WEST AVENUE EL

Located at 1101 N 15TH ST, in WACO, Texas, WEST AVENUE EL is a close-knit elementary-level community that instructs 249 students (grades pre-K through 5), overseen by WACO ISD. That puts it 52% below the typical public school in Texas, which averages around 519 students.

Within WACO ISD, which oversees 24 schools and 13,476 students, WEST AVENUE EL is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, WEST AVENUE EL lists that 47% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school logs 45% Hispanic, 5% White, 3% multiracial. By comparison, McLennan County as a whole is about 14% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school currently runs with 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.1:1 average. Around 96% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is higher than McLennan County's rate of about 62%.

After controlling for student poverty, WEST AVENUE EL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 31.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 25.0%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for McLennan County put median household earnings sit near $66,643, roughly 29% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, McLennan County runs 124 public schools (combined enrollment of about 45,703 students), of which WEST AVENUE EL is one.

BROOK AVENUE EL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, WEST AVENUE EL comes 1st of 4 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 19.8%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 35%: 382 students in 2018 compared to 249 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment ticked down from 53% to 45% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.4:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 today.

On the community side, members of the WEST AVENUE EL community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.