Enrollment
462
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Houston, TX
Empowerment H S
Federal NCES profile for Empowerment H S, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 480012508249Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 12
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 8
📋 Attendance 51
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Empowerment H S earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #93 of 102
- high schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 22
- Resource Index · Lower
- 22:1
- large classes for Texas
- 94.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Empowerment H S has class sizes larger than 95% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Empowerment H S ranks #93 of 102 high schools in Houston, TX.
School address
District: Southwest Public Schools · Texas
NCES ID 480012508249 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+50% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
94.2%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Empowerment H S compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Empowerment H S
Empowerment H S is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter high school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 462 students.
Class loads run heavy: 22:1 is larger than about 95% of Texas schools and 50% above the 14.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 94.2% of students qualify for free meals, 52% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 462 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 96% of the 8,960 Texas schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 1,556 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,440, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 462 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 27.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Southwest Public Schools also operates Southwest Schools Bissonnet El Campus (526 students) and Southwest Schools Mangum El Campus (487 students) alongside Empowerment H S.
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 Empowerment H S compares
Empowerment H S on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22:1 | ▲ 50% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 94.2% | ▲ 52% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 462 | top 55% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
22:1
Leaner classes than 10% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
462
Bigger than 57% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
94.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 52% 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
22:1
students per teacher
- 50% above state mean
Top 95% in Texas - lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
19.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$16,263
per pupil, district-wide
- above Texas avg of $13,644
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 462 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 47 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.0 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 95.7%
African American 2.4%
Asian 1.1%
White 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Two or More 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 95.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.3, Empowerment H S is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwest Public Schools, which includes Empowerment H S.
$16,263
Per student
+19%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 2.3%
State 70.0%
Federal 27.7%
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 Empowerment H S Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Schools Bissonnet El Campus | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southwest Schools Mangum El Campus | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Discovery Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Phoenix School at Southwest Schools | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Empowerment H S's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 526
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 487
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 284
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 107
- Students per teacher
- 5.6:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
Similar high 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 (~462 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Empowerment H S's federal record.
- Compare Empowerment H S against another school. Compare schools
- Southwest Public Schools'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 Empowerment H S
How many students attend Empowerment H S?
Empowerment H S has 462 students enrolled. It is a high school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Empowerment H S?
The student-teacher ratio at Empowerment H S is 22:1, which is 50% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 40% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Empowerment H S?
94.2% of students at Empowerment H S are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Empowerment H S?
The largest demographic group at Empowerment H S is Hispanic or Latino at 95.7% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Empowerment H S?
Empowerment H S has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Empowerment H S rank among high schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Empowerment H S ranks #93 of 102 high 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 high schools in Houston on the city page.
Is Empowerment H S a good school?
Empowerment H S earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of Texas schools. 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 Southwest Public Schools?
Besides Empowerment H S, Southwest Public Schools also operates Southwest Schools Bissonnet El Campus (526 students), Southwest Schools Mangum El Campus (487 students), and Discovery Middle (284 students). See the Southwest Public Schools 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.