GRAY EL

GRAY EL is a tight-knit primary school in BALCH SPRINGS, Texas, operated by MESQUITE ISD. The school instructs 409 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 519 students per school, that is 21% leaner than typical.

MESQUITE ISD comprises 51 schools with combined enrollment of 37,930 students; GRAY EL is among them.

On demographics, GRAY EL records that Hispanic students make up the majority at 74%. Beyond that, the school lists 15% Black, 9% White. The wider county runs roughly 41% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 86% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Dallas County's rate of about 77%.

With demographic context factored in, GRAY EL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 36.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 30.7%.

Across the wider county, census data for Dallas County shows the typical household earns roughly $76,547 per year, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Dallas County runs 771 public schools (combined enrollment of about 459,645 students), of which GRAY EL is one.

NEW MIDDLE is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), GRAY EL ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 38.0%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at GRAY EL has contracted 35%, going from 634 students in 2018 to 409 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment edged up from 62% to 74% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 16.4:1 in 2018 to 13.5:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the GRAY EL community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.