Milk (Harvey) Civil Rights Elementary vs King (Thomas Starr) Elementary

Milk (Harvey) Civil Rights Elementary and King (Thomas Starr) Elementary sit just 2.1 miles apart in San Francisco and arrive at nearly identical overall ratings — both score 9.3/10 — separated by a single position in California's statewide rankings, with Milk at #90 and King at #91 out of 9,533 schools. Parents choosing between these two can set aside any broad quality gap; the meaningful differences show up in the details.

Academically, King (Thomas Starr) Elementary holds a clear edge, scoring 8.9/10 compared to Milk (Harvey) Civil Rights Elementary's 8.1/10 — a 0.8-point delta that reflects stronger current proficiency levels. Milk closes that gap decisively on growth, however, earning a perfect 10.0/10 growth score versus King's already-strong 9.5/10. That gap signals that students at Milk are gaining ground faster than their peers, which matters especially for families who want to see measurable year-over-year acceleration regardless of baseline.

King (Thomas Starr) Elementary enrolls 335 students — more than twice the 154 at Milk (Harvey) Civil Rights Elementary — and that size difference shapes the day-to-day experience. King's student-teacher ratio of 16.8:1 is meaningfully tighter than Milk's 19.2:1, meaning students at King have more adult contact time on average. King also serves a higher share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch at 40%, compared to 31% at Milk, reflecting a somewhat broader socioeconomic mix. Both schools cover the same grade span of kindergarten through fifth grade.

Both campuses are public elementary schools operating in San Francisco Unified School District, and both cap out at grade 5, so families won't face a different transition timeline based on their choice. The structural similarities make the academic and growth score contrast the most actionable difference: King leads on measured proficiency while Milk leads on student learning momentum.