Southwest Schools Bissonnet El Campus, Houston TX

Original Research by School Decision on Southwest Schools Bissonnet El Campus

Southwest Schools Bissonnet El Campus is a small charter elementary school in Houston serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is designated as an alternative school within Southwest Public Schools, a charter district focused on serving students with high academic and social-emotional needs.

The school enrolls students from a community of very high economic need. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the vast majority are Hispanic, with most speaking Spanish at home or as a home language. The school is part of a district with a sustained mission around bilingual education and English language development, though data on current English learner enrollment at this campus was not available.

State test results show low proficiency across the tested grades and subjects. In math, third-grade students had proficiency rates below the threshold, fourth-graders showed modest improvement, and fifth-graders reached the midpoint at roughly half. In English language arts, third-graders tested in Spanish had very low proficiency, fourth-graders in English performed modestly, and fifth-graders reached similar levels to their math performance. Fifth-grade science proficiency was similarly low. Across all tested domains, students at this campus perform well below the midpoint among schools in Harris County. On the district's statewide accountability rating, Southwest Public Schools as a whole earned a solid overall mark for 2024-2025, but Bissonnet campus received a lower rating, reflecting the gap between the school and its district peer.

The trend across grade levels offers a qualified signal: proficiency generally rises from third to fifth grade in both math and reading, which suggests that students may be building skills over time within the elementary band, though absolute performance remains a concern. A parent may want to look into further with the school whether this trajectory continues beyond fifth grade and what instructional approaches are driving any gains.

The school's alternative designation and charter status signal that it operates with flexibility in curriculum and pedagogy. The district's established focus on bilingual programming suggests that language development, whether for Spanish-dominant students learning English or English speakers learning Spanish, is a core thread. Both of these are characteristics to understand in depth directly from the school if you are considering enrollment.

The surrounding Houston neighborhood reflects the city's mixed-use, low-zoning pattern, with residential and commercial properties coexisting. Median home values in the school's zip code are below the state benchmark and have declined modestly year-over-year. Rental prices have also declined slightly. The area is part of a fast-growing metropolitan region, though growth has been shifting outward to suburban counties; the immediate neighborhood reflects the economic profile of the families the school serves.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 18% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 27% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 50% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 27% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 22% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 23% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 25% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

This schoolSOUTHWEST PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 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.