Dilley Elementary

Dilley Elementary in Dilley, TX, serves 402 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade in the Dilley Independent School District (Isd), a small school in a community with very high economic need, as reflected by a free/reduced lunch rate consistently above 82%.

Academically, Dilley Elementary has faced significant challenges, ranking in the bottom 10% of Texas elementary schools for the past decade and currently sitting in the 3rd percentile statewide. Proficiency rates in reading and math are often half or less than the state average, with math scores notably lower than nearby schools. For example, in 4th grade math, only 24.53% of Dilley students were proficient, compared to 50.77% at Ramirez-Burks Elementary in the Cotulla Independent School District (Isd). Similarly, 5th grade math proficiency at Dilley (19.3%) lags behind Pearsall Intermediate in the Pearsall Independent School District (Isd) (39.57%). Despite these struggles, Dilley has a lower student-to-teacher ratio (11.8:1) compared to Pearsall Intermediate (20.7:1) and Ted Flores Elementary (16.9:1), which typically supports more individualized instruction.

One standout finding is Dilley Elementary’s exceptional performance with its Gifted and Talented (GT) students, who ranked in the 77th percentile statewide in 2022-2023—a stark contrast to the school’s overall low performance. This suggests that effective strategies used in the GT program, such as differentiated instruction and high expectations, could be key to improving outcomes for all students. The school spends $11,135 per student, less than both Ramirez-Burks ($13,803) and Pearsall Intermediate ($11,882), raising questions about resource allocation. While the school has shown slight improvement from its lowest point, it remains volatile and deeply challenged, making the GT program a critical model for potential school-wide reform.