WASHINGTON EL

WASHINGTON EL is an elementary-level community of medium-sized scale in BIG SPRING, Texas, run under BIG SPRING ISD, caters to 489 students in grades 3 through 4.

WASHINGTON EL is one of 8 schools operated by BIG SPRING ISD, a district that enrolls 3,742 students overall.

In terms of who attends, WASHINGTON EL records that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 70% of enrollment. Other groups include 21% White, 4% Black, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 48% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.1:1, putting WASHINGTON EL higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 80% of students at WASHINGTON EL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above Howard County's rate of about 60%.

With demographic context factored in, WASHINGTON EL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 39.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 50.5%.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Howard County) logs that median household earnings sit near $69,649, about 16% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Howard County runs 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,521 students), of which WASHINGTON EL is one.

The closest other public school is MOSS EL, roughly 0.8 miles away. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), WASHINGTON EL ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 41.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-center area.

Five-year trend. WASHINGTON EL's enrollment has increased 59% since 2018, when it stood at 307 (now 489). Class-load math has loosened: from 16.7:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.