Enrollment
238
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 481168000654
Garza El — Brownsville, TX
Federal NCES profile for Garza El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 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
District: Brownsville Isd · Texas
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)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.9:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
82.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Garza El 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
Garza El reports 238 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% 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 25% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 82.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 34% above the Texas average and 60% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 238 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Brownsville Isd spends $14,771 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 13.9% from local sources (property taxes), 55.9% from the state, and 30.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Garza El 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 | 11.9:1 | ▼ 18% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 82.8% | ▲ 34% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 238 | top 19% | — | — |
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
82.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 34% 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
11.9:1
students per teacher
— 18% below state mean
Top 18% in Texas — lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
42.4%
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
$14,771
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 238 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 238 Top 19% in Texas — larger than 81% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 11.9:1 -18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 82.8% +34% vs state
NCES ID 481168000654
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 238:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Brownsville Isd, which includes Garza El.
$14,771
Per student
-14%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 13.9%
State 55.9%
Federal 30.3%
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
- 2,216
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 2,150
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 2,039
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,739
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,621
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
Similar other schools in Brownsville
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Jubilee Brownsville
Standard public school
999 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
Pullam El
Standard public school
889 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Castaneda El
Standard public school
823 students 14.8:1 students per teacher
Benavides El
Standard public school
818 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Idea Riverview College Preparatory
Standard public school
813 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Paredes El
Standard public school
798 students 15:1 students per teacher
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 Garza El
How many students attend Garza El?
Garza El has 238 students enrolled. It is a other school in BROWNSVILLE, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Garza El?
The student-teacher ratio at Garza El is 11.9:1, which is 18% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 25% 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 Garza El?
82.8% of students at Garza El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Garza El?
Garza El has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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.