Enrollment
741
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Houston, TX
Buffalo Creek El
Federal NCES profile for Buffalo Creek El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 484110007647
👥 S:T ratio 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 67
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buffalo Creek El earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 96% of Texas schools.
- #273 of 435
- schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 22.5:1
- large classes for Texas
- 91.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Buffalo Creek El has class sizes larger than 96% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Buffalo Creek El ranks #273 of 435 schools in Houston, TX.
School address
District: Spring Branch Isd · Texas
NCES ID 484110007647 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.5:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+53% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
91.4%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buffalo Creek El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buffalo Creek El
Buffalo Creek El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 741 students.
Class loads run heavy: 22.5:1 is larger than about 96% of Texas schools and 53% above the 14.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 91.4% of students qualify for free meals, 48% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 741 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,501 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #753.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 741 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
13.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 19.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Spring Branch Isd also operates Memorial H S (2,636 students) and Northbrook H S (2,398 students) alongside Buffalo Creek El.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Buffalo Creek El compares
Buffalo Creek El on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.5:1 | ▲ 53% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 91.4% | ▲ 48% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 741 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
22.5:1
Leaner classes than 9% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
741
Bigger than 83% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
91.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 48% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22.5:1
students per teacher
- 53% above state mean
Top 96% in Texas - lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
13.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$12,199
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $13,644
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 741 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 87.0%
African American 4.9%
White 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.6%
Two or More 1.3%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.8, Buffalo Creek El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Spring Branch Isd, which includes Buffalo Creek El.
$12,199
Per student
-11%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 74.2%
State 6.5%
Federal 19.3%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Buffalo Creek El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Northbrook H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Stratford H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Spring Woods H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Memorial Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buffalo Creek El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,636
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,398
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 2,394
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 2,020
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 1,236
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Texas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~741 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~22.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buffalo Creek El's federal record.
- Compare Buffalo Creek El against another school. Compare schools
- Spring Branch Isd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Buffalo Creek El
How many students attend Buffalo Creek El?
Buffalo Creek El has 741 students enrolled. It is a public school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Creek El?
The student-teacher ratio at Buffalo Creek El is 22.5:1, which is 53% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buffalo Creek El?
91.4% of students at Buffalo Creek El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buffalo Creek El?
The largest demographic group at Buffalo Creek El is Hispanic or Latino at 87.0% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buffalo Creek El?
Buffalo Creek El has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Buffalo Creek El rank among schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Buffalo Creek El ranks #273 of 435 schools in Houston, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Houston on the city page.
Is Buffalo Creek El a good school?
Buffalo Creek El earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 96% of Texas schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Spring Branch Isd?
Besides Buffalo Creek El, Spring Branch Isd also operates Memorial H S (2,636 students), Northbrook H S (2,398 students), and Stratford H S (2,394 students). See the Spring Branch Isd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.