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What's the vibe like in the hallways at RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
437
Elementary
DISTRICT 397 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SAN BENITO CISD·NCES 483879007824
RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY
848 8TH ST, SAN BENITO, TX 78586 · (956) 361-6900 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL437 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
329 students
DISTRICT 82% · 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
55.0%
TX avg 51.8% . +22.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
53.0%
TX avg 42.0% . +31.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 53 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 22 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 31 points.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
48.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 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
437
+41 (+10%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 17.2:1
% White
3%
was 1%
% Hispanic
97%
was 99%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY
As a close-knit K-5 school in SAN BENITO, Texas, RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY teaches 437 students from grades pre-K through 5, overseen by SAN BENITO CISD.
RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY is one of 23 schools operated by SAN BENITO CISD, a district that educates 9,137 students overall.
On the student-mix side, RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY lists that nearly all students (97%) are Hispanic. The remainder is composed of 3% White.
On the resource side, On paper, RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY has 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.1:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.1:1 average. Around 75% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is lower than Cameron County's rate of about 84%.
With demographic context factored in, RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 41.0%; this one delivers 48.7%.
In the area at large, ACS estimates for Cameron County put median household earnings sit near $52,601, roughly 22% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 21%. Across Cameron County's 187 public schools (combined enrollment of about 97,392 students), RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY is one campus in the mix.
GATEWAY TO GRADUATION ACADEMY is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY. On composite proficiency, RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 33.2%.
The school occupies an outlying site.
Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 10%: 396 students in 2018 compared to 437 in 2025. Class-load math has tightened: from 17.2:1 in 2018 to 16.1:1 in 2025.
On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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 SAN BENITO CISD
- SAN BENITO H SHigh · 2,057 students
- BERTA CABAZA MIDDLEMiddle · 695 students
- SAN BENITO VETERANS MEMORIAL ACADEMYHigh · 645 students
- CASH ELElementary · 611 students
- SAN BENITO RIVERSIDE MIDDLEMiddle · 558 students
- LA ENCANTADA ELElementary · 488 students
Other schools in SAN BENITO
- SAN BENITO H SHigh · 2,057 students
- SOUTH TEXAS ISD RISING SCHOLARS ACADEMYMiddle · 781 students
- IDEA COLLEGE PREPARATORY SAN BENITOHigh · 780 students
- BERTA CABAZA MIDDLEMiddle · 695 students
- IDEA ACADEMY SAN BENITOElementary · 685 students
- LIBERTY MEMORIAL MIDDLEMiddle · 673 students
Nearby schools
- GATEWAY TO GRADUATION ACADEMY0.8 mi · 64
- CASH EL1.0 mi · 611
- MILLER JORDAN MIDDLE1.1 mi · 477
- SULLIVAN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ACADEMY1.4 mi · 367
- DOWNS FINE ARTS ACADEMY1.6 mi · 426
- FRED BOOTH GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY1.7 mi · 441
Frequently asked questions
About RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMYHow large is RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY?
RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY enrolls approximately 437 students in grades PK-05.
Is RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY an elementary, middle, or high school?
RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY?
The student-to-teacher ratio at RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY is approximately 16.1:1 (27 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY?
At RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY, the student body is approximately 3% White, 97% Hispanic.
Is RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY public or private?
RAUL GARZA JR STEAM ACADEMY is a public K-12 school, overseen by SAN BENITO CISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.