Best Public Schools in Zip Code 78629

The six schools in zip code 78629, serving grades PK-12 across the city of Gonzales and a portion of Georgetown, Texas, are split between two vastly different school districts: the high-performing Liberty Hill Independent School District (Isd) and the struggling Gonzales Independent School District (Isd), with one alternative school under the Inspire Academies charter district.

The standout school is Rancho Sienna Elementary (Liberty Hill ISD), a top-tier school with a 4-5 star rating and a 90th percentile state ranking, where only 7.66% of students qualify for free lunch. In stark contrast, all Gonzales ISD schools—Gonzales High School, Gonzales J H, Gonzales North Avenue, and Gonzales Elementary—are rated 1-2 stars and rank in the bottom 25-30% of Texas schools, with roughly 71% of students economically disadvantaged. The small alternative Legacy Ranch Inspire Academy (Inspire Academies) serves 33 students with a 90.91% economic disadvantage rate, spending the most per student ($18,654) but still scoring below state averages.

Key metrics reveal a massive performance gap: Liberty Hill ISD ranks 123rd out of 951 Texas districts (87th percentile), while Gonzales ISD ranks 766th (19th percentile). At Rancho Sienna, 3rd-grade reading proficiency is 81.25% versus the state's 51.08%, while at Gonzales JH, 8th-grade math proficiency is a critical 7.56% versus the state's 47.24%. An interesting anomaly is that Gonzales JH's Algebra I EOC scores are 85.94% proficient, likely because only advanced students take the test. Gonzales North Avenue Elementary has also declined from a 3-star to a 1-star rating in two years, signaling systemic issues. High spending does not guarantee success, as Legacy Ranch's $18,654 per student yields below-average scores, while Rancho Sienna achieves top results with $9,265 per student.