MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE

Located at 7800 N WARE RD, in MCALLEN, Texas, MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE is a middle-of-the-pack middle-grades school that enrolls 791 students (grades 6 through 8), part of MCALLEN ISD. That puts it 23% bigger than the typical public school in Texas, which averages around 643 students.

MCALLEN ISD runs 31 schools in total, collectively educating 19,890 students. MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE is one of those campuses.

On demographics, MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE logs that 96% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The remainder consists of 2% White. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 54 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.7:1. The state averages about 14.4:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 60% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Hidalgo County (around 85%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

With demographic context factored in, MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 48.0%; this one delivers 62.4%, a residual of +14.4 points.

Across the wider county, census data for Hidalgo County shows the typical household earns roughly $54,338 per year, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 23% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Hidalgo County runs 364 public schools (combined enrollment of about 212,859 students), of which MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE is one.

BLANCA E SANCHEZ is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 54.8%.

MICHAEL E FOSSUM MIDDLE operates from a metropolitan location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count held roughly steady: 799 students in 2018 compared to 791 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 14.7:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.