STAFFORD EL

STAFFORD EL is one of the intimate elementary schools in ITALY, Texas, part of ITALY ISD, with 314 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 519 students per school, that is 39% smaller than typical.

Within ITALY ISD, which oversees 2 schools and 597 students, STAFFORD EL is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, STAFFORD EL reports that the most-represented group is White (54%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 31% Hispanic, 9% Black, 4% multiracial.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.9:1. The state averages around 15.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 54% of students at STAFFORD EL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

After controlling for student poverty, STAFFORD EL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 50.1%, the actual is 40.7%, a residual of -9.4 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Ellis County) shows that the typical household earns roughly $99,595 per year, about 30% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. In all, Ellis County runs 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 46,344 students), of which STAFFORD EL is one.

Nearest neighbor: ITALY H S, around 0.7 miles off. 5 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), STAFFORD EL ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 37.5%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 15%: 369 students in 2018 compared to 314 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 14% to 9% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.0:1 in 2018 to 12.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.