The School for the Talented and Gifted at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center (commonly referred to as TAG or TAG Magnet) is a public college preparatory magnet secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. The school enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. It is known for its liberal arts, Advanced Placement Program and intensive education style. In 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010 Newsweek named the school the #1 public high school in the United States. In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, U.S. News & World Report named TAG the #1 public high school in the United States.
In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
History
The School for the Talented and Gifted was established in 1982 as part of a desegregation court order and was originally located in West Dallas on the L.G. Pinkston High School campus. Its curriculum was designed to provide a comprehensive academic program to serve identified talented and gifted students in grades nine through twelve.
In the 1990s, the Dallas Independent School District allocated money for a new "magnet center" as an experiment in accelerated high school education. This magnet center would house six different schools, each offering college-preparatory and pre-professional programs alongside a solid academic education. The TAG Magnet, along with five other magnet schools, moved to the new Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center in the fall of 1995. Initially, TAG students were taught alongside the students at the other magnet schools, TAG instruction was cut from seven classes to three, and TAG teachers from thirteen to four. After a TAG protest that included petitions, letters to the newspaper, pleas to the school board, and walk-outs, TAG was given an increased number of self-contained classes and permission to have its own teaching staff specialized in teaching talented and gifted students.
Campus
The School for the Talented and Gifted is housed in the south section on the third floor of the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center.
Students
During the spring semester a screening process is initiated to place incoming students drawn from across the Dallas Independent School District at the TAG Magnet for the following year. A holistic, case-study approach is used by the screening committee, which is composed of the principal, the counselor, teachers, and community representatives. Multiple identification criteria are used in the screening process including academic transcripts, TAKS/ITBS scores, a behavioral assessment, student portfolio, and anecdotal information. Careful attention is paid to pre-established guidelines to ensure that the student population is ethnically balanced.
In the 2010–2011 school year there were 240 students enrolled, and the racial/ethnic makeup reflected the culturally diverse fabric of the larger school district as best as it could following the desegregation rulings of Judge Barefoot Sanders that required "improved programs for minority students and hiring goals for minority faculty and administration staff". The student population was 10.8% Asian/Pacific Islander, 16.7% Black, 30.0% Hispanic, and 42.5% White. The school's gender makeup was not reflective of the larger school district, with 35% boys and 65% girls.
The attendance rate for students at the school is 97.6%, compared with a state average of 95.5%. Of the 201 students at TAG 28.9% are economically disadvantaged, 0% enroll in special education, 100% enroll in gifted and talent programs, and 0% are considered "limited English proficient".
The average class sizes at TAG used to be 14.8 students for English, 5.2 for foreign language, 13.7 for math, 16.4 for science, and 16.8 for social studies but have since increased to about 20.
Faculty
During the 2006–2007 school year the TAG faculty consisted of 17 teachers with an average of 18.2 years of teaching experience and 11.9 years of experience teaching in DISD. Of those teachers, 1.1% are beginning teachers, 18.6% have 1–5 years of experience, 24.1% have 6–10 years of experience, 20.6% have 11–20 years of experience and 35.6% have more than 20 years of experience.
Curriculum
The School for the Talented and Gifted requires the Advanced High School Program as described by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) – this program is entitled the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP), and it is the highest graduation program for Texas.
The school then takes that program and makes it more demanding by including the Pre-AP and AP curriculum.