The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gilbert Cuellar Sr El
Gilbert Cuellar Sr Elementary is a small, early-grades public school in southern Dallas serving prekindergarten through fifth grade. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a substantial majority qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school sits within Dallas ISD, which in May 2026 approved a major bond that will replace aging schools and eliminate portable classrooms over the coming years, a development that may affect facility upgrades at this campus.
Academic performance at Gilbert Cuellar Sr is below the middle of the county's district range. On the 2024-25 STAAR assessments, proficiency rates were modest across tested grades and subjects. In fourth-grade math and English language arts, roughly four in ten students scored at the proficient level. Fifth-grade results were weaker: only about one in five students met math proficiency, and only about one in three scored at standard in science. English language arts in fifth grade sat at about four in ten proficient. Grade three showed a similar pattern, with about four in ten students proficient in both ELA and math. The available data does not flag a trend, as only one school year of results is provided. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among the county's districts, but this reflects performance when measured across all tested grades and subjects in aggregate. Parents looking at year-to-year performance patterns may want to check with the school directly for earlier-year results.
The school's grade configuration means it has no graduation rate or post-secondary outcome data. State testing does not begin until grade three, so early grades have no state accountability measures. District-wide changes to math curriculum and the shift from opt-in to opt-out honors enrollment began in earlier school years, so the effects of those changes may be reflected in current classroom instruction.
The enrollment is small for its grade band, with a majority of students in the early grades and a declining headcount as students move toward fifth grade. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the surrounding neighborhood. The school's location in south Dallas, near the UNT Dallas campus, sits within a zone experiencing significant new residential development, including University Hills, a master-planned community with new housing, apartments, and mixed-use space. This growth may reshape the school's catchment area demographics over time.
Parents considering this school should understand it as a high-need, Spanish-language-assessed elementary campus with modest current proficiency levels and a student population that faces economic constraints. The small enrollment in upper grades suggests some families may transition their children elsewhere for middle school. The broader Dallas ISD context includes recent shifts toward broader honors access and reduced test-prep teaching, and the bond approved in 2026 may eventually improve physical infrastructure, though the timeline for upgrades to this particular campus is not yet clear.
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