Summary:
The Poteet Independent School District (Isd) is home to two elementary schools—Poteet Elementary (serving Pre-K through 2nd grade) and Poteet Intermediate (serving 3rd through 5th grade)—that together serve about 961 students in a high-poverty area where over 80% of children qualify for free or reduced lunch. The district itself ranks in the bottom 10% of Texas schools, and the data reveals significant academic struggles, though there are notable differences between the two campuses.
Poteet Elementary is the larger school with 579 students and a higher student-to-teacher ratio of 17.7:1, but it has a puzzling lack of recent academic data—its last ranking is from over a decade ago. In contrast, Poteet Intermediate has detailed test scores showing a sharp decline, dropping from a 1-star rating to a 0-star rating in just two years. A standout finding is that students taking the STAAR test in Spanish at Poteet Intermediate consistently outperform their English-testing peers, especially in 3rd grade math where Spanish test-takers scored 44% proficient versus 28% in English. However, a critical red flag is 5th grade science, where only 6.56% of students were proficient—far below the state average of 29.57%.
Both schools spend nearly the same amount per student (around $8,800), which is slightly below the national average, yet the academic outcomes are among the lowest in the state. The higher student-teacher ratio at Poteet Elementary may be a concern for early intervention, while Poteet Intermediate shows that bilingual programs appear to be a relative strength. Overall, parents should be aware that while the district faces serious challenges, the Spanish-language programs offer a bright spot, and the science gap at the intermediate level demands immediate attention.
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