Santa Maria ISD
Santa Maria, Texas · Cameron County · Grades Pre-K–12
Santa Maria ISD runs 3 schools (1 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high) with 512 students. By enrollment it is the 794th largest of 1210 districts in Texas, where the median district has 886 students. NCES classifies its area as rural, fringe.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Rank compares the 1210 Texas districts listed on this site.
District at a glance
| Schools | 3 |
| Students | 512 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 53.7 |
| Students per teacher | 9.5 (state 14.9) |
| Free or reduced-price lunch eligible | 98.7% (state 61.6%) |
| County | Cameron County |
| Area type | Rural, fringe |
| NCES district ID | 4839330 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25, totals of the district's schools. Students per teacher = students ÷ full-time-equivalent teachers.
Schools in Santa Maria ISD
| School | Level | Grades | Students | Per teacher | Free/reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria High School | High | 9–12 | 165 | 7 | 97.6% |
| Santa Maria Middle School | Middle | 6–8 | 123 | 9.8 | 98.4% |
| Tony Gonzalez Elementary School | Elementary | Pre-K–5 | 224 | 12.7 | 99.6% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25.
Map of Santa Maria ISD schools
Locations: NCES EDGE. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Santa Maria ISD in context
Size
Santa Maria ISD enrolls less than 0.1% of Texas' 5,544,769 public school students and is smaller than the median district (886 students). The largest of its schools is Tony Gonzalez Elementary School with 224 students, and the smallest is Santa Maria Middle School with 123; the average is 171, against 626 statewide.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 enrollment. Share = district students ÷ all students in Texas schools listed here; averages = students ÷ schools.
Grades
Its largest grade this year is grade 10, with 50 students. Grade 12 has 41 students and kindergarten has 22, 86% more in the later grade. Each grade is a different group of students, so this is not a dropout or growth rate. Santa Maria ISD enrolls 38 children in pre-K.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership by grade, all schools in the district.
Students
Hispanic students are the largest group in Santa Maria ISD at 99%, above their 53.5% share of Texas public school students.
98.7% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, against 61.6% statewide. By school, the share runs from 97.6% at Santa Maria High School to 99.6% at Tony Gonzalez Elementary School. All 3 of its schools serve free breakfast and lunch to every student under the Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2 or 3, with no application.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership and school lunch program data. District and state shares weight each school by its enrollment.
Staff
Its 53.7 full-time-equivalent teachers work out to 9.5 students per teacher, fewer than the state's 14.9. With 4 counselors it has 128 students per counselor; the median Texas district has 379, and the American School Counselor Association recommends no more than 250. It reports no librarians or media specialists.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 district staff file (full-time equivalents). Students per counselor = district students ÷ counselors. Benchmark: American School Counselor Association, 250 students per counselor.
Location
Santa Maria ISD is based in rural territory within 5 miles of an urbanized area or 2.5 miles of a town, an area NCES calls rural, fringe. The nearest district is Triumph Public High Schools-Rio Grande Valley, 2.7 miles away with 457 students. 21 districts are within 25 miles, and 19 of them enroll more students than Santa Maria ISD. Cameron County has 9 districts on this site.
Source: NCES EDGE locations and locale codes, 2024-25. Distances are straight lines between the average locations of each district's schools.
Staff
| Role | Full-time equivalent | Students per staff member |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers | 53.7 | 10 |
| School counselors | 4 | 128 |
| Librarians and media specialists | 0 | – |
| School psychologists | 0 | – |
| Instructional aides | 1 | 512 |
| Other student support staff | 9.1 | 56 |
| School administrators | 3 | 171 |
| District administrators | 4 | 128 |
| All staff | 128.9 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 district staff file. Students per staff member = district students ÷ full-time-equivalent staff in that role. The median Texas district has 379 students per counselor.
Students by race and ethnicity
| Hispanic | 99% |
| White | 0.8% |
| Black | 0.2% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership, all schools in the district.
Students by grade
| Pre-K | 38 |
| Kindergarten | 22 |
| Grade 1 | 24 |
| Grade 2 | 41 |
| Grade 3 | 33 |
| Grade 4 | 45 |
| Grade 5 | 21 |
| Grade 6 | 35 |
| Grade 7 | 42 |
| Grade 8 | 46 |
| Grade 9 | 30 |
| Grade 10 | 50 |
| Grade 11 | 44 |
| Grade 12 | 41 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Nearby school districts
| District | Distance | Students | Per teacher | Calendar 2026–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triumph Public High Schools-Rio Grande Valley | 3 mi | 457 | 19.3 | – |
| La Feria ISD | 6 mi | 2,842 | 14.1 | – |
| Progreso ISD | 7 mi | 1,339 | 13.8 | – |
| Mercedes ISD | 8 mi | 4,207 | 14.2 | – |
| South Texas ISD | 8 mi | 4,639 | 14.1 | – |
| Weslaco ISD | 11 mi | 16,300 | 19.2 | – |
| Harlingen CISD | 12 mi | 16,471 | 14.3 | – |
| Santa Rosa ISD | 13 mi | 874 | 10.7 | – |
Distance between the average locations of each district's schools (NCES EDGE).
Other school districts in Cameron County
- Brownsville ISD (36,140 students)
- Harlingen CISD (16,471 students)
- Los Fresnos CISD (10,357 students)
- San Benito CISD (9,073 students)
- La Feria ISD (2,842 students)
- Point Isabel ISD (1,786 students)
- Rio Hondo ISD (1,437 students)
- Santa Rosa ISD (874 students)
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25, county of each district's office.
Contact
11119 Military Hwy 281, Santa Maria, TX 78592
Phone: (956)565-6308
Website: smisd.net
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 directory.