Enrollment
370
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · San Antonio, TX
Foster El
Federal NCES profile for Foster El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483873004349
👥 S:T ratio 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 26
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Foster El earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 84% of Texas schools.
- #248 of 327
- schools in San Antonio · Resource Index
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 17.6:1
- large classes for Texas
- 97.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Foster El has class sizes larger than 84% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Foster El ranks #248 of 327 schools in San Antonio, TX.
School address
District: San Antonio Isd · Texas
NCES ID 483873004349 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.6:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
97.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Foster El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Foster El
Foster El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in San Antonio, Texas, enrolling 370 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 17.6:1 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 97.0% of students qualify for free meals, 57% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 370 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Among 1,065 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #890, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 370 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 54.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 27.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
San Antonio Isd also operates Jefferson H S (1,706 students) and Lanier H S (1,620 students) alongside Foster 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 Foster El compares
Foster 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 | 17.6:1 | ▲ 20% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 97.0% | ▲ 57% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 370 | top 67% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.6:1
Leaner classes than 27% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
370
Bigger than 43% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
97.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 57% 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
17.6:1
students per teacher
- 20% above state mean
Top 84% in Texas - lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
54.9%
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
$13,912
per pupil, district-wide
- above 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 370 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 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.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Antonio Isd, which includes Foster El.
$13,912
Per student
+2%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 42.8%
State 30.1%
Federal 27.0%
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 Foster El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lanier H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Brackenridge H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Highlands H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Burbank H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Foster El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,706
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 1,620
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,593
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 1,478
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 1,405
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
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 (~370 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Foster El's federal record.
- Compare Foster El against another school. Compare schools
- San Antonio 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 Foster El
How many students attend Foster El?
Foster El has 370 students enrolled. It is a public school in San Antonio, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Foster El?
The student-teacher ratio at Foster El is 17.6:1, which is 20% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 12% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Foster El?
97.0% of students at Foster El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Foster El?
Foster El has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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 Foster El rank among schools in San Antonio?
By Resource Investment Index, Foster El ranks #248 of 327 schools in San Antonio, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in San Antonio on the city page.
Is Foster El a good school?
Foster El earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 84% 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 San Antonio Isd?
Besides Foster El, San Antonio Isd also operates Jefferson H S (1,706 students), Lanier H S (1,620 students), and Brackenridge H S (1,593 students). See the San Antonio 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.