Enrollment
553
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 481739010816
Dora M Sauceda Middle — Donna, TX
Federal NCES profile for Dora M Sauceda Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
51.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
98.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dora M Sauceda Middle compares with Texas and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Dora M Sauceda Middle reports 553 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 51.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 98.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 60% above the Texas average and 91% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 277 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 58.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Donna Isd spends $15,179 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 13.1% from local sources (property taxes), 58.9% from the state, and 28.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Dora M Sauceda Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 12% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 98.9% | ▲ 60% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 553 | top 57% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
98.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 60% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
— 12% below state mean
Top 27% in Texas — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
58.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,179
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 277 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
151
in-school suspensions + 68 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 27.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 39.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 553 Top 57% in Texas — larger than 43% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 51.0
Students per teacher 12.9:1 -12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 98.9% +60% vs state
NCES ID 481739010816
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 99.6%
White 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 99.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 277:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 58.0%
In-school suspensions 151
Out-of-school suspensions 68
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Donna Isd, which includes Dora M Sauceda Middle.
$15,179
Per student
-11%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 13.1%
State 58.9%
Federal 28.0%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,992
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,974
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 866
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 688
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 670
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
Similar middle schools in Donna
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Dora M Sauceda Middle
How many students attend Dora M Sauceda Middle?
Dora M Sauceda Middle has 553 students enrolled. It is a middle school in DONNA, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dora M Sauceda Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Dora M Sauceda Middle is 12.9:1, which is 12% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 19% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dora M Sauceda Middle?
98.9% of students at Dora M Sauceda Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dora M Sauceda Middle?
The largest demographic group at Dora M Sauceda Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 99.6%. The school serves a student body in DONNA, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dora M Sauceda Middle?
Dora M Sauceda Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.