Laredo Times

Hispanic students made up the largest ethnic group in Zapata County schools in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of the 3,376 students attending Zapata County schools, 99.4% were Hispanic. White students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 0.4% of the total enrollment.

In the previous school year, Hispanic students also made up the largest ethnic group in Zapata County, comprising 99.3% of the student body.

Zapata Middle School had the most diverse student body in Zapata County, including white, American Indian, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and multiracial.

In the 2022-23 school year, total public school enrollment in the county increased by 2.7% when compared to the previous year.

Texas is found to be one of the least educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state's school district. Per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.

School name	Most prevalent ethnic group	Percent of Total Student Body	Total enrollment
Benavides Elementary School	Hispanic	100%	61
Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary School	Hispanic	99.3%	449
Zapata High School	Hispanic	99.6%	1,034
Zapata Middle School	Hispanic	98.6%	784
Zapata North Elementary School	Hispanic	99.7%	581
Zapata South Elementary School	Hispanic	99.8%	467