HARPER MIDDLE

HARPER MIDDLE is one of the tiny middle schools in HARPER, Texas, operated by HARPER ISD, with 197 students on its rolls from grades 5 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 69% below the state mean of about 643.

HARPER ISD comprises 3 schools with combined enrollment of 591 students; HARPER MIDDLE is among them.

On the student-mix side, HARPER MIDDLE lists that 80% of the student body identifies as White; the rest reads as 18% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Gillespie County as a whole.

Looking at school resources, The school employs 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.7:1. The state averages around 14.4:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 38% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Gillespie County runs at roughly 58%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, HARPER MIDDLE tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 57.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 44.5%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Gillespie County indicate median household earnings sit near $76,162, roughly 37% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. HARPER MIDDLE is one of 10 public schools in Gillespie County (combined enrollment of about 3,641 students).

HARPER H S is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around HARPER MIDDLE. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), HARPER MIDDLE ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 63.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a rural area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 7%: 184 students in 2018 compared to 197 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 85% to 80%.

On allk12, the feed for HARPER MIDDLE typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.