Enrollment
617
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Waco, TX
Dean Highland El
Federal NCES profile for Dean Highland El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 484428005034
👥 S:T ratio 23
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 27
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Dean Highland El earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Texas schools.
- #26 of 32
- schools in Waco · Resource Index
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.3:1
- large classes for Texas
- 89.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Dean Highland El has class sizes larger than 91% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Dean Highland El ranks #26 of 32 schools in Waco, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
89.6%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+45% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dean Highland El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Dean Highland El
Dean Highland El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Waco, Texas, enrolling 617 students.
Class loads run heavy: 19.3:1 is larger than about 91% of Texas schools and 31% above the 14.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 89.6% of students qualify for free meals, 45% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 617 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 1,916 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #834.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (67%) and African American (24%) (diversity index 49/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 309 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Waco Isd also operates Waco H S (1,885 students) and University H S (1,752 students) alongside Dean Highland 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 Dean Highland El compares
Dean Highland 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 | 19.3:1 | ▲ 31% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 89.6% | ▲ 45% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 617 | top 35% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.3:1
Leaner classes than 19% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
617
Bigger than 74% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
89.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 45% 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
19.3:1
students per teacher
- 31% above state mean
Top 91% in Texas - lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.3%
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
$13,294
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 309 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
29
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
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 67.3%
African American 24.1%
White 5.2%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 67.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 48.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 48.5, Dean Highland El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waco Isd, which includes Dean Highland El.
$13,294
Per student
-3%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 46.6%
State 33.9%
Federal 19.5%
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 Dean Highland El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waco H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| University H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Tennyson Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Bell's Hill El | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Cesar Chavez Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Dean Highland El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,885
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 963
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 786
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 786
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- 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 (~617 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Dean Highland El's federal record.
- Compare Dean Highland El against another school. Compare schools
- Waco 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 Dean Highland El
How many students attend Dean Highland El?
Dean Highland El has 617 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waco, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dean Highland El?
The student-teacher ratio at Dean Highland El is 19.3:1, which is 31% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 23% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dean Highland El?
89.6% of students at Dean Highland El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dean Highland El?
The largest demographic group at Dean Highland El is Hispanic or Latino at 67.3% of enrollment, in Waco, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dean Highland El?
Dean Highland El has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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 Dean Highland El rank among schools in Waco?
By Resource Investment Index, Dean Highland El ranks #26 of 32 schools in Waco, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Waco on the city page.
Is Dean Highland El a good school?
Dean Highland El earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% 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 Waco Isd?
Besides Dean Highland El, Waco Isd also operates Waco H S (1,885 students), University H S (1,752 students), and Tennyson Middle (963 students). See the Waco 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.