De Zavala Elementary

De Zavala Elementary is a PK-5 public school in the San Antonio Independent School District (Isd) serving 388 students in a high-poverty area, where over 97% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school has historically ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Texas elementary schools, but its bilingual program stands out as a clear strength, with Spanish-language STAAR scores often exceeding district and state averages—for example, 5th grade Spanish Math reached 46.15% proficiency compared to the district's 33.66% and state's 22.32%.

This "Spanish advantage" is a key differentiator from nearby schools like J T Brackenridge Elementary and David Crockett Academy, which either lack Spanish testing or show very low scores. However, the program's success is inconsistent—3rd grade Spanish Math scored 0% in the same year—suggesting effectiveness may depend on specific teachers or cohorts. Notably, De Zavala is close to Irving Dual Language Academy, a high-performing outlier (72nd percentile), indicating the student population has potential for higher achievement.

The school shows two contrasting trends: performance for English Language Learners has dropped sharply from the 69th percentile (2022-2023) to the 16th percentile (2024-2025), while low-income students have improved from the 6th to the 15th percentile over the same period. Despite spending $13,597 per student—higher than Ogden Elementary ($11,193) but lower than Rodriguez Montessori Elementary ($20,149)—academic outcomes remain low, suggesting the challenge is about how resources are used, not just funding levels. The bilingual program remains a key lever for improvement, but the decline in ELL support is a critical area needing immediate attention.