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Best kept secret on campus at BERTA S PALACIOS EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
470
Elementary
DISTRICT 526 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD·NCES 483486012660
BERTA S PALACIOS EL
801 E THOMAS DR, PHARR, TX 78577 · (956) 354-2000 · Hidalgo County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL470 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
468 students
DISTRICT 94% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
STAAR 2023-24 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
55.0%
TX avg 51.8% . +27.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
52.0%
TX avg 42.0% . +41.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 52 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 27 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 41 points.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
52.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.4%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+21.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 30% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 22 points, placing it in Texas's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
470
-124 (-21%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 16.9:1
% White
1%
was 1%
% Hispanic
99%
was 99%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About BERTA S PALACIOS EL
BERTA S PALACIOS EL is an elementary campus of reasonably sized scale in PHARR, Texas, run under PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD, caters to 470 students in grades pre-K through 5.
Across the 44 schools in PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD (29,749 students total), BERTA S PALACIOS EL accounts for its share of the district's footprint.
Demographically, BERTA S PALACIOS EL records that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (99%).
On the income-and-resources front, BERTA S PALACIOS EL records 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.2:1. The state averages about 15.1:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 100% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is higher than Hidalgo County's rate of about 85%.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, BERTA S PALACIOS EL sits in the top 10% of Texas schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 30.4%; actual is 52.3%, +21.9 points clear of the demographic baseline.
In the surrounding community, census data for Hidalgo County shows median household income runs about $54,338, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 23% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Hidalgo County's 364 public schools (combined enrollment of about 212,859 students), BERTA S PALACIOS EL is one campus in the mix.
CESAR CHAVEZ EL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around BERTA S PALACIOS EL. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BERTA S PALACIOS EL at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 55.4%.
BERTA S PALACIOS EL operates from a high-density location.
Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at BERTA S PALACIOS EL has decreased 21%, going from 594 students in 2018 to 470 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 16.9:1 in 2018 to 15.2:1 in 2025.
Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.
Hidalgo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
891,977
Census ACS
Median income
$54,338
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
364
212,859 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD
- PSJA EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,300 students
- PSJA NORTH EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,166 students
- PSJA MEMORIAL EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,997 students
- PSJA SOUTHWEST EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,588 students
- LYNDON B JOHNSON MIDDLEMiddle · 1,006 students
- AUSTIN MIDDLEMiddle · 833 students
Other schools in PHARR
- PSJA NORTH EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,166 students
- VANGUARD REMBRANDTCombined · 1,978 students
- PSJA SOUTHWEST EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,588 students
- VANGUARD VAN GOGHCombined · 1,048 students
- LYNDON B JOHNSON MIDDLEMiddle · 1,006 students
- IDEA COLLEGE PREPARATORY PHARRHigh · 848 students
Nearby schools
- CESAR CHAVEZ EL0.3 mi · 403
- JAIME ESCALANTE MIDDLE0.5 mi · 554
- JC KELLY EL1.1 mi · 260
- IDEA COLLEGE PREPARATORY PHARR1.2 mi · 848
- IDEA ACADEMY PHARR1.2 mi · 717
- HIDALGO PARK EL1.4 mi · 239
Frequently asked questions
About BERTA S PALACIOS ELHow large is BERTA S PALACIOS EL?
BERTA S PALACIOS EL enrolls approximately 470 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does BERTA S PALACIOS EL serve?
BERTA S PALACIOS EL serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at BERTA S PALACIOS EL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at BERTA S PALACIOS EL is approximately 15.2:1 (31 FTE teachers).
How diverse is BERTA S PALACIOS EL?
BERTA S PALACIOS EL reports a student body of 1% White, 99% Hispanic, 0% Black.
What district is BERTA S PALACIOS EL in?
BERTA S PALACIOS EL is part of PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.