Enrollment
329
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 484248006335
Theron Jones Early Literacy Center — Texarkana, TX
Federal NCES profile for Theron Jones Early Literacy Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 29/100.
👥 Class size 53
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Texarkana Isd · Texas
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
96.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Theron Jones Early Literacy Center compares with Texas and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Theron Jones Early Literacy Center reports 329 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 26% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 96.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 57% above the Texas average and 87% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 329 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 64.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Texarkana Isd spends $13,908 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.7% from local sources (property taxes), 46.6% from the state, and 22.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Theron Jones Early Literacy Center compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.7:1 | ▼ 20% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.9% | ▲ 57% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 329 | top 28% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
96.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 57% 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
11.7:1
students per teacher
— 20% below state mean
Top 17% in Texas — lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
64.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,908
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 329 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
41
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 329 Top 28% in Texas — larger than 72% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 11.7:1 -20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 96.9% +57% vs state
NCES ID 484248006335
Student demographics
African American 78.1%
Hispanic or Latino 12.8%
Two or More 4.9%
White 4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 78.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 329:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 64.7%
In-school suspensions 41
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Texarkana Isd, which includes Theron Jones Early Literacy Center.
$13,908
Per student
-19%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.7%
State 46.6%
Federal 22.7%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,750
- Students per teacher
- 11.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,421
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Enrollment
- 667
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 539
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 471
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar elementary schools in Texarkana
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Liberty-Eylau Middle
Standard public school
594 students 11.9:1 students per teacher
Liberty-Eylau El
Standard public school
531 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Pleasant Grove Int
Standard public school
514 students 13.8:1 students per teacher
Martha & Josh Morriss Math & Engineering El
Standard public school
351 students 16.3:1 students per teacher
Waggoner Creek El
Standard public school
337 students 13.5:1 students per teacher
Westlawn El
Standard public school
317 students 9.6:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Theron Jones Early Literacy Center
How many students attend Theron Jones Early Literacy Center?
Theron Jones Early Literacy Center has 329 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in TEXARKANA, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Theron Jones Early Literacy Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Theron Jones Early Literacy Center is 11.7:1, which is 20% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 26% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Theron Jones Early Literacy Center?
96.9% of students at Theron Jones Early Literacy Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Theron Jones Early Literacy Center?
The largest demographic group at Theron Jones Early Literacy Center is African American at 78.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in TEXARKANA, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Theron Jones Early Literacy Center?
Theron Jones Early Literacy Center has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.