Ponder Elementary School
Public elementary school in Ponder, Texas · Ponder ISD · Grades Pre-K–5
Ponder Elementary School serves 773 students in grades Pre-K–5 in Ponder (Denton County). It is one of 3 schools in Ponder ISD. By enrollment it is the 543rd 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 ÷ 51.94 full-time-equivalent teachers.
School facts
| School type | Regular School |
| Level | Elementary |
| Grades | Pre-K–5 |
| District | Ponder ISD |
| County | Denton County |
| Area type | Rural, distant |
| School meals | National School Lunch Program, free or reduced price for eligible students |
| NCES school ID | 483531003991 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 directory and school characteristics; area type from NCES EDGE locale codes.
Compared with the district and Texas
| This school | Ponder ISD | Texas elementary schools (median) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 773 | 1,719 | 516 |
| Students per teacher | 14.9 | 13.6 | 14.8 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch eligible | 45.3% | 42.3% | 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.
Ponder Elementary School in context
Size
Ponder Elementary School is the only elementary school in Ponder ISD. Its 773 students are 45% of the district's 1,719. The 8 nearest elementary schools are a median 6.5 miles away and have a median of 618 students, so Ponder Elementary School is larger 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 5 with 142 students, and its smallest is pre-K with 59, against an average of 110 per grade. This year grade 5 has 39% more students than kindergarten (142 against 102). Each grade is a different group of students, so the gap is not a dropout or growth rate. It also enrolls 59 children in pre-K.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership by grade.
Students
White students are the largest group, at 56.1% of enrollment, about the same share as across Ponder ISD (56.5%). Hispanic students are next, at 38.8%. Students from 5 of the 7 race and ethnicity groups NCES reports are enrolled.
45.3% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, against 42.3% across Ponder ISD and a median of 72% for Texas elementary schools. Families apply for free or reduced-price meals, and eligibility depends on household income.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership and school lunch program data. District shares weight each school by its enrollment.
Teachers
Ponder Elementary School has 51.94 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 14.9 students per teacher. At the median Texas elementary school ratio of 14.8, a school with 773 students would have about 52.2 teachers, so Ponder 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 rural, distant, which means it is in rural territory 5 to 25 miles from an urbanized area, or 2.5 to 10 miles from a town. The nearest other elementary school is Jane Ruestmann Elementary School, 5.4 miles away in Argyle ISD. There are 0 elementary schools within 5 miles and 16 within 10 miles.
Source: NCES EDGE school locations and locale codes, 2024-25. Distances are straight lines.
Students by race and ethnicity
| White | 56.1% |
| Hispanic | 38.8% |
| Two or more races | 3.6% |
| Black | 1% |
| Asian | 0.4% |
46.8% of students are girls and 53.2% are boys.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Students by grade
| Pre-K | 59 |
| Kindergarten | 102 |
| Grade 1 | 119 |
| Grade 2 | 114 |
| Grade 3 | 113 |
| Grade 4 | 124 |
| Grade 5 | 142 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Location and contact
401 W Bailey, Ponder, TX 76259
Phone: (940)479-8320
Website: ponderisd.net
Locations: NCES EDGE. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Red: Ponder Elementary School. Blue: the nearest elementary schools.
Nearby elementary schools
| School | District | Distance | Students | Per teacher | Free/reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Ruestmann Elementary School | Argyle ISD | 5.4 mi | 846 | 17.8 | 3.9% |
| Lance Thompson Elementary School | Northwest ISD | 5.7 mi | 701 | 14.6 | 8.6% |
| Argyle West | Argyle ISD | 5.9 mi | 643 | 15.3 | 4.2% |
| Dyer Elementary School | Krum ISD | 6.4 mi | 361 | 14.9 | 51% |
| Blanche Dodd Elementary School | Krum ISD | 6.6 mi | 335 | 13.7 | 32.8% |
| Johnie R Daniel Elementary School | Northwest ISD | 6.9 mi | 593 | 14.2 | 8.3% |
| Dixie Hansel Elementary School | Krum ISD | 7.0 mi | 501 | 15.1 | 46.7% |
| Justin Elementary School | Northwest ISD | 7.1 mi | 667 | 14.9 | 25.3% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Distance in a straight line between NCES EDGE locations.
Other schools in Ponder ISD
| School | Level | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponder High School | High | 9–12 | 557 |
| Ponder Junior High School | Middle | 6–8 | 389 |