The top reported proficiency rate is 90% in Science. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Don Jose Gallego
Don Jose Gallego is a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade public elementary school in Laredo, part of Laredo ISD. It sits on Clark Boulevard in a city whose daily rhythms are shaped by international trade, family-oriented neighborhoods, and a culture that is essentially entirely Hispanic. The school's student body mirrors the city: every enrolled student who is racially identified is Hispanic, and nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For families already embedded in this community, that context will feel entirely familiar. For those arriving from elsewhere, it is worth knowing upfront that this is one of the most economically and demographically concentrated student populations you will find anywhere in Texas.
The school's state assessment results, available only for the most recently reported year, tell a genuinely mixed story. The standout is fifth-grade science, where the vast majority of tested students reached proficiency on STAAR, a clear strength. Social studies performance across tested grades was similarly strong, with nearly all students reaching the approaches-grade-level threshold and a large share reaching the higher meets-grade-level bar. Reading and ELA results in the upper elementary grades were more moderate, with roughly half to slightly more than half of students reaching proficiency depending on the grade. Math is the softer spot: while the approaches rate across grades was somewhat lower than ELA, the fifth-grade math proficiency rate was well below half, and the share reaching the masters level was quite thin. Grades three and four math and reading results were not reportable at all, likely because the tested groups in those grades were too small to report without masking individual students. Those gaps are not a signal of failure so much as a data artifact from small cohorts, but a parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly about how younger grades are performing.
When placed against other districts in Webb County, Gallego's overall proficiency index sits well above the midpoint of that comparison set, in the top position among the districts measured. That standing is worth noting, though it reflects the school's performance within a county context rather than a statewide or national one.
Enrollment runs to a mid-sized figure for a PK-5 campus, spread fairly evenly across grade levels with a meaningful pre-K cohort. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no specialized program offerings were identified in the data provided.
The broader Laredo ISD picture matters here. Publicly reported coverage indicates the district has experienced a sustained enrollment decline over several years, tied to demographic shifts and some movement toward private and charter options. Because Texas funding follows attendance, that decline has tightened the budget, and forecasts suggest continued pressure. Families considering a long-term commitment to LISD campuses should factor in the possibility of future program changes or consolidation. On the other side of the ledger, LISD operates a network of specialty and early-college high schools covering dozens of programs of study, meaning that a student who begins at Gallego has access, in later years, to career-focused and college-credit pathways that are a genuine strength of the district.
Housing near the school is notably affordable relative to state and national benchmarks. Home values in the area are well below the Texas median, and the price-to-income ratio is low by national comparison, making homeownership accessible to a wider range of families than in most Texas cities. Laredo itself is a growing city, with expansion pressing north and east, new master-planned development underway, and a downtown that retains a walkable, plaza-centered character even as most of the city remains car-dependent.
Chronic absenteeism and English learner data were not available in what was provided, which is a gap worth raising with the school given Laredo's large bilingual population and the known connection between attendance and elementary outcomes.
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