Celestino Mauricio Soto Jr El, Dallas TX

Original Research by School Decision on Celestino Mauricio Soto Jr El

Celestino Mauricio Soto Jr. Elementary is a small primary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in south Dallas. The school enrolls students from a highly economically disadvantaged community. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic. The school sits within Dallas ISD, which serves the city and surrounding areas and has been undergoing significant operational and curricular shifts in recent years.

State testing results from the most recent school year show mixed performance across subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rises with grade level, beginning at lower rates in third grade and reaching close to half of students meeting the standard by fourth and fifth grades. English language arts shows stronger performance in the upper grades, particularly in fifth grade where proficiency reaches higher levels, though results in third grade on Spanish-language tests were notably weaker. Science proficiency in fifth grade was quite low. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile when compared against other schools in Dallas County, a meaningful strength given the student population's socioeconomic profile.

The school's context reflects Dallas's ongoing growth and physical transformation. Dallas ISD voters approved a historic bond in May 2026 to replace 26 aging schools and eliminate portable classrooms district-wide over the next five years. Parents with children at Soto Jr. may want to look into whether this school is among those targeted for replacement or renovation, as that would directly shape the learning environment going forward.

The district has made deliberate changes to its instructional approach. It shifted advanced course enrollment from opt-in to opt-out, automatically placing students who score well on state exams into honors tracks; that opened college-prep pathways to more students. The district also adopted a new districtwide math curriculum and ended its internal test-prep regimen, eliminating the Assessment of Course Performance exams so teachers focus less on teaching to the test. These shifts affect daily instruction across all grade levels.

Housing in the school's zip code area reflects affordability relative to other Dallas neighborhoods, with median home values notably lower than county and state benchmarks. Rental rates are similarly modest. The area sits within south Dallas, which has seen substantial new development including the University Hills mixed-use project adjacent to UNT Dallas, bringing new residential and commercial activity to the region.

Soto Jr. serves a student population with substantial economic need and limited English proficiency diversity in instruction. The school's state performance is solid in reading and math in the upper elementary grades and ranks favorably against comparable schools in the county, though science attainment is a softer area. Parents seeking a small elementary in a working-class neighborhood with Spanish-language instruction will find a school positioned within a district actively reshaping facilities and instructional practice.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 19% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 21% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 46% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 50% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 52% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 58% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 13% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolDALLAS ISD, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income60%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income40%12 pp gap