Lucy Rede Franco Middle

Lucy Rede Franco Middle in Presidio, TX, serves 221 students in grades 6-8 and is the only middle school in the Presidio Independent School District (Isd), located in a small, rural community where over 94% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

This school has experienced a dramatic shift in performance over the past five years. After reaching a high point in the 2020-2021 school year, ranking in the 69th percentile statewide, it has since dropped to the 10th percentile in the most recent data—a steep decline that places it in the bottom tier of Texas middle schools. The most concerning areas are in core subjects: for example, only about 3.5% of 6th graders are proficient in math, compared to the state average of 38.6%, and reading scores across all grades lag roughly 20-25 percentage points behind the state. However, there is one notable exception: 100% of 8th graders taking the Algebra I End-of-Course exam are proficient, nearly double the state average. This suggests the school excels at preparing a select group of advanced students for high school math, even as the majority struggle with foundational skills.

Despite these academic challenges, the school has maintained a very low dropout rate (0.0% in recent years) and spends over $12,000 per student, which is above the Texas average. This creates a puzzling situation: the school has the resources and keeps students engaged, but it is not translating that into broad academic growth. The decline has hit all student groups hard, especially those in Special Education, who now rank in the 1st percentile. For parents, this means the school offers a safe, supportive environment with strong potential for top math students, but it urgently needs to improve reading and math instruction for the majority of its students to reverse this troubling trend.