Building history in Pleasant Grove one relationship at a time

This year marks 100 years of national Black History observances, honoring the individuals, movements, and traditions that have preserved Black history and shaped cultural identity, pride, and resilience.

 

When Edwin Dubois, principal of H. Grady Spruce High School, stands before students, he doesn’t see a random crowd of teenagers. He sees the future of the neighborhood where he grew up—and a calling he can’t ignore.

“I want people to know that it’s a new day here at Spruce,” Dubois said. “Whatever yesterday’s view of Spruce was, we want people to see about today.”

A Dallas ISD legacy, Dubois grew up in the Pleasant Grove community and graduated from Skyline High School. While his professional life didn’t begin in the classroom—his undergraduate roots are in accounting and finance—the “fire was lit,” he said, once he began substitute teaching. Now, after serving as a teacher, campus coordinator, dean of students, assistant principal, and middle school principal across the district, Dubois is in his first year leading Spruce. Despite his trajectory in education, this current role isn’t about climbing the ladder, he said.

“Everything is a calling,” he said. “I just can’t say, ‘Oh, I want to be like this person.’ If that’s not my calling, then I need to serve where I’m called to serve. For sure, coming back to Pleasant Grove and Spruce—this was a calling.”

For Dubois the image of success doesn’t start with test scores. It starts with how students feel when they walk through the doors.

“My vision is to make sure that this school building is a safe refuge for students to come in and be better in education and as people,” he said.

He views the journey from ninth grade to graduation as a four-year arc of growth. Success is seeing students leave Spruce more mature and prepared to contribute to Pleasant Grove, he said.

“When a freshman walks in our building, I want them to be better than they were by the time they’re seniors,” he said. “That’s from a standpoint of maturity, from the mind, and also from the academics.”

To achieve this, Dubois insists that no student feel like a number. He expects teachers and staff to treat relationships as core work.

“I told every student that they need to make sure that at least one adult in this building knows their name,” he said. “They need to be seen. They need to be heard, and they need to be known.”

When Dubois first arrived, he listened closely to what students were saying, and he heard a clear concern: students didn’t always feel safe. The comments became a turning point—he made it clear to his leadership team that safety and culture would be his first priority.

“No matter what, the only way that we’re going to be successful in academics is if our culture changes, and we change with it,” he said.

Since then, Spruce has tightened expectations, increased adult visibility, and focused on making the building feel orderly and secure. The early signs are encouraging; the school’s fall climate survey was the highest in its history.

“This is the work that we have done, including the students, to show that change is happening, and it’s moving in a positive manner,” he said.

He is clear, however, that discipline isn’t about being harsh; it’s about preparation for the real world.

“We’re not in the business of saying, ‘You made a mistake, that’s the end of the world,’” he said. “We’re going to help you through that, but we’re holding you accountable because the world’s expectations are going to be so much higher for you.”

Part of Dubois’ mission is to make sure the broader community sees the excellence he sees every day. He talks with pride about graduates who are already thriving in technical careers.

“We have students who graduated last year,” he said. “Right now they’re working with Texas Instruments, making like $120,000 as 19‑year‑olds.”

He sees those outcomes as proof that the community’s talent has long been there—it just hasn’t always been recognized.

“It’s just the knowledge and the skill that these students have that they just wanted to be expressed,” he said.

On campus, Dubois noted rising Advanced Placement performance, growing dual credit opportunities, and a strengthened early college and CTE pipeline, including mechatronics. Through the Bond Program, the high school will be getting new renovations and even a new athletic complex.

Spruce is in fact on a path toward becoming a B‑rated campus for the first time since the state began issuing letter grades.

“The atmosphere is warm, safe, and respectful. As you walk into a classroom, you experience high-quality instruction from teachers and see our academics on the rise,” Dubois said.

For Dubois, however, Spruce is inseparable from Pleasant Grove. “This is a neighborhood school,” he said. “If Spruce fails, then it’s like this community fails.”

That belief drives his push for strong parent and community involvement. To boost morale last month, a group of mothers spent a Sunday afternoon making tamales for the school’s employees. When the parents needed help covering ingredients, Dubois quietly stepped in.

“If I have the resources, then, yes, I will give what I can to support,” he said.

To build on that momentum, he and his team are planning more campus connection events, including barbecues, game nights, movie nights, to make Spruce feel like the community’s school again.

“We want to be recognized as one of the top comprehensive high schools in Dallas ISD,” he said. “When people say Pleasant Grove, I want Spruce to be the first thing that comes to mind.”

For now, that means doing the daily work of “sprucing up” the campus, one relationship at a time.

“It’s a new day here at Spruce,” Dubois said. “And we’re just getting started.”