ZAVALA EL

As a modestly sized elementary campus in CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, ZAVALA EL educates 433 students from grades pre-K through 5, operated by CORPUS CHRISTI ISD.

Across the 54 schools in CORPUS CHRISTI ISD (33,103 students total), ZAVALA EL accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, ZAVALA EL lists that 96% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Other groups include 3% White. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 63%.

In terms of school funding signals, ZAVALA EL lists 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.5:1. The state averages about 15.1:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 95% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Nueces County's rate of about 67%.

After controlling for student poverty, ZAVALA EL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 32.4%; this one delivers 24.6%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Nueces County put median household income runs about $66,897, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. In all, Nueces County runs 124 public schools (combined enrollment of about 59,619 students), of which ZAVALA EL is one.

PROMESA COLLEGE PREP WEST CORPUS CHRISTI is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around ZAVALA EL. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), ZAVALA EL ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 33.9%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 33%: 646 students in 2018 compared to 433 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the ZAVALA EL community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.