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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 Elementary School
1000 MOUNT SYLVAN ST, LINDALE, TX 75771 · (903) 881-4250 · Smith County
GRADES 01–03ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL517 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of Texas public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public elementary schools
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, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | 162 | 31% |
| Grade 2 | 164 | 32% |
| Grade 3 | 191 | 37% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Velma Penny Elementary School→E J Moss Intermediate School→Lindale Junior High School→Lindale High School
Based on grade levels within LINDALE ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
77.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +37.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
77.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +37.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 77 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 77 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 37 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 37 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 62.0% | 15.0% | 12.0% | 11.0% |
| Mathematics | 57.0% | 20.0% | 13.0% | 10.0% |
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 | 77.0% | 77.0% |
| 2024-25 | 82.0% | 77.0% |
| 2023-24 | 70.0% | 66.0% |
| 2022-23 | 29.0% | 29.0% |
| 2021-22 | 20.0% | 60.0% |
| 2020-21 | 40.0% | 40.0% |
% 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
73.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.8%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+21.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% 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 21 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 Velma Penny Elementary School
Velma Penny Elementary School's state test result (73.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velma Penny Elementary School this school | 517 | 48.9% | 73.8% |
| Hilltop Elementary School AZLE | 537 | 48.2% | 42.6% |
| College Street Elementary School LINDALE | 512 | 44.5% | 76.5% |
| Lone Oak Elementary School LONE OAK | 540 | 49.4% | 47.1% |
| Mt Valley Elementary School CANYON LAKE | 488 | 46.9% | 64.2% |
| Gerard Elementary School CLEBURNE | 474 | 50.4% | 55.9% |
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 Velma Penny Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Smith County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 73.8% | #219 of 4,401 | #4 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.0% | #213 of 4,466 ▲ 8 | #5 of 31 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 77.0% | #389 of 4,466 ▼ 151 | #4 of 31 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +48.0pp | #5 of 3,998 | #1 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 517 | #2,356 of 4,938 | #15 of 33 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #1,852 of 4,622 | #14 of 33 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.2% | #2,023 of 4,628 | #17 of 33 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.9% | #3,626 of 4,789 | #25 of 33 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +14.1% | #588 of 1,307 | #8 of 16 |
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
517
+35 (+7%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 514
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 517 | 36 | 14.4:1 | 49% (253) |
| 2023-24 | 540 | 36.5 | 14.8:1 | 52% (279) |
| 2022-23 | 541 | 35.3 | 15.3:1 | 48% (260) |
| 2020-21 | 482 | 33 | 14.6:1 | 42% (204) |
| 2017-18 | 453 | 28.2 | 16.1:1 | 45% (206) |
| 2015-16 | 455 | 29 | 15.7:1 | 44% (201) |
| 2010-11 | 538 | 34 | 15.8:1 | 44% (237) |
| 2000-01 | 398 | 25 | 15.9:1 | 37% (149) |
| 1990-91 | 514 | 25 | 20.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Velma Penny Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 14% (453 to 517); teachers up 28% (28.2 to 36).
About Velma Penny Elementary School
Velma Penny Elementary School sits in LINDALE, Texas, and is classified as an elementary school. The student body numbers 517 students, from grades 1 through 3.
Velma Penny Elementary School reports to LINDALE ISD, which has 6 schools and 4,606 students.
At 63%, White students outnumber all other groups at Velma Penny Elementary School combined. Other students are 22% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 6% Black. The county population is about 67% White, within a few points of the school. The chance that two students picked at random at Velma Penny Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 54%.
The school employs the equivalent of 36 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 14.4:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Texas is 15.1:1, higher than at this school. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Velma Penny Elementary School is 49%. For comparison, public schools in Smith County average 64%.
The allk12 Grade for Velma Penny Elementary School is A+. Compared with Texas public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 99% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On BeatsExpectations, which compares test results with what a school's student poverty level would predict, Velma Penny Elementary School ranks in the top 10% in Texas. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 73.8%, against a prediction of 52.8%.
Federal survey data for Smith County show that median household income is about $74,192, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 29% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. A total of 65 public schools operate in Smith County, serving about 37,385 students.
The next-closest public school is Early Childhood Center, about 0.8 miles away. There are 5 more public schools inside five miles. Local comparison: Velma Penny Elementary School ranks 3rd of 7 nearby schools, at 73.8% versus a 59.3% average.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Town: Fringe: in a town close to an urbanized area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count grew from 482 to 517.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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 High SchoolHigh · 1,338 students
- E J Moss Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 1,082 students
- Lindale Junior High SchoolMiddle · 695 students
- College Street Elementary SchoolElementary · 512 students
- Early Childhood CenterElementary · 462 students
Other schools in LINDALE
- Lindale High SchoolHigh · 1,338 students
- E J Moss Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 1,082 students
- Lindale Junior High SchoolMiddle · 695 students
- College Street Elementary SchoolElementary · 512 students
- Early Childhood CenterElementary · 462 students
Nearby schools
- Early Childhood Center0.8 mi · 462
- College Street Elementary School0.8 mi · 512
- E J Moss Intermediate School0.9 mi · 1,082
- Lindale High School1.4 mi · 1,338
- Lindale Junior High School1.6 mi · 695
- A W Orr El - Cp9.7 mi · 247
Frequently asked questions
About Velma Penny Elementary SchoolHow large is Velma Penny Elementary School?
Velma Penny Elementary School enrolls approximately 517 students in grades 01-03.
Is Velma Penny Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Velma Penny Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades 01-03.
How many teachers does Velma Penny Elementary School have?
Velma Penny Elementary School employs 36 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Velma Penny Elementary School?
Student demographics at Velma Penny Elementary School are roughly 63% White, 22% Hispanic, 6% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Velma Penny Elementary School public or private?
Velma Penny Elementary School 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.