There were 8,857 Black students enrolled in Ellis County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 3.7% more than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Data showed that Ellis County welcomed 44,894 students during the 2024-25 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 19.7% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.
Among the 67 schools in Ellis County, Red Oak High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students, with a total of 924.
A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.
Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing Texas’ school districts. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.
“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock stated in an interview.
| School name | % Black students | Total enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Waxahachie High School | 21.2% | 3,056 |
| Red Oak High School | 40.2% | 2,297 |
| Midlothian High School | 18.9% | 1,976 |
| Ennis High School | 14.9% | 1,887 |
| Midlothian Heritage High School | 13% | 1,760 |
| Red Oak Middle School | 39.4% | 1,488 |
| Life High School Waxahachie | 43% | 1,114 |
| Life School Red Oak | 30% | 1,045 |
| Walnut Grove Middle School | 11.7% | 1,012 |
| Earl & Marthalu Dieterich Middle School | 13.3% | 989 |
| Ferris High School | 10.7% | 940 |
| Robbie E. Howard Junior High School | 24.8% | 918 |
| Ennis Junior High School | 15.5% | 908 |
| Eddie Finley Senior Junior High School | 17.3% | 839 |
| Evelyn Love Coleman Junior High School | 17.3% | 775 |
| Russell P. Schupmann Elementary School | 54.1% | 756 |
| Frank Seale Middle School | 22.9% | 726 |
| Longbranch Elementary School | 14.3% | 686 |
| New Elementary #8 | 23.2% | 671 |
| Ferris Junior High School | 11.7% | 658 |
| J. A. Vitovsky Elementary School | 20.8% | 658 |
| Lucy Mae McDonald Elementary School | 8.6% | 641 |
| Shields Elementary School | 37.8% | 625 |
| Irvin Elementary School | 12.1% | 611 |
| Dolores McClatchey Elementary School | 10.7% | 605 |
| T. E. Baxter Elementary School | 15.5% | 594 |
| Wedgeworth Elementary School | 13.5% | 594 |
| Max H. Simpson Elementary School | 18.9% | 592 |
| Mt. Peak Elementary School | 15% | 567 |
| Life Middle Waxahachie | 43.4% | 551 |
| Marvin Elementary School | 22.6% | 535 |
| Eastridge Elementary School | 25.8% | 530 |
| Dunaway Elementary School | 4% | 525 |
| Palmer Elementary School | 1.1% | 525 |
| Jack Lummus Intermediate School | 17.7% | 515 |
| Wooden Elementary School | 7.5% | 508 |
| Bowie Elementary School | 13.2% | 506 |
| Larue Miller Elementary School | 6.2% | 500 |
| Red Oak Elementary School | 40.7% | 491 |
| Northside Elementary School | 19.8% | 480 |
| David S. Crockett Early Childhood Center | 9.6% | 479 |
| Margaret L. Felty Elementary School | 22.3% | 471 |
| Shackelford Elementary School | 8.4% | 452 |
| Oliver E. Clift Elementary School | 38.1% | 449 |
| Dorie Miller Intermediate School | 14.1% | 447 |
| Wilemon Steam Academy | 6.6% | 437 |
| Lee Longino Elementary School | 6.9% | 436 |
| Palmer Middle School | 1.7% | 423 |
| G. W. Carver Early Childhood Center | 18.4% | 407 |
| Palmer High School | 1.5% | 403 |
| Austin Elementary School | 9.1% | 394 |
| Maypearl High School | 1.9% | 373 |
| Waxahachie Global High School | 12.5% | 369 |
| Faith Family Master Academy | 39.9% | 366 |
| Houston Elementary School | 14.9% | 363 |
| Avalon School | 2% | 347 |
| Lorene Smith Kirkpatrick Elementary School | 1.5% | 342 |
| Hazel Ingram Elementary School | 4.5% | 335 |
| Stafford Elementary School | 8.9% | 314 |
| Italy High School | 11% | 283 |
| Travis Elementary School | 23.6% | 280 |
| Maypearl Middle School | 1.5% | 265 |
| Milford School | 15.9% | 258 |
| Turner Prekindergarten Academy | 24.2% | 256 |
| Maypearl Primary School | 1.7% | 229 |
| Waxahachie High School of Choice | 17.9% | 56 |
| Ellis County JJAEP | 66.7% | 6 |
Information in this article was obtained from the Texas Education Agency. The source data can be found here.
