Principal leads with customer service at heart
October is National Principals Month, and The Beat is sharing profiles of some of Dallas ISD’s outstanding principals to recognize the work they do in leading their schools and students to success.
Every morning, the principal and teachers at School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove welcome students with music. Principal Reymundo Cervantes-Guajardo curates playlists based on seasons—Mariachi for Hispanic Heritage Month, thrillers for Halloween, holiday classics in December. Teachers exchange high fives or fist bumps with the students and interact with parents. With a megaphone in front of him, Cervantes calls out greetings in both English and Spanish and urges dawdling students to move along.
For Cervantes, the morning arrival period is the most important part of the day. It not only sets the stage but also reflects the school’s culture: welcoming and fun.
Since becoming principal in 2022, three years after TAG opened, Cervantes has led the school to become the fourth best middle school in Texas and the 17th best elementary school in the nation, while also distinguishing itself for its customer service. The school’s team members fully embrace the district’s Core 4 tenets of Flexible, Fast, Focused, and Friendly when interacting with others. Based on the principles of customer service, the tenets are recognized Oct. 13-17, Customer Service Week.
“We are here to serve; yes, we can be friendly, flexible, focused, and fast. But it’s also about the entire experience—it’s about how we, as adults, interact with each other,” said Cervantes. “That positive interaction is what we pass on to the students and their parents throughout the school day.”
Cervantes said that he and the school’s team—including custodians—gather for weekly huddles to discuss how best to welcome students, parents, and guests to TAG. He likes to remind them that they are like a thermostat: They regulate the campus atmosphere through their words, mood, and crisis management skills.
“Despite what is happening in the world, we have to make sure that we are centered and focused on our role in the environment we create,” he said. “The culture we build together is what makes the difference in student learning.”
A strong customer service culture, according to Cervantes, starts with leadership, positive energy, genuine smiles, and building trust within the school community. A smile, he said, is particularly important because it costs nothing and has the power to turn around someone’s day.
But Cervantes takes it one step further. He keeps a binder with the headshots and names of every student so he can address them by name, and even makes sure to wish staff and students a happy birthday.
“I’ve always been very clear about the type of culture I want in this school, and knowing everybody’s name was the starting point,” Cervantes said, “Because sometimes you go to a school and hear, ‘I don’t know who is on my eighth-grade team.’ No, we have to know. That’s how you establish trust and that’s how you start to build bonds.”
Cervantes encourages his teachers to document their successes as well as those of their coworkers on social media. He believes it serves a dual purpose, keeping parents informed and boosting camaraderie.
“This year, I challenged staff to use their own planning periods to go see what their colleagues are doing and give them shoutouts,” Cervantes said. “When parents or the public start reading what we post, they can basically see what happened from Monday to Friday.”
Parents also benefit from Cervantes’ warm personality and his efforts to make TAG inviting for every visitor. Opportunities for engagement abound, he said, from eating pan dulce with the principal to becoming a volunteer, planning Hispanic fiestas, or even offering ESL classes.
“We have a close relationship with our PTO president and the whole board. They’re here every Wednesday to run snack fundraisers. Right now we’re testing, which is why you likely don’t see a lot of parents, but on a regular day, you see parents coming in and out of the library,” he said.
Above all, Cervantes said the customer service approach at TAG is about always maintaining high standards and treating others with genuine goodwill.
“We have to be very honest and walk the walk. I can say, ‘I love everyone,’ or I can high-five everyone, but if I don’t mean it, people will feel that,” he said. “Establishing a great culture starts with us being authentic.”
