Petersen Elementary School
Public elementary school in Houston, Texas · Houston ISD · Grades Pre-K–5
Petersen Elementary School serves 357 students in grades Pre-K–5 in Houston (Harris County). It is one of 273 schools in Houston ISD. By enrollment it is the 3778th largest of 4,726 public elementary schools in Texas (median 516 students). With 14.9 students per full-time teacher, it has about the same as the typical Texas elementary school (14.8).
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Rank and medians compare all 4,726 Texas elementary schools with enrollment listed on this site.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Students per teacher = students ÷ 24 full-time-equivalent teachers.
School facts
| School type | Regular School |
| Level | Elementary |
| Grades | Pre-K–5 |
| District | Houston ISD |
| County | Harris County |
| Area type | City, large |
| School meals | Free meals for every student (Community Eligibility Provision) |
| NCES school ID | 482364002554 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 directory and school characteristics; area type from NCES EDGE locale codes.
Compared with the district and Texas
| This school | Houston ISD | Texas elementary schools (median) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 357 | 176,727 | 516 |
| Students per teacher | 14.9 | 16.1 | 14.8 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch eligible | 96.1% | 79.3% | 72% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. District figures add up its schools. 51% of Texas elementary schools have fewer students per teacher than this school (share of schools with a lower ratio). State test results aren't published here yet.
Petersen Elementary School in context
Size
Petersen Elementary School is the 130th largest of Houston ISD's 178 elementary schools; its 357 students are 0.2% of district enrollment. The 8 nearest elementary schools are a median 1.6 miles away and have a median of 447 students, so Petersen Elementary School is smaller than most of them.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 enrollment and school type. Share of district students = this school's students ÷ the district's students. Nearest schools by straight-line distance between NCES EDGE locations.
Grades
Its largest grade is grade 4 with 63 students, and its smallest is grade 1 with 34, against an average of 51 per grade. This year grade 5 has 27% more students than kindergarten (57 against 45). Each grade is a different group of students, so the gap is not a dropout or growth rate. It also enrolls 44 children in pre-K.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership by grade.
Students
Hispanic students are the largest group, at 72.5% of enrollment, a higher share than across Houston ISD (61.7%). Black students are next, at 24.9%. Students from 6 of the 7 race and ethnicity groups NCES reports are enrolled.
96.1% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, against 79.3% across Houston ISD and a median of 72% for Texas elementary schools. Under the Community Eligibility Provision, every student can eat breakfast and lunch at no charge, and families fill out no meal application.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership and school lunch program data. District shares weight each school by its enrollment.
Teachers
Petersen Elementary School has 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 14.9 students per teacher. At the median Texas elementary school ratio of 14.8, a school with 357 students would have about 24.1 teachers, so Petersen Elementary School has about as many as that.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Expected teachers = this school's students ÷ the median students per teacher of Texas elementary schools (14.8).
Location
NCES classifies its location as city, large, which means it is inside a principal city of 250,000 people or more. The nearest other elementary school is King Early Childhood Center, 0.7 miles away in the same district. There are 38 elementary schools within 5 miles and 169 within 10 miles.
Source: NCES EDGE school locations and locale codes, 2024-25. Distances are straight lines.
Students by race and ethnicity
| Hispanic | 72.5% |
| Black | 24.9% |
| Asian | 1.4% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 0.3% |
| White | 0.3% |
45.1% of students are girls and 54.9% are boys.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Students by grade
| Pre-K | 44 |
| Kindergarten | 45 |
| Grade 1 | 34 |
| Grade 2 | 53 |
| Grade 3 | 61 |
| Grade 4 | 63 |
| Grade 5 | 57 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Location and contact
14404 Waterloo Dr., Houston, TX 77045
Phone: (713)434-5630
Website: houstonisd.org
Locations: NCES EDGE. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Red: Petersen Elementary School. Blue: the nearest elementary schools.
Nearby elementary schools
| School | District | Distance | Students | Per teacher | Free/reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Early Childhood Center | Houston ISD | 0.7 mi | 299 | 17.6 | 99.3% |
| Montgomery Elementary School | Houston ISD | 0.7 mi | 373 | 12.9 | 92.5% |
| Almeda Elementary School | Houston ISD | 1.3 mi | 707 | 15.4 | 95.5% |
| Hobby Elementary School | Houston ISD | 1.4 mi | 447 | 13.2 | 97.1% |
| Grissom Elementary School | Houston ISD | 1.8 mi | 424 | 12.8 | 95% |
| Reagan K-8 Educational Center | Houston ISD | 1.9 mi | 682 | 12.7 | 93.1% |
| YES Prep Southwest Oaks Elementary School | YES Prep Public Schools Inc | 2.2 mi | 447 | 16.2 | 85.7% |
| Windsor Village Elementary School | Houston ISD | 2.7 mi | 628 | 16.5 | 98.4% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Distance in a straight line between NCES EDGE locations.