Enrollment
475
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Garden Ridge, TX
Garden Ridge El
Federal NCES profile for Garden Ridge El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481473000969
👥 S:T ratio 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 5
📋 Attendance 34
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Garden Ridge El earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Texas schools.
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8.8:1
- small classes for Texas
- 20.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 475
- students enrolled
Garden Ridge El has class sizes smaller than 94% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
54.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.8:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
20.4%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-67% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Garden Ridge El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Garden Ridge El
Garden Ridge El is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Garden Ridge, Texas, enrolling 475 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.8:1, Garden Ridge El is leaner than roughly 94% of Texas schools and 40% under the state's 14.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 20.4% free-meal eligibility runs 67% below the Texas average.
With 475 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Among 560 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #420, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (58%) and Hispanic or Latino (28%) (diversity index 58/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 475 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Comal Isd spends $9,852 per pupil, 28% below the Texas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Comal Isd also operates Canyon H S (2,414 students) and Smithson Valley H S (2,098 students) alongside Garden Ridge 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 Garden Ridge El compares
Garden Ridge 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 | 8.8:1 | ▼ 40% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 20.4% | ▼ 67% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 475 | top 53% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.8:1
Leaner classes than 93% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
475
Bigger than 58% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
20.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 67% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
8.8:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 6% in Texas - lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
26.5%
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
$9,852
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $13,644
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 475 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.6 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
White 58.1%
Hispanic or Latino 28.4%
Two or More 6.9%
African American 4.6%
Asian 1.9%
Largest group: White at 58.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 57.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 57.5, Garden Ridge El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Comal Isd, which includes Garden Ridge El.
$9,852
Per student
-28%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 81.2%
State 8.6%
Federal 10.1%
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 Garden Ridge El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canyon H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Smithson Valley H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pieper H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Canyon Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Davenport H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Garden Ridge El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,414
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 2,098
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 2,093
- Students per teacher
- 24.3:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 1,251
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 1,233
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
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 (~475 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Garden Ridge El's federal record.
- Compare Garden Ridge El against another school. Compare schools
- Comal 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 Garden Ridge El
How many students attend Garden Ridge El?
Garden Ridge El has 475 students enrolled. It is a public school in Garden Ridge, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Garden Ridge El?
The student-teacher ratio at Garden Ridge El is 8.8:1, which is 40% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 44% 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 Garden Ridge El?
20.4% of students at Garden Ridge El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Garden Ridge El?
The largest demographic group at Garden Ridge El is White at 58.1% of enrollment, in Garden Ridge, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Garden Ridge El?
Garden Ridge El has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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).
Is Garden Ridge El a good school?
Garden Ridge El earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% 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 Comal Isd?
Besides Garden Ridge El, Comal Isd also operates Canyon H S (2,414 students), Smithson Valley H S (2,098 students), and Pieper H S (2,093 students). See the Comal 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.