Choosing the right middle school for your children can prove to be a daunting task. Middle school is when children start to flex their growing independence. This is a critical transition period for students. As they assert their independence, their responsibilities increase, they attend multiple classes and their academic performance are closely monitored and graded. Schools focus on preparing them for the more rigorous academic grind in high school.
When we compared Thomas J Rusk Middle School, which is a part of DALLAS ISD, with School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove, which is a part of DALLAS ISD, we noted a slight difference in ratings.
Thomas J Rusk Middle School’s regular student population is 514 with a 13.1 students/teacher ratio. The student population at School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove is 385 students and a 16.4 students/teacher ratio.
Thomas J Rusk Middle School earned a State accountability rating of B (80-89) based on three domains: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Scores are scaled from 0 to 100 to align with letter grades. The school scored 71 in student achievement, 83 in school progress and 74 in closing performance gaps. It scored 82 overall in post-secondary readiness, a broad term that refers to student preparedness to undertake multiple pathways after graduation, or specifically, their preparedness for college education.
On the other hand, School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove performed excellent to earn a State accountability rating of A. The school posted 96 in student achievement, 97 in school progress, 100 in closing performance gaps and 96 overall in post-secondary readiness.
A distinction designation acknowledges districts and campuses for outstanding achievement based on the outcomes of several performance indicators. Distinction designations are awarded for achievement in several areas and are based on performance relative to a group of campuses of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics.
It is in this area where the two schools differ. Thomas J Rusk Middle School’s two out of seven distinctions are in Social Studies and post-secondary. School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove's seven out of seven distinctions are in Reading/English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, post-secondary, with 25% student progress and 25% closing performance gaps.
Based on Racial/Ethnic Groups, the dominant group in Thomas J Rusk Middle School is Hispanics who make up nearly 68.29% of student population, followed by African Americans (25.88%), Whites or Caucasians (2.53%), Asians (1.75%) and Two or More Races (1.36%). There is no Native Americans student in the school.
At School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove, Hispanics make up 95.32% of student population, followed by Whites or Caucasians (2.34%), African Americans (1.30%), Native Americans (0.78%) and Asians (0.26%). There is no Two or More Races student in the school.
Based on household incomes, Thomas J Rusk Middle School’s economically disadvantaged students is slightly higher at 95.72% compared to 87.27% at School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove.
In terms of Limited English Proficiency (LEP), a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is not fluent in the English Language, mainly because it is not their native language, Thomas J Rusk Middle School has 275 English Language Learners or ELLS or about 53.50% of student population. School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove has slightly more ELLs at 291 or about 75.58% of student population.
In addition, Thomas J Rusk Middle School has 48.83% bilingual students, 16.73% are in the gifted and talented program, while 14.79% are in the special education program. This stacks up against School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove with 92.47% bilingual students, 65.71% gifted and talented students and 1.04% students in the special education program.
Thomas J Rusk Middle School's 39 teachers have been working at the campus for an average of 8 years with individual teaching experience averaging 10.5 years. Teachers at School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove, numbering 23 teachers, have been serving the school for an average of 4.2 years with individual teaching experience averaging 5.8 years.
Of its teaching staff, Thomas J Rusk Middle School has one teacher only serving the school for over 30 years, has six teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, six teachers have worked for 11-20 years, ten teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 12 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including four beginning teachers. School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove no teacher serving the school for over 30 years, no teacher serving the school for 20-30 years, two teachers have worked for 11-20 years, eight teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 12 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including two beginning teachers.
In both schools, female teachers outnumber the male teachers. At Thomas J Rusk Middle School there are 23 female teachers and 16 male teachers. Of its teaching staff, six special education teachers are being assisted by eight teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has five staff members in the school administration department and six more working as school support staff.
At School For The Talented & Gifted In Pleasant Grove there are 15 female teachers and eight male teachers. Of its teaching staff, three teachers are aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has two staff members in the school administration department and four more working as school support staff.
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