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What advice would you give to incoming students at VELMA PENNY EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
517
Elementary
DISTRICT 497 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LINDALE ISD·NCES 482751003092
VELMA PENNY EL
1000 MOUNT SYLVAN ST, LINDALE, TX 75771 · (903) 881-4250 · Smith County
GRADES 01–03ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL517 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
253 students
DISTRICT 46% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within LINDALE ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2023-24 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
70.0%
TX avg 51.8% . +30.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
66.0%
TX avg 42.0% . +26.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 70 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 66 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 30 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 26 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
68.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.5%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 53% 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 15 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
517
+64 (+14%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 16.1:1
% White
63%
was 72%
% Hispanic
22%
was 16%
% Black
6%
was 6%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About VELMA PENNY EL
VELMA PENNY EL is a medium-sized elementary-level community in LINDALE, Texas, run under LINDALE ISD. The school enrolls 517 students in grades 1 through 3.
VELMA PENNY EL is one of 6 schools operated by LINDALE ISD, a district that hosts 4,606 students overall.
In terms of who attends, VELMA PENNY EL lists that 63% of the student body identifies as White; the rest consists of 22% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 6% Black. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.
Looking at school resources, The school reports having 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.4:1. The state averages around 15.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 49% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Smith County (around 64%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), VELMA PENNY EL ranks in the top 10% of Texas public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 52.5%; VELMA PENNY EL posts 68.0%, +15.5 points above that line.
In the surrounding community, census data for Smith County shows the typical household earns roughly $74,192 per year, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. VELMA PENNY EL is one of 65 public schools in Smith County (combined enrollment of about 37,385 students).
Nearest neighbor: EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER, around 0.8 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 5 other public schools cluster around VELMA PENNY EL. On composite proficiency, VELMA PENNY EL comes 4th of 7 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 57.9%.
The campus sits in a town-center setting.
Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at VELMA PENNY EL has climbed 14%, going from 453 students in 2018 to 517 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 72% to 63%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 16.1:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 today.
On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.
Smith County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
241,740
Census ACS
Median income
$74,192
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
65
37,385 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LINDALE ISD
- LINDALE H SHigh · 1,338 students
- E J MOSS INTMiddle · 1,082 students
- LINDALE J HMiddle · 695 students
- COLLEGE STREET ELElementary · 512 students
- EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERElementary · 462 students
Other schools in LINDALE
- LINDALE H SHigh · 1,338 students
- E J MOSS INTMiddle · 1,082 students
- LINDALE J HMiddle · 695 students
- COLLEGE STREET ELElementary · 512 students
- EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERElementary · 462 students
Nearby schools
- EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER0.8 mi · 462
- COLLEGE STREET EL0.8 mi · 512
- E J MOSS INT0.9 mi · 1,082
- LINDALE H S1.4 mi · 1,338
- LINDALE J H1.6 mi · 695
- A W ORR EL - CP9.7 mi · 247
Frequently asked questions
About VELMA PENNY ELHow large is VELMA PENNY EL?
VELMA PENNY EL enrolls approximately 517 students in grades 01-03.
Is VELMA PENNY EL an elementary, middle, or high school?
VELMA PENNY EL is an elementary school covering grades 01-03.
How many teachers does VELMA PENNY EL have?
VELMA PENNY EL employs 36 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.4:1.
What is the student diversity at VELMA PENNY EL?
Student demographics at VELMA PENNY EL are roughly 63% White, 22% Hispanic, 6% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is VELMA PENNY EL public or private?
VELMA PENNY EL is a public K-12 school, overseen by LINDALE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.