Enrollment
501
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Brownsville, TX
Pena El
Federal NCES profile for Pena El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481168012087
👥 S:T ratio 26
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pena El earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #41 of 50
- schools in Brownsville · Resource Index
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.6:1
- large classes for Texas
- 57.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Pena El has class sizes larger than 88% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Pena El ranks #41 of 50 schools in Brownsville, TX.
School address
District: Brownsville Isd · Texas
NCES ID 481168012087 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.6:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pena El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pena El
Pena El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Brownsville, Texas, enrolling 501 students.
Class loads run heavy: 18.6:1 is larger than about 88% of Texas schools and 27% above the 14.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 57.8% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 501 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Among 1,449 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,282, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 501 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 30.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Brownsville Isd also operates Veterans Memorial Early College H S (2,216 students) and Rivera Early College H S (2,150 students) alongside Pena 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 Pena El compares
Pena 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 | 18.6:1 | ▲ 27% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.8% | ▼ 7% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 501 | top 50% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.6:1
Leaner classes than 22% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
501
Bigger than 62% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 7% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.6:1
students per teacher
- 27% above state mean
Top 88% in Texas - lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.0%
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
$14,009
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 501 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 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 99.8%
White 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 99.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.4, Pena El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Brownsville Isd, which includes Pena El.
$14,009
Per student
+3%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
How Pena El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Rivera Early College H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Hanna Early College H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lopez Early College H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Pace Early College H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pena El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,216
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,150
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 2,039
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 1,739
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,621
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
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 (~501 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pena El's federal record.
- Compare Pena El against another school. Compare schools
- Brownsville 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 Pena El
How many students attend Pena El?
Pena El has 501 students enrolled. It is a public school in Brownsville, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pena El?
The student-teacher ratio at Pena El is 18.6:1, which is 27% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pena El?
57.8% of students at Pena El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pena El?
The largest demographic group at Pena El is Hispanic or Latino at 99.8% of enrollment, in Brownsville, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pena El?
Pena El has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Pena El rank among schools in Brownsville?
By Resource Investment Index, Pena El ranks #41 of 50 schools in Brownsville, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Brownsville on the city page.
Is Pena El a good school?
Pena El earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% 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 Brownsville Isd?
Besides Pena El, Brownsville Isd also operates Veterans Memorial Early College H S (2,216 students), Rivera Early College H S (2,150 students), and Hanna Early College H S (2,039 students). See the Brownsville 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.