Enrollment
567
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Mesquite, TX
Shands El
Federal NCES profile for Shands El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483039003418
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 55
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shands El earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #13 of 31
- schools in Mesquite · Resource Index
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.5:1
- students per teacher
- 84.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Shands El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Shands El ranks #13 of 31 schools in Mesquite, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
84.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shands El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shands El
Shands El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Mesquite, Texas, enrolling 567 students.
At 14.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Texas median, within a few percentage points of the 14.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 84.9% of students eligible for free meals.
With 567 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 2,253 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #720.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (76%) and African American (16%) (diversity index 39/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 567 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students) and Mesquite H S (2,294 students) alongside Shands 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 Shands El compares
Shands 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 | 14.5:1 | ▼ 1% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 84.9% | ▲ 37% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 567 | top 41% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.5:1
Leaner classes than 52% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
567
Bigger than 69% 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
14.5:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 53% in Texas - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
18.0%
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 567 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
16
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 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 76.4%
African American 15.5%
White 5.1%
Two or More 1.9%
Asian 1.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 76.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 38.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 38.9, Shands 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 Shands 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 Shands El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horn H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar 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 Shands 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 (~567 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shands El's federal record.
- Compare Shands 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 Shands El
How many students attend Shands El?
Shands El has 567 students enrolled. It is a public school in Mesquite, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shands El?
The student-teacher ratio at Shands El is 14.5:1, which is 1% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 8% 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 Shands El?
84.9% of students at Shands El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shands El?
The largest demographic group at Shands El is Hispanic or Latino at 76.4% of enrollment, in Mesquite, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shands El?
Shands El 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 Shands El rank among schools in Mesquite?
By Resource Investment Index, Shands El ranks #13 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 Shands El a good school?
Shands El earns 42/100 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 Shands 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.