Enrollment
418
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Brownsville, TX
Russell El
Federal NCES profile for Russell El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481168000665
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 58
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Russell El earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #9 of 50
- schools in Brownsville · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.3:1
- small classes for Texas
- 80.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Russell El has class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Russell El ranks #9 of 50 schools in Brownsville, TX.
School address
District: Brownsville Isd · Texas
NCES ID 481168000665 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
80.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Russell El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Russell El
Russell El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Brownsville, Texas, enrolling 418 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 80.5% of students eligible for free meals.
With 418 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 1,890 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #532.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 3/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 209 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data 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 Russell 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 Russell El compares
Russell 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 | 12.3:1 | ▼ 16% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 80.5% | ▲ 30% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 418 | top 62% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.3:1
Leaner classes than 73% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
418
Bigger than 50% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
80.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 30% 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
12.3:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 26% in Texas - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
46.2%
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
$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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 209 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 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 98.6%
White 1.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 2.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 2.8, Russell 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 Russell 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 Russell El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Rivera Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hanna Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lopez Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Pace Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Russell 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 (~418 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Russell El's federal record.
- Compare Russell 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 Russell El
How many students attend Russell El?
Russell El has 418 students enrolled. It is a public school in Brownsville, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Russell El?
The student-teacher ratio at Russell El is 12.3:1, which is 16% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 22% 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 Russell El?
80.5% of students at Russell El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Russell El?
The largest demographic group at Russell El is Hispanic or Latino at 98.6% of enrollment, in Brownsville, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Russell El?
Russell El has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Russell El rank among schools in Brownsville?
By Resource Investment Index, Russell El ranks #9 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 Russell El a good school?
Russell El earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% 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 Russell 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.