How Gilbert Cuellar Sr. Elementary Builds a Culture of Excellence
At Gilbert Cuellar Sr. Elementary School, the year begins with a bang. In this year’s superhero theme, that means a Pow! and a Bam!
Colorful displays cover the walls. Superhero pillows welcome families in the front office. Before students even arrive, faculty members receive themed lanyards and wristbands that build excitement and invite everyone into the same mindset.
Principal Shelley Baxter and her team go all out. But the theme is much more than decoration. It helps students and educators see themselves as part of Cuellar’s story and part of a school community built on belonging, high expectations, and Cougar Pride.
Learning Launch funds help Cuellar bring its vision to life with additional resources and experiences aligned with campus goals. It is a campus-wide effort: Principal Baxter uses the funding to take each year’s theme to the next level, and educators add their own creativity to make it distinctly Cuellar. Nothing goes to waste. When the year ends, they find new homes for the décor with teachers at Cuellar or another campus who can carry the theme forward.
Learning Launch Helps Schools Start Strong
Learning Launch is United to Learn’s annual investment in a strong start to the school year across our Network Schools. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, United to Learn works alongside Dallas ISD elementary schools and trusts campus leaders to identify the resources and experiences that will best support their students, educators, and learning environments.
At Cuellar, those resources reinforce a culture students can see, feel, and participate in.
Learning Launch funds help stock the Cougar Store, where students spend “Cougar Bucks” earned through academic achievement and positive behavior. Students who earned Meets or Masters Grade Level on state assessments last spring received medals and Cougar Bucks, recognition that makes academic progress visible and worth celebrating.
Attendance becomes a team effort, too. Each week, the class with the highest attendance percentage earns bragging rights and the chance to wear jeans on College Shirt Day.
These moments are fun by design. They also communicate something important: At Cuellar, effort matters, progress is celebrated, and every student belongs to a community that believes in what they can achieve.
From an F to an A Rating
That culture has grown alongside remarkable academic progress. Cuellar’s accountability score rose from the high 50s in 2024 to 89 in 2025, just one point shy of an A. In 2026, the school reached 91 and earned an A rating.
For Baxter, the climb reflects years of intentional work. Now in her ninth year leading Cuellar, she has focused on building a strong faculty culture and recruiting teachers who want to pursue excellence together.
During interviews, Baxter listens for how candidates think about engaging students and families. She believes excellence is contagious: When educators work alongside colleagues who are deeply committed to their craft, they challenge and encourage one another to grow.
One of Baxter’s focuses in recent years has been strengthening the foundation in kindergarten through second grade. Early academic success, positive behavior, and excitement about learning can shape how students experience school for years to come.
When Cuellar earned a B rating in 2025, the community could feel how close it was to the next milestone. That sparked a mindset shift. A school already accustomed to bringing its competitive spirit to sports began bringing that same energy to academics.
Productive Struggle Builds Deeper Learning
Baxter points to one instructional priority as especially important in Cuellar’s path to an A: productive struggle.
Productive struggle gives students time and support to work through challenging ideas instead of receiving an answer right away. Learning that requires thought, discussion, and persistence is more likely to stick than information quickly memorized.
At Cuellar, the practice begins with manageable steps. Students turn to a partner for structured conversations, explain their thinking, and work together toward an answer. Teachers plan prompting questions in their professional learning community, or PLC, materials so they can guide students to think more deeply without taking over the thinking for them.
At Cuellar, teachers also use artificial intelligence as a planning partner. AI can quickly generate ideas for questions that encourage productive struggle. Educators then apply their expertise, experience, and knowledge of their students to select and refine the strongest ones. By spending less time starting from a blank page, teachers have more time to create meaningful learning experiences with students.
The goal is not struggle for struggle’s sake. It is to help students recognize that they are capable thinkers who can stay with a challenge and find a way forward.
A Superhero Theme Rooted in Belonging
That same belief runs through Cuellar’s superhero theme. Affirmation boards help students and educators see their strengths reflected around the school. Floor circles make classroom conversations more comfortable and connected. Images of role models, including Dolly Parton, help students imagine different ways to learn, lead, and contribute.
Even the campus learning garden tells a story of resilience. It continues to thrive after weeks of temperatures above 100 degrees, a fitting image for a school that understands the value of strong roots, steady care, and growth over time.
Next, Cuellar plans to apply for support to create a cozy, calming teacher lounge where educators can recharge. But Baxter remains especially excited about Learning Launch and the opportunity to begin each year with energy and intention.
Cuellar’s A rating is a milestone worth celebrating. The deeper story is the culture behind it: educators committed to excellence, students learning to persist, and a school community where joy and rigor go hand in hand.
That is Cougar Pride. And that is one powerful way to launch a year of learning.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is United to Learn’s Learning Launch?
Learning Launch is United to Learn’s annual investment in a strong start to the school year. United to Learn works alongside Dallas ISD elementary schools to provide resources and experiences tailored to campus priorities, instructional goals, and positive learning environments.
How does Cuellar Elementary build a culture of excellence?
Cuellar Elementary combines high academic expectations with belonging, recognition, and school pride. Students are celebrated for academic growth, positive behavior, and attendance, while educators use strategies such as productive struggle and structured student discussion to deepen learning.
Who is the principal of Gilbert Cuellar Sr. Elementary School?
Shelley Baxter is the principal of Gilbert Cuellar Sr. Elementary School in Dallas ISD. In 2026, during her ninth year leading the school, Cuellar earned an A rating with an accountability score of 91.