Star pupils
2 Southlake elementary schools make the grade among Texas' best, says U.S. News & World Report
Two Southlake schools have earned top honors in Texas in U.S. News & World Report’s first-ever ranking of the state's best elementary schools.
Old Union Elementary School comes in at No. 3, and Carroll Elementary School, at No. 4, among 4,446 elementary schools in Texas. Both are in the Carroll Independent School District.
Dallas ISD’s William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted holds the No. 1 spot, and one other Dallas ISD school, Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy, also made the top 10, coming in at No. 6.
For the brand-new list, U.S. News ranked schools according to performance on state-required tests, graduation rates, and high school preparedness.
Old Union Elementary School has a student enrollment of 471 in grades Pre-K through four. The publication notes that 98 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 92 percent scored at or above that level for reading.
Other interesting stats: The school’s minority student enrollment is 38 percent; student population is 52 female and 48 percent male; 3 percent of students are classified as economically disadvantaged; and with 36 equivalent full-time teachers, the student-teacher ratio is 13:1, which is better than that of the district, U.S. News says.
The student population of Carroll Elementary is 638 in grades Pre-K through 4, the publication notes. There, 94 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 91 percent scored at or above that level for reading.
The school’s minority student enrollment is 43 percent; student population is 46 percent female and 54 percent male; 2 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged; and with 44 equivalent full-time teachers, the student-teacher ratio is 14:1.
Unlike its annual list of the country’s best high schools, U.S. News & World Report didn’t come up with a national ranking of elementary schools. Rather, it published a ranking for each state.
Top-ranked William B. Travis enrolls students in the fourth through eighth grades, meaning it’s both an elementary school and a middle school. The Vanguard component is a magnet school for fourth- and fifth-graders, and the academy component is a magnet school sixth-, seventh, and eighth-graders. Total enrollment is 521.
The institution “is a premier destination for children and families across the city — a hub for accelerated education, community spirit, and excellence,” according to the school's website. Its academic offerings include language arts, foreign languages, math, science, social studies, humanities, computer science, and fine arts.
Ninety-eight percent of Travis students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 98 percent scored at or above that level for reading.
According to U.S. News, the 10 best elementary schools in Texas are:
- William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted, Dallas ISD.
- Windsor Park G/T Elementary School, Corpus Christi ISD.
- Old Union Elementary School, Carroll ISD.
- Carroll Elementary School, Carroll ISD.
- Hudson Elementary School, Longview ISD.
- Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy, Dallas ISD.
- Canyon Creek Elementary School, Round Rock ISD.
- Carver Center, Midland ISD.
- Cactus Ranch Elementary School, Round Rock ISD.
- Creekside Forest Elementary School, Tomball ISD.
