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Alumni: what's one memory from CORINA PENA EL that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
523
Elementary
DISTRICT 489 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LA JOYA ISD·NCES 482613010832
Corina Pena Elementary School
4800 LIBERTY BLVD, PENITAS, TX 78576 · (956) 323-2750 · Hidalgo County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL523 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 27% of Texas public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
505 students
DISTRICT 92% · 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, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 104 | 20% |
| Kindergarten | 55 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 56 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 81 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 86 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 71 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (55) is 23% smaller than its 5th grade class (71).
Student demographics
0%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
38.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +17.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
39.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +29.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 17 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 29 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 15.0% | 23.0% | 27.0% | 35.0% |
| Mathematics | 14.0% | 25.0% | 24.0% | 37.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 38.0% | 39.0% |
| 2024-25 | 39.0% | 28.0% |
| 2023-24 | 38.0% | 33.0% |
| 2022-23 | 29.0% | 29.0% |
| 2021-22 | 19.0% | 28.0% |
| 2020-21 | 21.0% | 10.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
30.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.5%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Corina Pena Elementary School
Corina Pena Elementary School's state test result (30.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corina Pena Elementary School this school | 523 | 96.6% | 30.2% |
| Del Castillo - Morningside Elementary School BROWNSVILLE | 526 | 95.8% | 40.6% |
| Emiliano Zapata Elementary School MISSION | 511 | 95.3% | 32.2% |
| Zeferino Farias Elementary School ALAMO | 520 | 97.1% | 33.7% |
| Amigos Por Vida-Friends for Life Charter School HOUSTON | 524 | 97.5% | 55.0% |
| Santo Nino Elementary School LAREDO | 542 | 98.0% | 56.2% |
Matched among Texas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Corina Pena Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.2% | #3,647 of 4,401 | #170 of 181 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #2,992 of 4,466 ▲ 911 | #148 of 183 ▲ 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.0% | #3,856 of 4,466 ▼ 250 | #170 of 183 ▼ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.5pp | #1,532 of 3,998 | #63 of 180 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 523 | #2,318 of 4,938 | #91 of 192 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.9:1 | #2,368 of 4,622 | #51 of 185 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 0.4% | #4,577 of 4,628 | #155 of 185 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.6% | #322 of 4,789 | #31 of 190 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.5% | #733 of 2,838 | #38 of 128 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
523
-73 (-12%) vs 2020
-7% since 2010-11, when it was 560
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 15.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 523 | 35.1 | 14.9:1 | 97% (505) |
| 2023-24 | 517 | 35.9 | 14.4:1 | 97% (504) |
| 2022-23 | 546 | 39.7 | 13.8:1 | 98% (533) |
| 2020-21 | 596 | 39 | 15.3:1 | 96% (570) |
| 2017-18 | 702 | 43 | 16.3:1 | 93% (656) |
| 2015-16 | 734 | 45 | 16.3:1 | 93% (684) |
| 2010-11 | 560 | 34 | 16.5:1 | 1% (6) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Corina Pena Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (702 to 523); teachers down 18% (43 to 35.1).
About Corina Pena Elementary School
Among the schools in PENITAS, Texas, is Corina Pena Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school. Enrolled students number 523 students, in pre-K through 5.
LA JOYA ISD has 36 schools; together they serve 22,942 students.
Hispanic students make up 100% of enrollment at Corina Pena Elementary School. Pick two students at random and there is a 0% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The teaching staff at Corina Pena Elementary School is 35.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 14.9:1. That matches the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas fairly closely. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 97%. That is higher than the 85% average for public schools in Hidalgo County.
Measured against Texas public elementary schools, Corina Pena Elementary School receives a C. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The model predicts 32.5% for a school in Texas with Corina Pena Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Corina Pena Elementary School posts 30.2%.
Among Hidalgo County residents, the median household income is $54,338, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 23%. Corina Pena Elementary School is one of 364 public schools in the county.
Dr Maria Palmira Mendiola Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 2.6 miles away. Within five miles of Corina Pena Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Corina Pena Elementary School is 8th of 9 on proficiency.
Locale data from NCES put Corina Pena Elementary School in rural territory close to an urban area (Rural: Fringe).
2024-25 enrollment was 523, a 12% decrease from 596 in 2020-21.
Discussions about Corina Pena Elementary School may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 LA JOYA ISD
- La Joya High SchoolHigh · 2,405 students
- La Joya Palmview High SchoolHigh · 2,073 students
- Juarez-Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- Enrique Kiki Camarena Elementary SchoolElementary · 715 students
- John F Kennedy Elementary SchoolElementary · 676 students
- Ann Richards Middle SchoolMiddle · 665 students
Other schools in PENITAS
- John F Kennedy Elementary SchoolElementary · 676 students
- Dr Javier Saenz Middle SchoolMiddle · 601 students
- William J Clinton Elementary SchoolElementary · 463 students
Nearby schools
- Dr Maria Palmira Mendiola Elementary School2.6 mi · 583
- Juarez-Lincoln High School3.1 mi · 1,952
- Dr Javier Saenz Middle School3.2 mi · 601
- John F Kennedy Elementary School3.2 mi · 676
- William J Clinton Elementary School3.4 mi · 463
- Elodia R Chapa Elementary School3.5 mi · 445
Frequently asked questions
About Corina Pena Elementary SchoolHow large is Corina Pena Elementary School?
Corina Pena Elementary School enrolls approximately 523 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Corina Pena Elementary School serve?
Corina Pena Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Corina Pena Elementary School?
Approximately 14.9:1 students per teacher at Corina Pena Elementary School.
How diverse is Corina Pena Elementary School?
Corina Pena Elementary School reports a student body of 0% White, 100% Hispanic.
Is Corina Pena Elementary School public or private?
Corina Pena Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by LA JOYA ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.