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Desert Heights Elementary

Public Grades K-5

343^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 379 Nevada Elementary Schools

Better than 9% of Nevada elementary schools

Summary

Desert Heights Elementary is a public elementary school in Reno, Nevada, serving 507 students in grades PK-6. The school is part of the Washoe County School District, which is ranked 4 out of 12 districts in Nevada and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite relatively high spending per student, Desert Heights Elementary has consistently struggled with academic performance. The school's students perform significantly below the Washoe County and Nevada averages in mathematics, reading, and science. Additionally, the school has persistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 25.1% to 28.1% in recent years, much higher than the district and state averages. The school's performance has not shown significant improvement over the past decade, indicating a need for comprehensive intervention.

While several nearby schools in the Washoe County district also face academic challenges, some schools, such as Michael Inskeep Elementary and Nancy Gomes Elementary, demonstrate significantly higher academic achievement, suggesting that improvement is possible with the right strategies and resources. By learning from the successes of these higher-performing schools, Desert Heights Elementary may be able to implement effective practices and improve outcomes for its students.

474

Students ?

18.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,332

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

13948 Mount Bismark Street
Reno, NV 89506

(775) 677-5444

District: Washoe County

Students who attend Desert Heights Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	William Obrien Middle School
High:	North Valleys High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

51.7%

White:

27.0%

Pacific Islander:

8.2%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 26th percentile in 2022 → 9th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Nevada average (22% vs 39% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped from its 26th-percentile peak (2022) to 9th (2025)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg39%

Nevada avg39%

343^rd of 379

Nevada public elementary schools ?

Bottom 9%▲ up 4 pts since 2016

From bottom 5% (2016) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Nevada Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

59^th of 62Elementary Schools in the Washoe County

4^th of 12Washoe County among Nevada 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	Nevada percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	343 of 379	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.1	312 of 377	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.1	301 of 384	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	282 of 380	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.5	253 of 324	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.0	345 of 388	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.0	309 of 341	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	18.4	297 of 351	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	11.0	328 of 347	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	7.8	323 of 332	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	21.5	277 of 330	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.1	256 of 328	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	14.2	274 of 318	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	11.5	264 of 300	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	22.7	224 of 292	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	9.5	264 of 294	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	24.4	181 of 246	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	13.4	211 of 213	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	13.7	307 of 330	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	20.0	273 of 308	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	21.3	280 of 321	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	18.9	288 of 332	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	18.3	202 of 227	11.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	13.4	223 of 247	9.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2018)13th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)13th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2018)11th percentile~ school

Special Education (2018)11th percentile~ school

White (2018)10th percentile~ school

Female (2018)7th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2018)1st percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Nevada (2024-2025) ?

