O'BANION MIDDLE

Set in GARLAND, Texas, O'BANION MIDDLE is a reasonably sized junior high, part of GARLAND ISD. It caters to 784 students across grades 6 through 8. That puts it 22% above the typical public school in Texas, which averages around 643 students.

GARLAND ISD comprises 76 schools with combined enrollment of 53,173 students; O'BANION MIDDLE is among them.

In terms of who attends, O'BANION MIDDLE shows that 77% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Other groups include 12% Black, 4% Asian, 4% White. The wider county runs roughly 41% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, O'BANION MIDDLE records 56 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.1:1. The state averages about 14.4:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 93% of students at O'BANION MIDDLE qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is north of Dallas County's rate of about 77%.

After controlling for student poverty, O'BANION MIDDLE performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 33.4%, the actual is 34.1%, a residual of +0.8 points.

Around the school, Dallas County reports that median household income runs about $76,547, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Dallas County runs 771 public schools (combined enrollment of about 459,645 students), of which O'BANION MIDDLE is one.

HEATHER GLEN EL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around O'BANION MIDDLE. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), O'BANION MIDDLE ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 32.1%.

O'BANION MIDDLE operates from a commuter-belt location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 29%: 1,110 students in 2018 compared to 784 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 16% to 12% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 14.1:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.