1
What's the one class at PENA EL every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
501
Elementary
DISTRICT 534 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BROWNSVILLE ISD·NCES 481168012087
PENA EL
4975 SALIDA DE LA LUNA, BROWNSVILLE, TX 78526 · (956) 547-7100 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL501 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
453 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
STAAR 2023-24 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
66.0%
TX avg 51.8% . +35.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
61.0%
TX avg 42.0% . +40.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 61 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 35 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 40 points.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
54.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.4%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+20.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 34% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 20 points, placing it in Texas's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
501
-103 (-17%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
was 16.4:1
% White
0%
was 1%
% Hispanic
100%
was 99%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About PENA EL
Set in BROWNSVILLE, Texas, PENA EL is a reasonably sized elementary campus, run under BROWNSVILLE ISD. It educates 501 students across grades pre-K through 5.
BROWNSVILLE ISD runs 52 schools in total, collectively educating 37,097 students. PENA EL is one of those campuses.
Demographically, PENA EL reports that nearly all students (100%) are Hispanic. By comparison, Cameron County as a whole is about 89% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.
In terms of school funding signals, On paper, PENA EL has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.2:1. The state averages around 15.1:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 90% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), PENA EL 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 34.4%; this one delivers 54.7%, a residual of +20.3 points.
In the area at large, Cameron County reports that the typical household earns roughly $52,601 per year, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 21%. Across Cameron County's 187 public schools (combined enrollment of about 97,392 students), PENA EL is one campus in the mix.
Nearest neighbor: GARCIA MIDDLE, around 0.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PENA EL. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts PENA EL at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 46.7%.
Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.
Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at PENA EL has contracted 17%, going from 604 students in 2018 to 501 in 2025.
On allk12, posts here usually surface around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.
Cameron County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
426,120
Census ACS
Median income
$52,601
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
21%
Below federal line
Schools in county
187
97,392 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in BROWNSVILLE ISD
- VETERANS MEMORIAL EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,216 students
- RIVERA EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,150 students
- HANNA EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,039 students
- LOPEZ EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,739 students
- PACE EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,621 students
- PORTER EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,543 students
Other schools in BROWNSVILLE
- VETERANS MEMORIAL EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,216 students
- RIVERA EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,150 students
- HANNA EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 2,039 students
- LOPEZ EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,739 students
- PACE EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,621 students
- PORTER EARLY COLLEGE H SHigh · 1,543 students
Nearby schools
- GARCIA MIDDLE0.7 mi · 870
- IDEA ROBINDALE ACADEMY1.1 mi · 699
- IDEA ROBINDALE COLLEGE PREPARATORY1.1 mi · 693
- GONZALEZ EL1.3 mi · 596
- VERMILLION ROAD EL1.6 mi · 654
- RIVERA EARLY COLLEGE H S1.7 mi · 2,150
Frequently asked questions
About PENA ELHow large is PENA EL?
PENA EL enrolls approximately 501 students in grades PK-05.
Is PENA EL an elementary, middle, or high school?
PENA EL is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at PENA EL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at PENA EL is approximately 16.2:1 (31 FTE teachers).
How diverse is PENA EL?
PENA EL reports a student body of 0% White, 100% Hispanic.
What district is PENA EL in?
PENA EL is part of BROWNSVILLE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.