Zapata County Independent School District (Isd)

The Zapata County Independent School District (Isd) serves approximately 3,290 students across six schools—four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school—in a community where over 86% of students face economic disadvantage, as indicated by free or reduced lunch rates.

Among the elementary schools, Zapata North Elementary stands out for consistent high performance, earning a 3-star rating for three consecutive years and often exceeding state averages in math, such as 71.74% proficiency in 5th-grade math versus the state's 47.38%. In contrast, Zapata South Elementary shows dramatic improvement, jumping from a 2-star to a 3-star rating with 73.81% of 4th graders proficient in both reading and math. Benavides Elementary, the smallest school with only 51 students, exhibits volatile test scores due to its size, while Fidel And Andrea R Villarreal Elementary has the highest economic disadvantage rate at 93.48%. The middle school, Zapata Middle, struggles significantly, with 7th-grade math proficiency at just 4.1%. The most critical challenges are at Zapata High School, which has received a 0-star rating for three years and ranks in the bottom 2% of Texas high schools, with only 0.89% of students proficient in English I Reading.

Key takeaways include a stark performance drop from elementary to high school, with math being a district-wide weakness. Spending per student varies from $9,515 at Zapata North to $11,631 at Benavides, but higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes—Zapata North outperforms despite lower spending. The district's overall ranking is 584th out of 951 Texas districts (2-star rating), and while the high school boasts a 94.9% graduation rate, this masks severe academic deficiencies. The success of Zapata North and Zapata South offers a path forward, showing that high achievement is possible even with economic challenges.