Abilene Times

There were 62 American Indian students enrolled in Taylor County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 1.6% more than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Taylor County welcomed 23,949 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, American Indian students comprised 0.3% of the student body to be the second least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 43 schools in Taylor County, Bassetti Elementary School, Cooper High School, and Wylie East Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of American Indian students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of five students.

Education in Texas is often a hot button issue, especially as test scores lag behind other states.

“The problems commonly cited are flaws in the school financing system, relatively low teacher salary, poor test performance by students…dropouts from traditional schools in favor of charter schools…gun violence, and mental health issues," claimed the Texas Almanac.

School name	% of American Indian students enrolment	Total enrollment
Abilene High School	0.1	1,966
Cooper High School	0.3	1,716
Wylie High School	0.3	1,467
Wylie West Junior High School	0	972
Mann Middle School	0.3	879
Long Early Learning Center	0.4	809
Wylie East Elementary School	0.6	789
Madison Middle School	0.1	785
Craig Middle School	0.1	783
Texas Leadership of Abilene	0	727
Austin Elementary School	0.1	724
Clack Middle School	0	707
Taylor Elementary School	0.5	658
Purcell Elementary School	0.2	635
Dyess Elementary School	0.2	617
Merkel Elementary School	0.4	565
Bassetti Elementary School	0.9	553
Wylie East Junior High School	0.2	524
Ward Elementary School	0.4	494
Ortiz Elementary School	0	484
Bonham Elementary School	0	482
Bowie Elementary School	0	476
Wylie West Intermediate School	0.2	459
Jim Ned High School	0.2	457
Alcorta Elementary School	0.4	451
Stafford Elementary School	0.9	447
Wylie West Elementary School	0	428
Wylie West Early Childhood Center	0.2	421
Thomas Elementary School	0	414
Martinez Elementary School	0.2	412
Lawn Elementary School	1	400
Buffalo Gap Elementary School	0.5	394
Jim Ned Middle School	0	373
Academy for Technology Engineering Math & Science	0	372
Merkel High School	1.2	327
Merkel Middle School	0.8	248
Premier High School of Abilene	0	146
Woodson Center for Excellence	0	139
Trent Independent School District	0	131
DAEP	0	100
Juvenile Detention Center	0	11
Taylor County Learning Center	0	4
Oceans Behavioral Health	0	3