George B Dealey Montessori Academy

George B Dealey Montessori Academy is a public PK-8 magnet school in the Preston Hollow area of Dallas, TX, serving 634 students within the Dallas Independent School District (Isd) and consistently ranking in the top 2% of Texas elementary schools for over a decade.

Dealey’s academic performance is in a different league compared to nearby Dallas ISD schools. For example, reading proficiency averages 91.7% across grades 3-8, while the closest neighbor, Arthur Kramer Elementary (just 0.65 miles away), averages 70.1%. In math, Dealey’s 81% proficiency rate is nearly double that of Prestonwood Montessori At E D Walker (51.5%) and more than triple that of John J Pershing Elementary (31.3%). Remarkably, Dealey achieves these elite results—matching the output of nearby Hyer Elementary and Michael M Boone Elementary in the Highland Park Independent School District (Isd)—while serving a more diverse student body (26.8% low-income) and spending slightly less per student ($10,960 vs. over $11,000).

What truly sets Dealey apart is its exceptional effectiveness with student subgroups. African American students, special education students, low-income students, and English language learners all rank in the 97th to 99th percentile statewide, suggesting the Montessori method closes achievement gaps prevalent in surrounding schools. However, there is one intriguing paradox: Gifted and Talented students rank in only the 30th percentile, possibly because the general student body is so high-performing that the gap is narrower. Additionally, while Dealey excels in reading and math, its science and social studies scores are merely "very good" (e.g., 49.1% in 5th grade science), which may reflect a curriculum emphasis on literacy and numeracy in early grades.