Compare Thomas Elementary School with Hightower Elementary School

Thomas Elementary School earned a State accountability rating of B (80-89) based on three domains: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Scores are scaled from 0 to 100 to align with letter grades. The school scored 71 in student achievement, 89 in school progress and 77 in closing performance gaps. It scored 85 overall in post-secondary readiness, a broad term that refers to student preparedness to undertake multiple pathways after graduation, or specifically, their preparedness for college education.

On the other hand, Hightower Elementary School performed excellent to earn a State accountability rating of A. The school posted 93 in student achievement, 92 in school progress, 94 in closing performance gaps and 93 overall in post-secondary readiness.

A distinction designation acknowledges districts and campuses for outstanding achievement based on the outcomes of several performance indicators. Distinction designations are awarded for achievement in several areas and are based on performance relative to a group of campuses of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics.

Hightower Elementary School's four out of seven distinctions are in Reading/English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science and post-secondary. Thomas Elementary School has no distinction.

Based on Racial/Ethnic Groups, Hispanics comprise the biggest group at Thomas Elementary School. They make up for 58.80% of student population, followed by African Americans (19.22%), Whites or Caucasians (13.89%), Two or More Races (4.20%), Asians (3.72%) and Native Americans (0.16%).

The student population at Hightower Elementary School is also predominantly by Whites or Caucasians at 40.09%, followed by Asians (24.15%), Hispanics (18.91%), African Americans (10.02%), Two or More Races (6.61%) and Native Americans (0.23%).

Based on household incomes, Thomas Elementary School’s economically disadvantaged students is significantly higher at 67.53% compared to 25.74% at Hightower Elementary School.

In terms of Limited English Proficiency (LEP), a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is not fluent in the English Language, mainly because it is not their native language, Thomas Elementary School has a significantly higher number of English Language Learners comprising 48.47% of its student population compared to 18.00% at Hightower Elementary School.

In addition, Thomas Elementary School has 48.79% bilingual students, 4.68% are in the gifted and talented program, while 17.61% are in the special education program. This stacks up against Hightower Elementary School with 17.31% bilingual students, 7.74% gifted and talented students and 15.03% students in the special education program.

53 teachers employed at Thomas Elementary School have been teaching in the school for an average of about 8.4 years with individual teaching experience averaging 12.1 years. The 38 teachers at Hightower Elementary School have been serving the school for an average of 7.7 years with individual teaching experience averaging 10.4 years.

Of its teaching staff, Thomas Elementary School no teacher serving the school for over 30 years, has five teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 26 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, ten teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while ten teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including three beginning teachers. Hightower Elementary School has one teacher only serving the school for over 30 years, has three teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 12 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, eight teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 11 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including three beginning teachers.

In both schools, female teachers outnumber the male teachers. At Thomas Elementary School there are 46 female teachers and six male teachers. Of its teaching staff, six special education teachers are being assisted by 14 teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has two staff members in the school administration department and six more working as school support staff.

At Hightower Elementary School there are 36 female teachers and one male teacher only. Of its teaching staff, seven special education teachers are being assisted by seven teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has two staff members in the school administration department and three more working as school support staff.