CATHEY MIDDLE

CATHEY MIDDLE is one of the moderately sized middle-grades schools in MCALLEN, Texas, one of the schools within MCALLEN ISD, with 827 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 29% bigger than the state mean of about 643.

MCALLEN ISD runs 31 schools in total, collectively educating 19,890 students. CATHEY MIDDLE is one of those campuses.

Demographically, CATHEY MIDDLE records that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (93%); the rest is composed of 4% White. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, CATHEY MIDDLE has 54 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.4:1. The state averages around 14.4:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 70% of students at CATHEY MIDDLE qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is south of Hidalgo County's rate of about 85%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), CATHEY MIDDLE sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.3%; this one delivers 56.6%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Hidalgo County put 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), CATHEY MIDDLE is one campus in the mix.

MEMORIAL H S is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), CATHEY MIDDLE ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 46.3%.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at CATHEY MIDDLE has ticked down 18%, going from 1,003 students in 2018 to 827 in 2025. Class-load math has widened: from 13.7:1 in 2018 to 15.4:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.