SOUTH PALM GARDENS H S

MERCEDES · TX · WESLACO ISD · Public

Public 🏛 WESLACO ISD →

Similar nearby schools

Most similar nearby schools

SOUTH TEXAS ISD HEALTH PROFESSIONS → SOUTH TEXAS ISD SCIENCE ACADEMY → WESLACO EAST H S → MERCEDES EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY → PREMIER H S OF WESLACO → TEXASWORKS - WESLACO → CAREER AND COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT CENTER → IDEA WESLACO PIKE COLLEGE PREPARATORY →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

✅ Gifted & talented program

Academic signals

🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 29% of US high schools

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How SOUTH PALM GARDENS H S compares for families

What families should know about SOUTH PALM GARDENS H S.

▸ LocallyTX students outperform the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (+4 points).
▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: SOUTH TEXAS ISD HEALTH PROFESSIONS, SOUTH TEXAS ISD SCIENCE ACADEMY, WESLACO EAST H S and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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Get an email when SOUTH PALM GARDENS H S's numbers change — new admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores. A few updates a year, no spam.

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

SAT/ACT test-takers

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Test-taking intensity

0.0

takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)

Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.

% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)

16.7%

Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

High-poverty school

Title I Schoolwide eligible

93.1%

FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).

0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

≥75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. These schools qualify for the highest tier of federal Title I funding and typically receive extra wraparound services. Academic outcomes vary widely — check the state assessment + grad-rate tiles.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days

33.3%

Well above the national average (~16%). At this level, chronic absence becomes a leading driver of enrollment loss as families rotate to other schools.

Students absent 15+ days

Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor

72:1

Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.

Counselor FTE

1.0

Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.

Teacher FTE

Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +2.9%/year, projecting from 2024's 72 students:

2025

2027

2029

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

School	Type	Miles	HS enrollment	Trend
SOUTH TEXAS ISD HEALTH PROFESSIONS MERCEDES	Public	0.9	781	+4.7%
SOUTH TEXAS ISD SCIENCE ACADEMY MERCEDES	Public	1.0	840	+9.9%
WESLACO EAST H S WESLACO	Public	1.2	2,066	+5.8%
MERCEDES EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY MERCEDES	Public	2.0	355	-7.6%
PREMIER H S OF WESLACO WESLACO	Public · charter	2.0	112	+55.6%
TEXASWORKS - WESLACO WESLACO	Public · charter	2.0	29	—
CAREER AND COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT CENTER WESLACO	Public	2.2	50	—
IDEA WESLACO PIKE COLLEGE PREPARATORY WESLACO	Public · charter	2.3	364	-3.2%