BELL EL

BELL EL is one of the medium-sized elementary schools in HOUSTON, Texas, run under HOUSTON ISD, with 539 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Within HOUSTON ISD, which oversees 273 schools and 176,727 students, BELL EL is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, BELL EL lists that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 75% of enrollment; the rest consists of 20% Black, 2% White. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 44%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, BELL EL has 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.2:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.1:1 average. Roughly 88% of students at BELL EL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Harris County (around 70%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, BELL EL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 35.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 34.3%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Harris County indicate median household earnings sit near $74,983, about 34% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. BELL EL is one of 1205 public schools in Harris County (combined enrollment of about 886,911 students).

Nearest neighbor: GROSS EL, around 1.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), BELL EL ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 38.1%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. BELL EL's enrollment has decreased 27% since 2018, when it stood at 734 (now 539). Over the same period, the Hispanic share ticked up from 67% to 75%. Class-load math has pulled in: from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 14.2:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.