Reading26%-20 vs state

Mathematics20%-16 vs state

Science18%-9 vs state

★

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Schools Near Desert Heights Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SBAC Mathematics (2025)				SBAC Reading (2025)				SBAC Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
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	SBAC Mathematics 3rd Grade	SBAC Mathematics 4th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 5th Grade	SBAC Mathematics All Grades	SBAC Reading 3rd Grade	SBAC Reading 4th Grade	SBAC Reading 5th Grade	SBAC Reading All Grades	SBAC Science 5th Grade	SBAC Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Desert Heights Elementary	Public	K-5	13948 Mount Bismark Street	Reno	89506	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 677-5444	474	26	18.0	100.0%	128 (27.0%)	15 (3.2%)	245 (51.7%)	14 (3.0%)	3 (0.6%)	39 (8.2%)	30 (6.3%)	12.7	343^rd of 379 public elementary schools	9.5%		18.1	312^th of 377 public elementary schools	17.2%	31	18.5	19.1	21.7	19.8	23.1	24.6	29.1	25.6	17.9	17.9	$13,332	$2,098	$11,234
Sierra Nevada Academy Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	5600 Fox Ave	Reno	89506	Washoe County	Washoe County	Yes	No	No	No	(775) 677-4500	251	7	37.8	99.6%	111 (44.2%)	6 (2.4%)	99 (39.4%)	11 (4.4%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	21 (8.4%)								(n/a)				8.8				20.7			$9,661	$1,335	$8,327
Silver Lake Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8719 Red Baron Blvd	Reno	89506	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 677-5400	491	23	21.1		179 (36.5%)	20 (4.1%)	239 (48.7%)	13 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.2%)	28 (5.7%)	29.1	254^th of 379 public elementary schools	33.0%		46.3	165^th of 377 public elementary schools	56.2%	89	39.2	42.6	23.5	34.9	33.3	37.8	40.4	37.2	14.7	14.7	$10,072	$941	$9,132
Stead Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10580 Stead Blvd	Reno	89506	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 677-5480	647	36	17.7	100.0%	144 (22.3%)	34 (5.3%)	365 (56.4%)	36 (5.6%)	5 (0.8%)	29 (4.5%)	34 (5.3%)	18.5	307^th of 379 public elementary schools	19.0%		12.4	347^th of 377 public elementary schools	8.0%	40	30.8	25.2	15.6	23.7	34.2	32.4	40.8	35.9	8.6	8.6	$10,032	$1,376	$8,656
Lemmon Valley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	255 W Patrician Drive	Reno	89506	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 677-5460	635	35	17.9	100.0%	174 (27.4%)	14 (2.2%)	360 (56.7%)	34 (5.4%)	3 (0.5%)	12 (1.9%)	38 (6.0%)	14.8	331^st of 379 public elementary schools	12.7%		12.7	346^th of 377 public elementary schools	8.2%	15	18.8	29.7	22.1	23.3	19.6	29.7	38.1	29.3	9.1	9.1	$10,363	$1,207	$9,156
Alice Smith Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1070 Beckwourth Drive	Reno	89506	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 677-5410	512	32	15.9	100.0%	141 (27.5%)	15 (2.9%)	294 (57.4%)	23 (4.5%)	2 (0.4%)	9 (1.8%)	28 (5.5%)	21.2	292^nd of 379 public elementary schools	23.0%		18.7	306^th of 377 public elementary schools	18.8%	14	41.1	29.2	11.6	27.3	37.6	32.5	31.3	33.8	13.7	13.7	$11,051	$1,295	$9,757
Nancy Gomes Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3870 Limkin Street	Reno	89508	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 677-5440	259	15	17.2	100.0%	162 (62.5%)	1 (0.4%)	69 (26.6%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (9.3%)	36.7	219^th of 379 public elementary schools	42.2%		43.4	182^nd of 377 public elementary schools	51.7%	37	26.1	38.6	40.5	34.9	23.2	38.6	62.1	40.3			$10,636	$746	$9,890
Michael Inskeep Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	18001 Briar Drive	Reno	89508	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 677-3800	451	24	18.7	39.7%	269 (59.6%)	4 (0.9%)	134 (29.7%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (8.6%)	51.8	161^st of 379 public elementary schools	57.5%		43	184^th of 377 public elementary schools	51.2%	23	51.8	47.3	33.7	44.2	54.2	52.6	44.0	50.2	20.2	20.2	$9,537	$533	$9,004
Esther Bennett Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5900 Sidehill Drive	Sparks	89433	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 674-4444	529	34	15.4	99.8%	106 (20.0%)	3 (0.6%)	386 (73.0%)	6 (1.1%)	5 (0.9%)	8 (1.5%)	15 (2.8%)	20.5	296^th of 379 public elementary schools	21.9%		11	351^st of 377 public elementary schools	6.9%	55	30.5	27.2	23.1	26.9	27.3	34.0	39.3	33.5			$13,688	$1,577	$12,111
Sun Valley Elementary	Public	K-5	5490 Leon Drive	Sparks	89433	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 674-4420	520	30	17.3	100.0%	63 (12.1%)	2 (0.4%)	415 (79.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.7%)	17 (3.3%)	17.2	319^th of 379 public elementary schools	15.8%		13	343^rd of 377 public elementary schools	9.0%	24	31.2	29.8	15.4	25.3	33.3	28.7	29.8	30.7			$11,283	$1,332	$9,950

Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Heights Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Desert Heights Elementary?

Students at Desert Heights Elementary are 52% Hispanic, 27% White, 8% Pacific Islander, 6% Two or more races, 3% African American, 3% Asian.

Is Desert Heights Elementary a good school?

Desert Heights Elementary ranks in the bottom 9.5% of Nevada elementary schools.

How many students attend Desert Heights Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 474 students attended Desert Heights Elementary.

What district is Desert Heights Elementary in?

Washoe County

What schools do graduates of Desert Heights Elementary attend?

Students who attend Desert Heights Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : William Obrien Middle School
High : North Valleys High 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 Nevada 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.