Longview Times

Upshur County schools enrolled 5,216 students who identified as economically disadvantaged in the state during the 2022-23 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of the 8,012 students enrolled in Upshur County schools, 65.1% were considered economically disadvantaged. This is a 1% decrease from the previous school year.

Upshur County enrolled the 73rd highest number of students identified as economically disadvantaged among Texas counties.

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	Number of Economically Disadvantaged Students	Total Number of Students
Gilmer Elementary School	954	1,179
Gilmer High School	595	815
Gladewater High School	336	459
Bruce Junior High School	335	429
Gilmer Intermediate School	306	402
Ore City Elementary School	305	399
Big Sandy Elementary School	261	337
Robert F. Hunt Elementary School	249	574
Union Grove Elementary School	208	406
Harmony Elementary School	194	313
Ore City High School	151	243
Harmony High School	150	282
New Diana High School	134	330
Ore City Middle School	124	183
New Diana Middle School	121	282
Harmony Junior High School	119	258
Big Sandy High School	118	189
Union Hill High School	107	143
Big Sandy Junior High School	103	145
Harmony Intermediate School	89	156
Union Grove High School	87	229
Sharon A. Richardson Elementary School	86	111
Union Grove Junior High School	62	126
Azleway - Big Sandy	22	22