Woodlawn Academy, San Antonio TX

Original Research by School Decision on Woodlawn Academy

Woodlawn Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in central San Antonio, operating as part of the San Antonio Independent School District. The school sits in a rapidly growing, densely urban area where downtown anchors civic and cultural life around the San Antonio River Walk, and the surrounding neighborhoods are a mix of historic inner-city housing and newer residential development. San Antonio has emerged as one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities in recent years, and the region is seeing substantial new construction alongside ongoing school facility investments from the district's major 2020 bond measure.

The student body at Woodlawn Academy is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial majority of students coming from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school enrolls a small total population spread across nine grade levels. Kindergarten through second grade are not state-tested in Texas, so no proficiency data are available for those grades. For the grades that are tested, the results show mixed academic performance.

In English language arts, the pattern is uneven by grade. Third and fourth graders who took the STAAR exam in Spanish scored below proficiency overall, but starting in sixth grade students show stronger performance in English-administered tests, with about a third to just over half of students in grades six, seven, and eighth scoring at proficient or above. In math, the picture is more challenging. Third graders on the Spanish version performed at moderate proficiency, and fifth graders performed reasonably well, but fourth and sixth graders showed very low proficiency, as did seventh and eighth graders in English-administered STAAR. Science results are weak across the tested grades, with only a small fraction of fifth graders and a modest portion of eighth graders reaching proficiency. In social studies, the tested grade (eighth) had a very small cohort, making interpretation difficult.

When all tested subjects and grades are combined, Woodlawn Academy's overall proficiency index places the school below the midpoint among the county's other school districts. State testing data alone do not tell the whole story of a school's function or trajectory, but parents looking at this data may want to consult directly with the school about academic supports, remediation efforts, and what accounts for the variation in performance across grades and language-based assessments.

The school operates against the backdrop of significant recent change in San Antonio ISD. In late 2023, the district closed a substantial number of schools as part of a "rightsizing" driven by declining enrollment, which displaced many families. Concurrently, the district has standardized its curriculum across campuses around a phonics-based literacy approach and aligned math instruction district-wide, replacing campus-by-campus variation that had existed before. These are material shifts in how instruction is organized; families considering Woodlawn should be aware that the school is now operating under a common district framework rather than the more decentralized model of the past.

The San Antonio housing market in the school's zip code shows median home values below the state benchmark and monthly rent that is moderate for the region. The neighborhood remains affordable relative to national standards, though housing costs have declined slightly year-over-year. San Antonio's overall economy is anchored by healthcare, military operations, finance and technology, and the city continues to attract residents and new development, including significant apartment construction and affordable housing initiatives.

For families choosing this school, the key consideration is whether the academic profile—particularly the weaker math proficiency and the unevenness across grades—aligns with the level of support they expect or are prepared to supplement. The school's urban location and charter status within the district offer access to the broader San Antonio downtown ecosystem and public transit, and students benefit from the district's facility improvements and standardized curriculum initiatives. A parent may want to discuss with school leadership what interventions are in place for students not yet at proficiency, how the new curriculum alignment is affecting outcomes, and what role family involvement plays in supporting student progress.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 30% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 29% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 65%

School 5% · District 16% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 9% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 21% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 35% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 32% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 44% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 33% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 34% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 34% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 5%

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

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 26%

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

This schoolSAN ANTONIO ISD, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income14%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income67%49 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income34%Higher-income53%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income70%38 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income70%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income56%46 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income4%Higher-income7%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income0%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income11%Higher-income40%29 pp gap