Summary:
The Southside Independent School District (Isd) is home to two middle schools, Julius L Matthey Middle and Losoya Middle, both serving grades 6 through 8 in a community where over 88% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage.
These two schools present a clear contrast in academic strengths. Losoya Middle stands out for its stronger performance in mathematics, particularly in 7th grade and Algebra I, where its proficiency rates (41.53% and 52.36% respectively) exceeded district averages and, in 7th grade math, significantly outperformed the state average of 29.41%. In contrast, Julius L Matthey Middle excels in 8th grade Social Studies, with a proficiency rate of 28.64% that is much higher than Losoya's 18.48% and closer to the state average. Additionally, Losoya Middle boasts a very low dropout rate of 0.4%, while Julius L Matthey Middle has a higher rate of 1.3%, though both are below the district average of 1.4%.
A key takeaway is that both schools struggle significantly with reading proficiency, consistently falling 10-20 percentage points below state averages across all grade levels. However, mathematics appears to be a relative strength for the district, as both schools exceeded the state average in 7th grade math. With similar enrollment sizes (656 and 607 students) and per-student spending around $12,000, the district's overall state ranking in the 46th percentile suggests room for improvement, particularly in reading, while the divergent strengths in math and social studies highlight potential areas for cross-school collaboration.
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