The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Math. The lowest is 9% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Nettie Baccus El
Nettie Baccus Elementary is a pre-K through fifth-grade school in Granbury, located in Hood County in north-central Texas. The school serves a community experiencing rapid residential growth anchored by a restored courthouse-square downtown, a developing lakefront, and a sprawl of new subdivisions and planned communities across the area.
The school enrolls a student body that is majority white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller representations of other groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population reflects both the area's growth and its economic diversity. The school does not report English learner or special education enrollment counts, so exact numbers in those categories are not available.
On state assessments in math, proficiency in third grade falls noticeably below the county's typical performance. Fourth- and fifth-grade math results are modestly stronger but still sit below the middle of Hood County's district range. Reading results on the Spanish-language assessment are very low for the small number of students tested at grades three through five, which suggests either that the program is in early stages or that the student cohort taking that assessment faces particular challenges. Science results in fifth grade show a similar profile to math: below the county median. Across all tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's districts. The school meets or approaches proficiency at higher rates than it demonstrates proficiency itself, indicating that many students are progressing but not yet meeting grade-level standards.
The school is not a magnet or charter; it is a regular public school within Granbury ISD. The district itself is navigating a period of constraint. Voters have rejected three bond measures in five years, most recently in May 2024, meaning planned construction of a new elementary school, campus renovations, and fleet updates remain unfunded despite the district's growth. The district did win approval in November 2023 for a voter-approved tax rate election that funds teacher pay increases, smaller class sizes, and security improvements, a measure now in effect. The district has also cut its property tax rate for a decade straight. In January 2022, the district removed library books from shelves following a regulatory change allowing certain titles to be removed outside the standard challenge process; subsequent federal investigation prompted return of most books, though the episode and revised review process remain part of the district's civic record.
Granbury itself is a micropolitan city with strong identity tied to its historic square, an event-and-tourism focus branding it the "Celebration Capital of Texas," and large-scale residential development concentrated around Lake Granbury and along the Brazos River. Health care, retail, and construction anchor local employment. Housing is appreciating modestly, and rental costs are rising slightly. The area is mid-affordable relative to national benchmarks, with mortgage payments substantially higher than rents. The city has built a hike-and-bike trail that connects parks, the library, and some school sites, though most school campuses are on separated sites away from the downtown core.
For families considering this school, the central question is whether they believe the school's current academic outcomes reflect the level of support they want for their child and whether the school's profile in a growing but financially constrained district matches their expectations and priorities. A parent may want to look further into what instruction in the Spanish language program entails and what academic support the school offers for students not yet at grade level in math. The school's setting is rural-suburban, its enrollment stable at a modest size for its grade band, and its community is growing, which can mean both new families and resource strain.
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