H. W. Harkness Elementary is a public elementary school in Sacramento, California, serving 257 students in grades K-6 and part of the Sacramento City Unified School District.
H. W. Harkness Elementary faces significant challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 20% of California elementary schools. The school's academic performance is well below state and district averages, with only 20.39% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts in 2023-2024, compared to 47.04% statewide and 38.95% in the district. Chronic absenteeism has also risen sharply, from 11.1% in 2018-2019 to 41.2% in 2021-2022, much higher than the district average of 25.8%. The school serves a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 89.49% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.
While the nearby Bowling Green Elementary, John Bidwell Elementary, and Pony Express Elementary generally perform better academically and have lower chronic absenteeism rates, they still struggle compared to state averages, indicating broader challenges within the Sacramento City Unified School District. H. W. Harkness has consistently low rankings for various student subgroups, but has performed relatively better in serving its special education and disabled student populations.
In the 2022-23 school year, 257 students attended H. W. Harkness Elementary.
H. W. Harkness Elementary ranks in the bottom 12.1% of California elementary schools.
Sacramento City Unified
Students at H. W. Harkness Elementary are 54% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 13% African American, 9% Two or more races, 4% White, 2% Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian.
Students who attend H. W. Harkness Elementary usually go on to attend:High : Luther Burbank High