MCGOWEN EL

MCGOWEN EL is a modestly sized elementary campus in HOUSTON, Texas, overseen by HOUSTON ISD. The school hosts 386 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 519 students per school, that is 26% leaner than typical.

Across the 273 schools in HOUSTON ISD (176,727 students total), MCGOWEN EL accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, MCGOWEN EL records that 61% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder looks like 38% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 19% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.8:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 97% of students at MCGOWEN EL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Harris County's rate of about 70%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, MCGOWEN EL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 31.6%; this one delivers 31.6%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Harris County indicate the typical household earns roughly $74,983 per year, about 34% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 13%. In all, Harris County runs 1205 public schools (combined enrollment of about 886,911 students), of which MCGOWEN EL is one.

Nearest neighbor: KASHMERE H S, around 0.9 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts MCGOWEN EL at 4th of 8; the average score across the group is 30.1%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at MCGOWEN EL has fell 17%, going from 467 students in 2018 to 386 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share increased from 26% to 38%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 18.7:1 in 2018 to 14.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the MCGOWEN EL community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.