Enrollment
259
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Harlingen, TX
Jefferson El
Federal NCES profile for Jefferson El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 482253002286
👥 S:T ratio 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 47
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Jefferson El earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #3 of 21
- schools in Harlingen · Resource Index
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13.6:1
- students per teacher
- 96.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Jefferson El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Jefferson El ranks #3 of 21 schools in Harlingen, TX.
School address
District: Harlingen Cisd · Texas
NCES ID 482253002286 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.6:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
96.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Jefferson El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Jefferson El
Jefferson El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Harlingen, Texas, enrolling 259 students.
At 13.6:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Texas median, within a few percentage points of the 14.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 96.8% of students qualify for free meals, 56% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 259 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 485 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #58.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 2/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 259 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 25.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Harlingen Cisd also operates Harlingen H S (2,433 students) and Harlingen H S - South (2,019 students) alongside Jefferson 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 Jefferson El compares
Jefferson 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 | 13.6:1 | ▼ 7% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.8% | ▲ 56% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 259 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.6:1
Leaner classes than 61% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
259
Bigger than 27% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
96.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 56% 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
13.6:1
students per teacher
- 7% below state mean
Top 42% in Texas - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
21.2%
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
$12,718
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 259 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.9 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.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 98.8%
White 1.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 2.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 2.4, Jefferson El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harlingen Cisd, which includes Jefferson El.
$12,718
Per student
-7%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.8%
State 52.6%
Federal 25.6%
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 Jefferson El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlingen H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Harlingen H S - South | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dr Abraham P Cano Freshman Academy | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Moises Vela Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Treasure Hills El | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Jefferson El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,433
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 2,019
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 1,188
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 761
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 758
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
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 (~259 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Jefferson El's federal record.
- Compare Jefferson El against another school. Compare schools
- Harlingen Cisd'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 Jefferson El
How many students attend Jefferson El?
Jefferson El has 259 students enrolled. It is a public school in Harlingen, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Jefferson El?
The student-teacher ratio at Jefferson El is 13.6:1, which is 7% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 13% 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 Jefferson El?
96.8% of students at Jefferson El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Jefferson El?
The largest demographic group at Jefferson El is Hispanic or Latino at 98.8% of enrollment, in Harlingen, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Jefferson El?
Jefferson El has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher 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 Jefferson El rank among schools in Harlingen?
By Resource Investment Index, Jefferson El ranks #3 of 21 schools in Harlingen, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Harlingen on the city page.
Is Jefferson El a good school?
Jefferson El earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Harlingen Cisd?
Besides Jefferson El, Harlingen Cisd also operates Harlingen H S (2,433 students), Harlingen H S - South (2,019 students), and Dr Abraham P Cano Freshman Academy (1,188 students). See the Harlingen Cisd 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.