Herff Elementary

Herff Elementary is a PK-5 public school in the San Antonio Independent School District (Isd) serving 461 students in a highly disadvantaged community, where over 98% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school has faced significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom 1% of Texas elementary schools for the past three school years, a sharp decline from its 14th percentile ranking in 2022-2023. This makes it the lowest-performing school in its immediate area, with only 11.5% of 3rd graders proficient in Reading on the STAAR test in 2025-2026, compared to 32.9% at Eloise Japhet Elementary and 50% at the nearby Young Women's Leadership Academy Pri.

Despite these struggles, Herff shows a unique strength in its bilingual program. While English-language test scores are very low, Spanish-language STAAR scores often match or exceed district and state averages—for example, 35.3% of 3rd graders were proficient in Math on the Spanish exam, compared to 34.9% districtwide. Additionally, in the 2022-2023 school year, Herff’s English Language Learner (ELL) students ranked in the 99th percentile statewide, a remarkable achievement that suggests the school is capable of exceptional outcomes for this group. However, this success was not sustained, as ELL performance dropped to the 6th percentile the following year, indicating a need to investigate what worked and replicate it.

Herff’s per-student spending of $12,412 is higher than several better-performing nearby schools, such as Bonham Academy ($10,249), showing that funding alone isn’t the issue. The school also struggles with science, where only 6.8% of 5th graders were proficient in 2024-2025. The contrast with Young Women's Leadership Academy Pri, a high-performing magnet school just 0.8 miles away with a 51.2% poverty rate, highlights how concentrated poverty impacts outcomes. For parents, Herff offers a dedicated bilingual program and a history of ELL success, but faces serious academic hurdles that require targeted support.