Middle school (grades 6-8) · La Joya, TX

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle

Federal NCES profile for Lorenzo De Zavala Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 482613002938
0/100100/10042/100
👥 S:T ratio
53
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
46
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.

#3 of 9
public schools in La Joya · Resource Index
42
Resource Index · Typical
11.8:1
small classes for Texas
87.3%
free-lunch eligible

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle has class sizes smaller than 78% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Lorenzo De Zavala Middle ranks #3 of 9 public schools in La Joya, TX.

School address

Enrollment

545

Texas · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

46.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.8:1

vs 14.7:1 Texas avg

-20% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

87.3%

vs 61.9% Texas avg

+41% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Lorenzo De Zavala Middle compares with Texas and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Lorenzo De Zavala Middle

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle is a high-poverty, mid-sized middle school in La Joya, Texas, enrolling 545 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 87.3% of students eligible for free meals.

With 545 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.

Against 2,094 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #674.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 1/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 273 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 54.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 31.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 6 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

La Joya Isd also operates La Joya H S (2,405 students) and La Joya Palmview H S (2,073 students) alongside Lorenzo De Zavala Middle.

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 Lorenzo De Zavala Middle compares

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Texas Texas avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 11.8:1 ▼ 20% 14.7:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 87.3% ▲ 41% 61.9% 51.7%
Enrollment 545 top 44% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

11.8:1
Leaner classes than 77% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
545
Bigger than 67% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
87.3%
free-lunch eligible - 41% 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
11.8:1
students per teacher - 20% below state mean
Top 22% in Texas - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
54.7%
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
$15,142
per pupil, district-wide - above Texas avg of $13,644
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 273 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
63
in-school suspensions + 40 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.

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 99.6%
African American 0.2%
Two or More 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 99.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 0.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 0.8, Lorenzo De Zavala Middle is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for La Joya Isd, which includes Lorenzo De Zavala Middle.

$15,142
Per student
+11%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.3%
State 58.1%
Federal 31.6%

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 Lorenzo De Zavala Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
La Joya H S Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
La Joya Palmview H S Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Juarez-Lincoln H S Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Enrique Kiki Camarena El Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
John F Kennedy El Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Lorenzo De Zavala Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

La Joya Isd · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Lorenzo De Zavala Middle's federal record.

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 Lorenzo De Zavala Middle

How many students attend Lorenzo De Zavala Middle?

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle has 545 students enrolled. It is a middle school in La Joya, TX.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Lorenzo De Zavala Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Lorenzo De Zavala Middle is 11.8:1, which is 20% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 25% 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 Lorenzo De Zavala Middle?

87.3% of students at Lorenzo De Zavala Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lorenzo De Zavala Middle?

The largest demographic group at Lorenzo De Zavala Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 99.6% of enrollment, in La Joya, TX.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Lorenzo De Zavala Middle?

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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).

How does Lorenzo De Zavala Middle rank among public schools in La Joya?

By Resource Investment Index, Lorenzo De Zavala Middle ranks #3 of 9 public schools in La Joya, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in La Joya on the city page.

Is Lorenzo De Zavala Middle a good school?

Lorenzo De Zavala Middle earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Texas schools. 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 La Joya Isd?

Besides Lorenzo De Zavala Middle, La Joya Isd also operates La Joya H S (2,405 students), La Joya Palmview H S (2,073 students), and Juarez-Lincoln H S (1,952 students). See the La Joya Isd district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.