Enrollment
1,053
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 482679005884
Joaquin Cigarroa Middle — Laredo, TX
Federal NCES profile for Joaquin Cigarroa Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 58
📋 Attendance 9
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: Laredo 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)
91.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.1:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joaquin Cigarroa Middle 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
Joaquin Cigarroa Middle reports 1,053 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 91.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% 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 24% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 99.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% above the Texas average and 92% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 211 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 36.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Laredo Isd spends $18,187 per pupil district-wide, above the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 12.1% from local sources (property taxes), 58.0% from the state, and 29.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Joaquin Cigarroa Middle 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 | 12.1:1 | ▼ 17% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.5% | ▲ 61% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,053 | top 90% | — | — |
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
99.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% 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
12.1:1
students per teacher
— 17% below state mean
Top 20% in Texas — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
36.4%
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
$18,187
per pupil, district-wide
— above Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 211 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
157
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 67 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,053 Top 90% in Texas — larger than 10% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 91.0
Students per teacher 12.1:1 -17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 99.5% +61% vs state
NCES ID 482679005884
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 99.7%
White 0.2%
African American 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 99.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 211:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 36.4%
In-school suspensions 157
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Expulsions 67
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Laredo Isd, which includes Joaquin Cigarroa Middle.
$18,187
Per student
+6%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 12.1%
State 58.0%
Federal 29.9%
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
- 2,124
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,975
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,379
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,204
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,115
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
Similar middle schools in Laredo
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Lamar Middle
Standard public school
1,204 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Elias Herrera Middle
Standard public school
1,146 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Christen Middle
Standard public school
1,115 students 13.6:1 students per teacher
United Middle
Standard public school
999 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
United South Middle
Standard public school
869 students 18:1 students per teacher
Ricardo Molina Middle
Standard public school
769 students 15.7:1 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 Joaquin Cigarroa Middle
How many students attend Joaquin Cigarroa Middle?
Joaquin Cigarroa Middle has 1,053 students enrolled. It is a middle school in LAREDO, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joaquin Cigarroa Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Joaquin Cigarroa Middle is 12.1:1, which is 17% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 24% 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 Joaquin Cigarroa Middle?
99.5% of students at Joaquin Cigarroa Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joaquin Cigarroa Middle?
The largest demographic group at Joaquin Cigarroa Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 99.7%. The school serves a student body in LAREDO, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joaquin Cigarroa Middle?
Joaquin Cigarroa Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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.