The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Raul Garza Jr Steam Academy
Raul Garza Jr. STEAM Academy serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in San Benito, a small city in Cameron County about ten miles from the Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley. The school sits in a community with a residential, family-focused character alongside a commercial core anchored by Route 77, and a historic downtown with local taquerias, shops, and murals. The city is nicknamed "Resaca City" for the waterway that runs through it.
The academy's enrollment sits in the low hundreds across its grade band. More than four-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a very small share of white students and no reported enrollment from other racial or ethnic groups. The school is not a charter and is part of the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District.
On the most recent state assessments, the school's performance in elementary reading and math shows mixed results across grade levels. In English language arts, students in fourth grade posted the strongest proficiency rate, while third graders showed the lowest. Math proficiency was highest in fourth grade and weakest in third grade. Fifth-grade results in both subjects fell in the middle range. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the county's districts, a distinction worth noting given the economic pressures evident in the student population. When Texas breaks down performance into achievement levels, a majority of students statewide reach the "meets grade level" standard or above; here, students more often cluster at the "approaches grade level" level, particularly in math. Science was tested at only a minimal level and no proficiency data is reported.
The school's name signals an emphasis on STEAM subjects—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics—though specific program details and course offerings were not available to review. State testing participation rates were not reported, and no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios appears in the available records.
San Benito itself is situated in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. New residential development is active, with homebuying and rental markets both showing modest affordability relative to national benchmarks. The city's largest employers have historically included the school district itself, plus industrial and warehousing operations tied to cross-border trade, healthcare systems in nearby Harlingen, and a major recreational-vehicle resort. Recent regional investments like SpaceX Starbase, Amazon logistics expansion, and LNG infrastructure development are drawing multifamily housing investment and occupancy is reported as high. A small-town feel and strong Mexican-influenced character define day-to-day civic life, with public parks, a library with a newly launched mobile outreach program, and downtown gathering spaces providing community anchors. No fixed-route municipal transit system is publicly reported.
For a family considering this school, the context is a genuinely economically challenged student population in a region experiencing rapid regional growth and housing investment. The school's STEAM focus signals pedagogical intention, but that framing alone does not resolve the softer testing proficiency numbers. A parent may want to look into further with the school what specific programs and supports exist to move elementary readers and mathematicians from approaches-level to meets-level performance, and how the school measures progress in STEAM learning beyond state testing.
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