Summary
Vela Middle in Brownsville, TX, serves 658 students in grades 6-8 within the Brownsville Independent School District (Isd), and is a school on the rise, recently climbing to a 3-star rating and the 70th percentile statewide after years of fluctuation.
Vela stands out from nearby schools like Lucio Middle, Faulk Middle, and Perkins Middle with superior academic performance in core subjects. For example, in 6th-grade Reading, Vela's proficiency rate of 63.8% far exceeds the district average of 55.67%, and in 6th-grade Math, its 52.94% proficiency is nearly double that of schools like Perkins (23.53%). The school is a powerhouse in advanced coursework, with students taking Algebra I, Biology, and English I End-of-Course exams achieving near-perfect proficiency rates (92-100%), significantly outperforming the state average. Vela also invests more per student ($13,095) than any of its district peers, which likely contributes to its strong outcomes, especially for its Hispanic and low-income students, who earn 4-star ratings statewide.
However, Vela faces challenges. A district-wide issue is the dramatic drop in 7th-grade Math proficiency—Vela's rate plummets from 52.94% in 6th grade to just 4.29% in 7th grade, a pattern seen across all Brownsville ISD middle schools. Additionally, performance for Special Education and At-Risk students is inconsistent, with the Special Education subgroup dropping from a 4-star to a 2-star rating recently. While Stillman Middle is the district's top performer with a 4-star rating, Vela achieves strong results despite serving a more economically disadvantaged population (82.83% free/reduced lunch vs. Stillman's 67.74%), making its progress particularly noteworthy.
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