Enrollment
300
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 481593013378
Zavala El — Crystal City, TX
Federal NCES profile for Zavala El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 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: Crystal City 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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.8:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
86.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Zavala El 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
Zavala El reports 300 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% above the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 86.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 39% above the Texas average and 66% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 300 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 47.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Crystal City Isd spends $14,636 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 44.2% from local sources (property taxes), 35.1% from the state, and 20.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Zavala El 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 | 18.8:1 | ▲ 29% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 86.0% | ▲ 39% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 300 | top 25% | — | — |
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
86.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 39% 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
18.8:1
students per teacher
— 29% above state mean
Top 93% in Texas — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
47.0%
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
$14,636
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 300 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 300 Top 25% in Texas — larger than 75% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 18.8:1 +29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 86.0% +39% vs state
NCES ID 481593013378
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 96.7%
White 2.3%
African American 1.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 96.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 300:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 47.0%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Crystal City Isd, which includes Zavala El.
$14,636
Per student
-15%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 44.2%
State 35.1%
Federal 20.7%
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
- 505
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 355
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 250
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 233
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
Similar elementary schools in Crystal City
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Zavala El
How many students attend Zavala El?
Zavala El has 300 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in CRYSTAL CITY, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Zavala El?
The student-teacher ratio at Zavala El is 18.8:1, which is 29% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Zavala El?
86.0% 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 96.7%. The school serves a student body in CRYSTAL CITY, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Zavala El?
Zavala El has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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.