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What's the best and worst thing about the food at RUSSELL EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
418
Elementary
DISTRICT 534 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BROWNSVILLE ISD·NCES 481168000665
RUSSELL EL
800 LAKESIDE BLVD, BROWNSVILLE, TX 78520 · (956) 548-8960 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL418 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
409 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
42.0%
TX avg 51.8% . +21.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
40.0%
TX avg 42.0% . +30.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 21 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 30 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
39.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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
418
-248 (-37%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 16.8:1
% White
1%
was 1%
% Hispanic
99%
was 99%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About RUSSELL EL
RUSSELL EL is an intimate primary school in BROWNSVILLE, Texas, operated by BROWNSVILLE ISD. The school teaches 418 students in grades pre-K through 5.
BROWNSVILLE ISD comprises 52 schools with combined enrollment of 37,097 students; RUSSELL EL is among them.
Demographically, RUSSELL EL shows that nearly all students (99%) are Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 89% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.
On the income-and-resources front, RUSSELL EL reports 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 98% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Cameron County runs at roughly 84%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.
With demographic context factored in, RUSSELL EL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 31.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 39.5%.
Zooming out to the county, 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 census figures put the poverty rate at about 21%. Across Cameron County's 187 public schools (combined enrollment of about 97,392 students), RUSSELL EL is one campus in the mix.
HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY - BROWNSVILLE is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, RUSSELL EL comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 47.1%.
RUSSELL EL operates from a high-density location.
Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at RUSSELL EL has decreased 37%, going from 666 students in 2018 to 418 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.8:1 in 2018 to 15.4:1 in 2025.
Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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
- HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY - BROWNSVILLE0.3 mi · 508
- TRIUMPH PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS-BROWNSVILLE0.7 mi · 122
- STELL MIDDLE0.8 mi · 733
- BRYSS ACADEMY H S0.9 mi · 27
- BRYSS ACADEMY0.9 mi · 555
- SKINNER EL0.9 mi · 344
Frequently asked questions
About RUSSELL ELHow large is RUSSELL EL?
RUSSELL EL enrolls approximately 418 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does RUSSELL EL serve?
RUSSELL EL serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at RUSSELL EL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at RUSSELL EL is approximately 15.4:1 (27 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at RUSSELL EL?
Student demographics at RUSSELL EL are roughly 1% White, 99% Hispanic.
Who oversees RUSSELL EL?
RUSSELL EL is overseen by BROWNSVILLE ISD in Cameron County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.