Summary
Harwell Elementary in Lubbock, TX, is a PK-5 school in the Lubbock Independent School District (Isd) serving 385 students in a high-poverty area, where 88% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school has historically ranked in the bottom 20-30% of Texas elementary schools, currently holding a 1-star rating at the 15th percentile statewide for the 2025-2026 school year.
Harwell’s most notable strength is its bilingual program, which dramatically outperforms both the district and state in Spanish-language STAAR scores. For example, 5th graders scored 62.5% proficient in Spanish math, nearly three times the state average of 22.32%, and 3rd graders achieved 52.63% proficiency in Spanish reading versus the state’s 28.3%. In contrast, English-language math scores are critically low, with only 4.35% of 3rd graders proficient—40 percentage points below the district and state averages. This creates a "two schools" phenomenon, where the Spanish program excels while English instruction struggles. However, there are bright spots: Special Education students jumped from the 11th to the 50th percentile statewide in recent years, and African American students improved from the 7th to the 56th percentile, showing the school’s capacity for targeted progress.
Compared to nearby Wilson Elementary, just 2.38 miles away, the contrast is stark. Wilson is a top-performing 5-star school (91st percentile) with a 26% poverty rate, while Harwell is a 1-star school (15th percentile) with 88% poverty. Despite serving a more affluent population, Wilson spends $12,266 per student versus Harwell’s $11,264, highlighting the impact of socioeconomic factors. Harwell’s ranking has shown a slight upward trend over three years, from the 8th to the 15th percentile, suggesting recent initiatives may be taking hold. The school’s primary challenge is replicating its bilingual program’s success and targeted subgroup interventions across its English-language curriculum, especially in math.
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