Enrollment
361
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Alton, TX
Carl C Waitz El
Federal NCES profile for Carl C Waitz El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483104001509
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 36
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Carl C Waitz El earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #1 of 5
- schools in Alton · Resource Index
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.4:1
- students per teacher
- 96.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Carl C Waitz El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Carl C Waitz El ranks #1 of 5 schools in Alton, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
96.2%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Carl C Waitz El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Carl C Waitz El
Carl C Waitz El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Alton, Texas, enrolling 361 students.
At 14.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Texas median, within a few percentage points of the 14.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 96.2% of students qualify for free meals, 55% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 361 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,071 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #292.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 2/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 361 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 37.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Mission Cisd also operates Mission H S (2,154 students) and Veterans Memorial H S (1,737 students) alongside Carl C Waitz 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 Carl C Waitz El compares
Carl C Waitz 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 | 14.4:1 | ▼ 2% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.2% | ▲ 55% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 361 | top 68% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.4:1
Leaner classes than 53% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
361
Bigger than 41% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
96.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 55% 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
14.4:1
students per teacher
- 2% below state mean
Top 52% in Texas - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
25.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,552
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $13,644
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 361 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.5 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 98.9%
White 1.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 2.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 2.2, Carl C Waitz El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mission Cisd, which includes Carl C Waitz El.
$13,552
Per student
-1%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 13.3%
State 49.7%
Federal 37.0%
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 Carl C Waitz El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Veterans Memorial H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| White J H | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Alton Memorial J H | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mission J H | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Carl C Waitz El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,154
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 1,737
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
- Enrollment
- 831
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 819
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 711
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
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 (~361 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Carl C Waitz El's federal record.
- Compare Carl C Waitz El against another school. Compare schools
- Mission Cisd'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 Carl C Waitz El
How many students attend Carl C Waitz El?
Carl C Waitz El has 361 students enrolled. It is a public school in Alton, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Carl C Waitz El?
The student-teacher ratio at Carl C Waitz El is 14.4:1, which is 2% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 8% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Carl C Waitz El?
96.2% of students at Carl C Waitz El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Carl C Waitz El?
The largest demographic group at Carl C Waitz El is Hispanic or Latino at 98.9% of enrollment, in Alton, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Carl C Waitz El?
Carl C Waitz El has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Carl C Waitz El rank among schools in Alton?
By Resource Investment Index, Carl C Waitz El ranks #1 of 5 schools in Alton, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Alton on the city page.
Is Carl C Waitz El a good school?
Carl C Waitz El earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Mission Cisd?
Besides Carl C Waitz El, Mission Cisd also operates Mission H S (2,154 students), Veterans Memorial H S (1,737 students), and White J H (831 students). See the Mission Cisd 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.