Standing in the heart of southeast Dallas, a unique gem known as School for the Talented & Gifted in Pleasant Grove offers expanding opportunities to its students.
Established in 2018 with three grade levels, the A-rated school began as a renovated church and is rapidly transforming the educational landscape. Before STAG, students seeking a Montessori or magnet school would have to travel outside their neighborhood.
Now in its sixth year, it includes two additional grade levels, setting itself apart as the only fourth through eighth grade magnet dual-language campus in Texas.
For Reymundo Cervantes-Guajardo, the current principal and a 2023 Master Principal, the school’s motto, “achieving with effort, excelling with persistence,” embodies the success of STAG.
“It started with the idea of creating a school that is going to push and support the dual-language program within a magnet learning environment,” Cervantes-Guajardo said. “The performance of students since then has been showing up in state assessments, competitions, extracurricular activities, programs, you name it. And that’s because of the participation of teachers and parents.”
Compared to other elementary and middle schools in Texas, it ranks at No. 14 among elementary schools and No. 28 among middle schools, according to U.S. News World & Report.
There is also an 87% low socioeconomic student population, and at least 97% of students go on to attend a high school specialized in either magnet education or career readiness.
Dallas ISD alum and assistant principal Ernesto Delgado says students are offered dual credit courses, which allow them to take the AP test in high school, and that they are required to complete at least two courses in Spanish by the end of the school year.
“We want to make sure our students are high-achieving by bilingual, bi-literate, and bicultural standards,” Delgado said. “Those are our pillars because we don’t want students to just have a spoken understanding of Spanish and English, but translanguaging.”
Last year, as part of a bond package, STAG was able to build a new wing featuring an open-air learning area, STEM classroom, cafeteria, and gymnasium.
Looking ahead, the school continues to evolve its offerings with plans to introduce dual-language math and other advanced placement preparation courses. By focusing on continuous improvement and responding to the needs of the community, STAG exemplifies what it means to be a hidden gem.
“Our main focus is to be a safe place that people know is high achieving, and at the same time, a place that you can call a second home,” Cervantes-Guajardo said.
