Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 78214

This analysis examines four elementary schools serving grades PK through 5 in the 78214 zip code of San Antonio, Texas, a community where all schools report high levels of economic disadvantage, with an average free/reduced lunch rate of 90.6%.

Hillcrest Elementary is the standout school in the area, dramatically outperforming its peers despite a 93.25% free/reduced lunch rate. It ranks in the 44th percentile statewide (2-star rating), a remarkable jump from the 10th percentile just two years prior, and its 5th-grade Math proficiency exceeds the state average. In contrast, the three Harlandale Independent School District (ISD) schools—V M Adams Elementary, E H Gilbert Elementary, and Wright Elementary—rank in the bottom 23% of Texas elementary schools. V M Adams is the most stable of these, showing slow improvement from the 18th to the 23rd percentile, while Wright and E H Gilbert are on a steep decline, dropping to the 7th and 4th percentiles respectively. A key success across all schools is the superior performance of students taking the STAAR Spanish Math test, with Hillcrest's 3rd graders achieving an 80% proficiency rate in Spanish versus 35.71% in English, highlighting the effectiveness of native language instruction.

Science is a universal weakness, with 5th-grade STAAR scores alarmingly low: only Hillcrest Elementary matches the state average at 29.63%, while the other three schools perform at roughly one-third of that level. Spending per student is relatively uniform across the four schools, ranging from $11,416 to $12,468, and student-teacher ratios are favorable, from 13.5 to 16.4. For parents, Hillcrest Elementary is the clear top choice, defying poverty to achieve strong Math results, while V M Adams Elementary offers the most consistent performance among the Harlandale ISD schools. However, the declining trajectories of Wright and E H Gilbert, combined with the widespread science struggles, indicate significant challenges that require targeted intervention across the zip code.