1
Enrollment
658
Middle
DISTRICT 731 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BROWNSVILLE ISD·NCES 481168000426
VELA MIDDLE
4905 PAREDES LINE RD, BROWNSVILLE, TX 78521 · (956) 548-7770 · Cameron County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL658 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
545 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle 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
65.0%
TX avg 51.8% . +48.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
45.0%
TX avg 42.0% . +37.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 48 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 37 points.
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
55.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.7%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+17.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 38% 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 18 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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
658
-139 (-17%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
was 13.2:1
% White
0%
was 1%
% Hispanic
98%
was 98%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About VELA MIDDLE
Located at 4905 PAREDES LINE RD, in BROWNSVILLE, Texas, VELA MIDDLE is a reasonably sized junior high that educates 658 students (grades 6 through 8), run under BROWNSVILLE ISD.
BROWNSVILLE ISD comprises 52 schools with combined enrollment of 37,097 students; VELA MIDDLE is among them.
For racial and ethnic makeup, VELA MIDDLE logs that nearly all students (98%) are Hispanic. By comparison, Cameron County as a whole is about 89% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.
In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.2:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 83% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.
With demographic context factored in, VELA MIDDLE sits in the top 10% of Texas schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 37.7%; actual is 55.2%, +17.5 points clear of the demographic baseline.
Zooming out to the county, census data for Cameron County shows median household earnings sit near $52,601, roughly 22% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 21% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Cameron County's 187 public schools (combined enrollment of about 97,392 students), VELA MIDDLE is one campus in the mix.
The closest other public school is BURNS EL, roughly 0.3 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, VELA MIDDLE comes 4th of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 49.8%.
The school occupies a high-density site.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at VELA MIDDLE has decreased 17%, going from 797 students in 2018 to 658 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 13.2:1 in 2018 to 14.2:1 today.
Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- BURNS EL0.3 mi · 651
- PROMESA COLLEGE PREP BROWNSVILLE0.4 mi · 185
- IDEA BROWNSVILLE ACADEMY0.5 mi · 702
- IDEA BROWNSVILLE COLLEGE PREPARATORY0.5 mi · 783
- PAREDES EL0.9 mi · 798
- GALLEGOS EL1.1 mi · 390
Frequently asked questions
About VELA MIDDLEHow many students attend VELA MIDDLE?
VELA MIDDLE enrolls approximately 658 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does VELA MIDDLE serve?
VELA MIDDLE serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does VELA MIDDLE have?
VELA MIDDLE employs 46 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.2:1.
How diverse is VELA MIDDLE?
VELA MIDDLE reports a student body of 0% White, 98% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian.
What district is VELA MIDDLE in?
VELA MIDDLE is part of BROWNSVILLE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.