Dr M L Garza-gonzalez Charter School, Corpus Christi TX

Original Research by School Decision on Dr M L Garza-gonzalez Charter School

Dr. M L Garza-Gonzalez Charter School is a small alternative charter serving pre-K through eighth grade in Corpus Christi. It enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a very high share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school sits in a city that is car-dependent and sprawling, anchored by military, energy, healthcare, and port economies, with new housing development accelerating on the Southside and westside.

The school's state assessment results show uneven performance across grades and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency is stronger in the upper middle grades, particularly in fifth and eighth grade where students demonstrate solid reading and writing capability. Math proficiency is weaker overall and drops sharply in fourth grade before recovering in fifth and eighth. Science proficiency is quite low in fifth grade but improves by eighth. Social studies results, available only for eighth grade, show low proficiency. The pattern across subjects suggests variability in how well students master grade-level content, with some grades and student cohorts performing considerably better than others. A parent may want to ask the school directly about what accounts for these grade-to-grade differences and what supports the school provides to students who do not meet proficiency.

The school's status as an alternative charter means it likely serves students with distinct needs or learning profiles compared to traditional district schools. The data provided does not specify what alternative pathway or population the school serves—whether it focuses on students returning from other placements, a particular pedagogy, or specific behavioral or academic support. This is important context a parent would want to understand directly from the school, as the alternative designation shapes the mission and structure significantly.

Enrollment is small, concentrated in the lower elementary and middle grades. The school does not report results for kindergarten or first and second grades, which typically do not take state assessments in Texas, so testing visibility begins in third grade. Housing in the broader Corpus Christi area is affordable relative to state benchmarks, though prices have declined modestly in recent months. The city's labor force growth has been modest, but new residential development is picking up, particularly on the Southside.

Among the districts in Nueces County, this school's overall proficiency index places it below the median, a reflection of the mixed testing picture across grades and subjects. No graduation rate, chronic absenteeism data, or attendance figures are available for this school, which is typical for elementary and middle schools that do not generate those metrics. Enrollment counts, staffing levels, course offerings, and civil-rights reporting were also not provided in the available data. A parent considering this school should reach out to the administration to learn more about the school's alternative model, support structures, how it identifies and serves its students, and what pathways it offers as students prepare to enter high school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolDR M L GARZA-GONZALEZ CHARTER SCHOOL, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.