JEFFERSON MIDDLE

As a middle-of-the-pack middle-grades school in PORT ARTHUR, Texas, JEFFERSON MIDDLE caters to 857 students from grades 6 through 8, run under PORT ARTHUR ISD. By comparison, Texas's public schools average about 643 students each, so JEFFERSON MIDDLE sits 33% above that benchmark.

Across the 13 schools in PORT ARTHUR ISD (8,041 students total), JEFFERSON MIDDLE accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, JEFFERSON MIDDLE logs that Hispanic students make up the majority at 64%. Other groups include 28% Black, 3% Native American, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 24% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, JEFFERSON MIDDLE has 63 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.7:1. The state averages about 14.4:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 92% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Jefferson County's rate of about 71%.

After controlling for student poverty, JEFFERSON MIDDLE performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 33.5%, the actual is 33.9%, a residual of +0.4 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Jefferson County put the typical household earns roughly $60,026 per year, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 16%. Across Jefferson County's 92 public schools (combined enrollment of about 42,825 students), JEFFERSON MIDDLE is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is TRAVIS EL, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, JEFFERSON MIDDLE comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 38.0%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at JEFFERSON MIDDLE has fell 7%, going from 925 students in 2018 to 857 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 51% to 64% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.6:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 today.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.