Other / mixed grade configuration · Corpus Christi, TX

Zavala El

Federal NCES profile for Zavala El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 20/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481527001096
0/100100/10020/100
👥 S:T ratio
38
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
13
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Zavala El earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.

#40 of 49
schools in Corpus Christi · Resource Index
20
Resource Index · Lower
15.5:1
students per teacher
96.0%
free-lunch eligible

Zavala El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Zavala El ranks #40 of 49 schools in Corpus Christi, TX.

School address

Enrollment

433

Texas · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

28.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.5:1

vs 14.7:1 Texas avg

+5% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

96.0%

vs 61.9% Texas avg

+55% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Zavala El compares with Texas and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Zavala El

Zavala El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Corpus Christi, Texas, enrolling 433 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.5:1 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 96.0% of students qualify for free meals, 55% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 433 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 98% of the 8,960 Texas schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 1,373 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,334, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 9/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 433 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 55.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Corpus Christi Isd spends $9,995 per pupil, 27% below the Texas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 25.0% 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 5 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Corpus Christi Isd also operates Veterans Memorial H S (2,026 students) and Carroll H S (1,928 students) alongside Zavala 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 Zavala El compares

Zavala 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 15.5:1 ▲ 5% 14.7:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 96.0% ▲ 55% 61.9% 51.7%
Enrollment 433 top 59% - -

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

15.5:1
Leaner classes than 42% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
433
Bigger than 52% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
96.0%
free-lunch eligible - 55% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher - 5% above state mean
Top 65% in Texas - lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
55.2%
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
$9,995
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 433 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 32 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 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 95.6%
White 3.0%
African American 1.2%
Two or More 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 95.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 8.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 8.5, Zavala El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Corpus Christi Isd, which includes Zavala El.

$9,995
Per student
-27%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.8%
State 26.2%
Federal 25.0%

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 Zavala El Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Veterans Memorial H S Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Carroll H S Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Ray H S Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Roy Miller H S and Metro School of Design Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Moody H S Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Corpus Christi Isd · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Zavala El'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 Zavala El

How many students attend Zavala El?

Zavala El has 433 students enrolled. It is a public school in Corpus Christi, TX.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Zavala El?

The student-teacher ratio at Zavala El is 15.5:1, which is 5% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Zavala El?

96.0% of students at Zavala El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Zavala El?

The largest demographic group at Zavala El is Hispanic or Latino at 95.6% of enrollment, in Corpus Christi, TX.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Zavala El?

Zavala El has a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (lower 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 Zavala El rank among schools in Corpus Christi?

By Resource Investment Index, Zavala El ranks #40 of 49 schools in Corpus Christi, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Corpus Christi on the city page.

Is Zavala El a good school?

Zavala El earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Corpus Christi Isd?

Besides Zavala El, Corpus Christi Isd also operates Veterans Memorial H S (2,026 students), Carroll H S (1,928 students), and Ray H S (1,578 students). See the Corpus Christi 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.