A Leal Junior Middle

A Leal Junior Middle in San Antonio, TX, is a public middle school serving 499 students in grades 6-8 within the Harlandale Independent School District (Isd), where a high percentage of families qualify for free or reduced lunch.

This school presents a fascinating mix of strengths and challenges. Its standout feature is an exceptional Algebra I program: in the 2025-2026 school year, 83.64% of students taking the Algebra I End-of-Course exam were proficient. This rate dramatically surpasses the district average (38.13%) and the state average (54.03%), and it is far higher than nearby schools like Terrell Wells Middle (98.31%) and Harlandale Middle (60.61%). Additionally, A Leal is a top-tier school for English Language Learners, ranking in the 72nd percentile statewide for this subgroup. The school also benefits from a low student-teacher ratio of 10.3:1, the lowest among all nearby schools, which likely helps provide targeted support.

However, these bright spots contrast with significant struggles in core subjects. A persistent weakness is 7th-grade math, where only 5% of students were proficient in 2025-2026—a score that has remained consistently low for years. Overall, the school ranks in the 24th percentile statewide, placing it in the middle of its district peers, slightly above Kingsborough Middle (23rd percentile) and Harlandale Middle (22nd percentile), but below Terrell Wells Middle (33rd percentile). Nearby charter and magnet schools, like KIPP Aspire Academy and Greg A Garcia Early College Intermediate, outperform A Leal overall, particularly in reading. On a positive note, the school's dropout rate has improved, dropping from 1.9% to 0.7% in recent years, which is better than the district average.