population with only 6.5% qualifying for free/reduced-price lunch.

Highlands also stands out for efficiency: it spends $8,870 per student, the lowest among nearby schools with reported data, yet produces top-tier results. For comparison, Taft spends $12,390 per student, and Cynthia Mann spends $11,125. While trends are worth monitoring—free lunch eligibility has crept up from 3.1% to 6.5% and math proficiency has dipped slightly from 77.5% to 71.6% over three years—the school remains far above district and state averages. It also outperforms local charters like Future Public School and Anser Charter School in both math and ELA. Highlands combines strong academic momentum, low absenteeism, and efficient spending, making it a standout choice in North Boise.