SAM HOUSTON EL

Located at 300 E 37TH ST, in ODESSA, Texas, SAM HOUSTON EL is a middle-of-the-pack elementary-level community that serves 450 students (grades K through 5), run under ECTOR COUNTY ISD.

Within ECTOR COUNTY ISD, which oversees 45 schools and 34,336 students, SAM HOUSTON EL is one campus in the system.

On demographics, SAM HOUSTON EL reports that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (87%); the rest breaks down as 8% White, 2% Black. The wider county runs roughly 64% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, SAM HOUSTON EL has 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 19.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.1:1 average. An estimated 89% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Ector County (around 71%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

With demographic context factored in, SAM HOUSTON EL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 34.9%, the actual is 26.9%, a residual of -8.0 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Ector County) shows that median household earnings sit near $71,536, about 18% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. SAM HOUSTON EL is one of 56 public schools in Ector County (combined enrollment of about 38,123 students).

The closest other public school is WILSON & YOUNG MEDAL OF HONOR MIDDLE, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts SAM HOUSTON EL at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 49.5%.

Geographically, the school is in an urban area.

Five-year trend. SAM HOUSTON EL's enrollment has decreased 12% since 2018, when it stood at 511 (now 450). Hispanic enrollment moved from 80% to 87% across the same window. Class-load math has grew: from 15.5:1 in 2018 to 19.2:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.