The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Apollo J H
Apollo Junior High serves grades seven and eight in Richardson, a city with a diversified economy anchored by major employers in telecommunications, insurance, and technology. The school sits within Richardson ISD, which is in the midst of a major structural transition: the district is converting from a junior-high model to a middle-school model, with grades six through eight moving together. Apollo itself opened as a middle school with sixth-graders in the 2024-25 school year, part of the first cohort of this change. Two other campuses made the shift that year; the remaining six junior highs are scheduled to complete the transition by fall 2028. This reconfiguration is foundational to the district and means families choosing Apollo are entering a school in an active period of model implementation.
The school enrolls a student body that is economically mixed and racially diverse. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. By racial and ethnic composition, the enrollment is roughly split among Hispanic students, Black students, and white students, with Asian students representing a smaller but meaningful share.
On the most recent state assessments, Apollo's proficiency rates show strength in English language arts and a gap in mathematics. In eighth-grade English, the proficiency rate is in the strong range. Seventh-grade English proficiency is also solid. Mathematics tells a different story: in eighth-grade math, the proficiency rate is quite low, and this is the school's most pressing academic soft spot. Science proficiency is moderate. Social studies proficiency is below proficiency in English but above mathematics. Across all subjects combined, when counting the lower performance bar (students meeting or approaching proficiency), the school's performance sits in the top quartile relative to districts in Dallas County. This positioning reflects that Apollo's English performance is strong enough to lift the overall profile despite the mathematics challenge. A parent might want to look into whether the school has specific interventions in place for eighth-grade math, or how the sixth-grade cohort's math foundation is being built now that the grade has shifted to the middle-school campus.
The housing market in the 75081 zip code reflects an area with solid median home values. Renters find the market modestly less expensive as a proportion of household income than mortgage payments, and both are accessible relative to regional benchmarks. This is a neighborhood where middle-class families with children can reasonably establish themselves.
Richardson itself is characterized by mixed neighborhoods and a substantial employment base. The city is best known as the heart of the Telecom Corridor, a major regional employment center. It also retains an eclectic older core district anchored by independent businesses along Main Street and Greenville Avenue. The CORE District downtown is undergoing transformation with a new public safety campus, public art, roadway and pedestrian improvements, and adaptive reuse projects. The University of Texas at Dallas operates a large research campus within the city and is a major employer and civic anchor. The planned DART Cotton Belt line will add a station at UT Dallas, connecting the university further to the regional transit network.
Richardson ISD has just secured a substantial bond package approved by voters in November 2025, the district's largest to date. The bond funds a new district-wide Career and Technical Education Center serving students from all four high schools, completion of the middle school transformation, replacement technology devices, and stadium upgrades. It was approved alongside a school tax rate increase. For a family considering a move into the district, this represents significant ongoing investment and a meaningful rise in property tax obligation tied to schools. The grade reconfiguration Apollo is part of is one piece of this broader district reshaping.
Apollo serves a typical middle-school grade band within a regular public school setting. The school's strength in English language arts and its position in the county's top quartile on overall proficiency are assets. The mathematics proficiency gap, however, is substantial enough that parents should understand it as a primary focus area and ask the school directly about support structures and instructional approaches for students struggling in eighth-grade math.
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