1
What's the one class at VANGUARD PICASSO every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
572
Elementary
DISTRICT 385 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VANGUARD ACADEMY·NCES 480019512828
Vanguard Picasso
901 S ATHOL, PHARR, TX 78577 · (956) 702-0134 · Hidalgo County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL572 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
91%
523 students
DISTRICT 89% · 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, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 97 | 17% |
| Kindergarten | 91 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 80 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 76 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (91) is 32% larger than its 5th grade class (69).
Student demographics
4%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
54.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +33.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
48.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +33.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 33 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 33 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 28.0% | 26.0% | 23.0% | 23.0% |
| Mathematics | 22.0% | 26.0% | 26.0% | 26.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 54.0% | 48.0% |
| 2024-25 | 56.0% | 45.0% |
| 2023-24 | 63.0% | 53.0% |
| 2022-23 | 55.0% | 58.0% |
| 2021-22 | 45.0% | 34.0% |
| 2020-21 | 21.0% | 15.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
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
48.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.6%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 35% 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 14 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 →
Schools most like Vanguard Picasso
Vanguard Picasso's state test result (48.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Picasso this school | 572 | 91.4% | 48.6% |
| Carroll Elementary School HOUSTON | 568 | 91.0% | 31.9% |
| Sigifredo Perez Elementary School LAREDO | 588 | 91.0% | 47.6% |
| Julian S Adame DONNA | 562 | 90.6% | 36.3% |
| Red Sands Elementary School EL PASO | 572 | 92.1% | 39.1% |
| Arnoldo Cantu Sr Elementary School SAN JUAN | 598 | 91.5% | 40.8% |
Matched among Texas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Vanguard Picasso ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.6% | #1,557 of 4,401 | #62 of 181 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.0% | #1,909 of 4,466 ▲ 157 | #92 of 183 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #1,998 of 4,466 ▼ 236 | #78 of 183 ▼ 14 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -5.5pp | #619 of 3,998 | #21 of 180 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 572 | #1,836 of 4,938 | #65 of 192 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #3,050 of 4,622 | #79 of 185 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 4.4% | #4,344 of 4,628 | #70 of 185 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 91.4% | #912 of 4,789 | #82 of 190 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.4% | #1,215 of 1,307 | #48 of 53 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
572
-73 (-11%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 19.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 572 | 36.5 | 15.7:1 | 91% (523) |
| 2023-24 | 593 | 33.9 | 17.5:1 | 95% (562) |
| 2022-23 | 563 | 35.3 | 15.9:1 | 82% (461) |
| 2020-21 | 645 | 34 | 19.0:1 | 79% (508) |
| 2017-18 | 564 | 31.2 | 18.1:1 | 82% (463) |
| 2015-16 | 570 | 30 | 19.0:1 | 76% (434) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Vanguard Picasso.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (564 to 572); teachers up 17% (31.2 to 36.5).
About Vanguard Picasso
Located in PHARR, Texas, Vanguard Picasso is a medium-sized elementary school. The school had 572 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25.
VANGUARD ACADEMY includes 6 schools. Together they enroll 6,814 students.
Federal enrollment data show Vanguard Picasso is 98% Hispanic. Vanguard Picasso's diversity index is 4%, against a US figure of 70%.
Its teaching staff equals 36.5 full-time positions, a ratio of 15.7:1. That is close to the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas. Around 91% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
After accounting for student poverty, Vanguard Picasso is in the top 10% of Texas schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests of 48.6% is 14.0 points above the 34.6% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
Census estimates describe Hidalgo County this way: the median household income is $54,338, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 21%, and about 23% of people live in poverty. Besides Vanguard Picasso, Hidalgo County has 363 other public schools.
Nearest public school: Kelly-Pharr Elementary School, about 0.3 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Vanguard Picasso ranks 5th of 7 on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as City: Small. Vanguard Picasso is run as a public charter school.
Over 4 years, Vanguard Picasso's enrollment declined 11%, to 572. The school's ratio fell from 19.0:1 to 15.7:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
To ask about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Hidalgo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
891,977
Census ACS
Median income
$54,338
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
364
212,859 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in VANGUARD ACADEMY
- Vanguard RembrandtCombined · 1,978 students
- Vanguard BeethovenCombined · 1,782 students
- Vanguard MozartCombined · 1,236 students
- Vanguard Van GoghCombined · 1,048 students
- Vanguard MonetElementary · 198 students
Other schools in PHARR
- Psja North Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,166 students
- Vanguard RembrandtCombined · 1,978 students
- Psja Southwest Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,588 students
- Vanguard Van GoghCombined · 1,048 students
- Lyndon B Johnson Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,006 students
- IDEA College Preparatory PharrHigh · 848 students
Nearby schools
- Kelly-Pharr Elementary School0.3 mi · 587
- Liberty Middle School0.4 mi · 742
- Psja Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School0.7 mi · 553
- Elvis J Ballew High School0.8 mi · 136
- Buell Central DAEP0.8 mi · 117
- Vanguard Rembrandt0.9 mi · 1,978
Frequently asked questions
About Vanguard PicassoHow many students attend Vanguard Picasso?
Vanguard Picasso enrolls approximately 572 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Vanguard Picasso serve?
Vanguard Picasso serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vanguard Picasso?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Vanguard Picasso is approximately 15.7:1 (36 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Vanguard Picasso?
Vanguard Picasso reports a student body of 2% White, 98% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian.
What district is Vanguard Picasso in?
Vanguard Picasso is part of VANGUARD ACADEMY.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.