Thomas J Rusk Elementary

Thomas J Rusk Elementary is a K-5 public school in Nacogdoches, TX, serving 422 students within the Nacogdoches Independent School District (Isd). The school has shown a remarkable turnaround over the past decade, climbing from the bottom 1% of Texas elementary schools to the 44th percentile, and it now stands as the top-performing school in its district, which ranks in the bottom 10% statewide.

Rusk’s most notable strength is its ability to accelerate student learning as they progress through the grades. While 3rd-grade scores start below the district average, by 5th grade, Rusk students significantly outperform their district peers—for example, 68.25% are proficient in reading compared to just 38.42% district-wide. This "5th-grade surge" is a recent development, suggesting that new interventions or teaching strategies in the upper grades are working well. The school also excels with its Gifted and Talented students, who have ranked in the top 1% of schools statewide, and with White students, who perform in the 82nd percentile. However, the school faces challenges in serving its Special Education and African American students, who rank in the 23rd percentile, highlighting a critical need for more equitable outcomes.

Rusk’s achievements are particularly impressive given its high-poverty population, with 85-89% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. This context is important when comparing it to nearby schools. Just 0.22 miles away, Central Heights Elementary (83rd percentile) serves a much lower-poverty population, while the Stephen F Austin State University Charter School (99th percentile) is a top-1% school. These stark contrasts underscore the deep educational inequity in the area, but they also highlight Rusk’s effectiveness: it is achieving solid, improving results despite serving students with far greater economic challenges than its high-performing neighbors.