Enrollment
284
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Mesquite, TX
Lawrence El
Federal NCES profile for Lawrence El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483039003408
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 61
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lawrence El earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #3 of 31
- schools in Mesquite · Resource Index
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.9:1
- students per teacher
- 84.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Lawrence El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Lawrence El ranks #3 of 31 schools in Mesquite, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
84.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lawrence El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lawrence El
Lawrence El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Mesquite, Texas, enrolling 284 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 84.9% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 284 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.
Among 920 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #81, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 284 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
15.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students) and Mesquite H S (2,294 students) alongside Lawrence 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 Lawrence El compares
Lawrence 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 | 12.9:1 | ▼ 12% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 84.9% | ▲ 37% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 284 | top 77% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
284
Bigger than 30% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
84.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 37% 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
12.9:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 33% in Texas - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
15.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$11,612
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 284 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 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 80.6%
African American 9.9%
White 6.3%
Asian 1.8%
Two or More 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 80.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.6, Lawrence El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mesquite Isd, which includes Lawrence El.
$11,612
Per student
-15%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.4%
State 54.7%
Federal 14.9%
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.
How Lawrence El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horn H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Mesquite H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| North Mesquite H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| West Mesquite H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Vroonland - Vanguard H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lawrence El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,757
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 2,294
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,099
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,997
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,605
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
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 (~284 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lawrence El's federal record.
- Compare Lawrence El against another school. Compare schools
- Mesquite 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 Lawrence El
How many students attend Lawrence El?
Lawrence El has 284 students enrolled. It is a public school in Mesquite, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lawrence El?
The student-teacher ratio at Lawrence El is 12.9:1, which is 12% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 18% 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 Lawrence El?
84.9% of students at Lawrence El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lawrence El?
The largest demographic group at Lawrence El is Hispanic or Latino at 80.6% of enrollment, in Mesquite, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lawrence El?
Lawrence El has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (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 Lawrence El rank among schools in Mesquite?
By Resource Investment Index, Lawrence El ranks #3 of 31 schools in Mesquite, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Mesquite on the city page.
Is Lawrence El a good school?
Lawrence El earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Mesquite Isd?
Besides Lawrence El, Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students), Mesquite H S (2,294 students), and North Mesquite H S (2,099 students). See the Mesquite 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.