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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 78596

At a glance

Schools

8,176

Students

Districts

Top rankedRaul A Gonzalez Junior Elementary938^th of 4,627 Texas elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Airport Elementary up 1,512 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Airport Elementary 18 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

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Summary:

This analysis examines 11 elementary schools serving grades PK through 5 in the 78596 zip code (Weslaco, TX), where 10 schools belong to the Weslaco Independent School District (Isd) and one is the charter Idea Weslaco Pike Academy, serving a predominantly low-income student population with an average free/reduced lunch rate of nearly 85%.

The standout top performers are Raul A Gonzalez Junior Elementary (80th percentile, 4-star), Sam Houston Elementary (75th percentile, 4-star), and Memorial Elementary (88th percentile, 4-star), all showing consistent high performance and positive trends. In contrast, Rodolfo Rudy Silva Junior Elementary (21st percentile, 1-star) and Pfc Mario Ybarra Elementary (48th percentile, 2-star) face significant challenges, with the latter posting an alarmingly low 5th-grade Science proficiency of just 6.76%. The charter Idea Weslaco Pike Academy has experienced a sharp decline, dropping from the 67th to the 23rd percentile over three years.

Key takeaways include that high poverty does not determine performance—Raul A Gonzalez Junior Elementary (87.86% free/reduced lunch) and Sam Houston Elementary (85.28%) thrive despite high poverty rates. Spending also does not correlate with success, as the three highest-spending schools (Pfc Mario Ybarra at $12,181, Airport Elementary at $12,024, and Rodolfo Rudy Silva Junior at $11,804) are among the lowest performers, while top schools like Memorial ($9,717) spend less. Science is a critical weakness across the area, with only Sam Houston (57.14%) and Memorial (49.04%) exceeding the state average of 29.57% in 5th-grade Science.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				STAAR Reading (2026)			STAAR Mathematics (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	STAAR Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 5th Grade	Total
Idea Weslaco Pike Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	1000 E Pike Blvd	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Idea Public Schools	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 351-4850	734	34	21.8	91.8%	28 (3.8%)	2 (0.3%)	702 (95.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27.8	3580^th of 4627 public elementary schools	22.6%		52.7	1981^st of 4651 public elementary schools	57.4%	1599	33.3	36.0	60.3	27.4	34.8	34.2	$9,909
Sam Houston Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	608 N Cantu	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6740	761	38	20.0	85.3%	13 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	744 (97.8%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	69.2	1174^th of 4627 public elementary schools	74.6%		71.7	1062^nd of 4651 public elementary schools	77.2%	112	56.3	48.7	62.7	59.8	58.3	67.0	$9,893
Raul A Gonzalez Junior Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3801 N 5 1/2 W	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6760	552	26	21.5	87.9%	4 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	546 (98.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	75	938^th of 4627 public elementary schools	79.7%		66.4	1291^st of 4651 public elementary schools	72.2%	353	57.8	73.6	66.3	44.4	62.1	66.7	$9,834
Dr R E Margo Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1701 S Bridge Ave	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6800	1,085	50	21.5	88.6%	19 (1.8%)	3 (0.3%)	1,060 (97.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	51.1	2060^th of 4627 public elementary schools	55.5%		48.4	2234^th of 4651 public elementary schools	52.0%	174	48.9	49.7	53.8	43.6	43.8	57.2	$9,266
Rodolfo Rudy Silva Junior Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1001 W Mile 10	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6790	685	30	22.5	79.6%	6 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	678 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26.7	3647^th of 4627 public elementary schools	21.2%		25.7	3686^th of 4651 public elementary schools	20.7%	39	37.7	50.6	26.4	26.0	48.4	23.1	$10,782
Airport Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	410 N Airport Dr	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6770	786	44	18.0	86.3%	8 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	769 (97.8%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	59.4	1639^th of 4627 public elementary schools	64.6%		34.7	3151^st of 4651 public elementary schools	32.3%	1512	52.9	55.9	63.9	41.9	57.8	44.6	$10,346
Memorial Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1700 S Border	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6780	1,109	49	22.6	65.5%	33 (3.0%)	2 (0.2%)	1,069 (96.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	73.1	1012^th of 4627 public elementary schools	78.1%		77.5	861^st of 4651 public elementary schools	81.5%	151	52.8	60.5	69.7	45.9	69.3	65.1	$8,945
A N Rico Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2202 N International Blvd	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6815	780	38	20.5	89.4%	6 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	768 (98.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	49.1	2170^th of 4627 public elementary schools	53.1%		43.1	2563^rd of 4651 public elementary schools	44.9%	393	54.4	36.5	57.8	40.4	50.5	50.0	$9,469
Cleckler/Heald Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1601 W Sugarcane	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6888	909	41	22.3	82.5%	23 (2.5%)	1 (0.1%)	885 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	59.5	1633^rd of 4627 public elementary schools	64.7%		74.1	961^st of 4651 public elementary schools	79.3%	672	58.8	58.7	54.2	48.9	54.6	45.1	$9,171
North Bridge Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2001 N Bridge St	Weslaco	78596	Hidalgo County	Weslaco Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 969-6810	775	34	22.9	87.6%	11 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	763 (98.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	35.2	3075^th of 4627 public elementary schools	33.5%		48.7	2213^th of 4651 public elementary schools	52.4%	862	34.4	37.6	62.2	35.6	36.6	44.4	$10,336

Cities Near Zip Code 78596

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Weslaco	0.15 mi	27	494^th
Mercedes	2.33 mi	17	617^th
Donna	3.21 mi	21	632^nd
Progreso	4.11 mi	6	654^th
Alamo	7.11 mi	14	432^nd

See the top TX Texas cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Texas Education Agency.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.