Horizon 2025 - Flipbook - Page 4
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Suzanne Stell, M.Ed., CALT
As we enter the 2025–2026
school year and begin celebrating
Shelton’s 50th anniversary, we
look back with gratitude on an
extraordinary 2024-2025 school
year that set the stage for this
milestone moment. Shelton’s
growth and spirit continue to
inspire. As the largest independent
school serving intelligent students
with learning differences, our
impact reaches beyond the
classroom, shaping futures and
transforming lives every day.
We began the 2024–2025 school
year with 1,102 students and concluded with 1,136, including
230 new Chargers representing 100 ZIP codes. Behind every
number is a story of growth, confidence and success — a
reflection of the partnership between our families and faculty
who share a deep belief in what our students can achieve.
Celebrating 50 Years of Learning Without Limits
As the 2024–2025 school year concluded, Shelton looked
ahead to a historic milestone — its 50th anniversary in
2025–2026. Founded by Dr. June Shelton on April 2, 1976, in
Dallas, the Shelton School & Evaluation Center began with
just 48 students in preschool through sixth grade in a church
building, supported by a dedicated board of trustees and
parent community.
Half a century later, Shelton stands as the world’s leader
in specialized education for intelligent students who learn
differently, with programs that have shaped the lives of
thousands and inspired educational change far beyond
our campus.
2026 on April 11 at the Fairmont Dallas, headlined by Little Big
Town — a night honoring Shelton’s legacy and the people who
made it possible. Other highlights include a luncheon honoring
former Shelton Parents’ Association presidents and Stampede
auction chairs, the varsity football game at The Star in Frisco
on Nov. 8, 2025 and the premiere of Shelton’s 50th Legacy
video later in the school year. A special guest speaker will also
visit campus in April to commemorate the milestone year.
Shelton’s reach now extends through its Outreach & Training
Center, Evaluation Center and Speech Center, as well as our
Shelton Pathfinders alumni mentorship program. Each of
these initiatives reflects Shelton’s enduring commitment to
advocacy and innovation in the field of learning differences.
A Year of Growth and Accomplishment
Our students continue to amaze us with their achievements
across academics, arts and athletics. The Class of 2025, the
largest in school history, includes 101 graduates who received
506 college acceptances to 54 colleges in 21 states, earning
$12.6 million in merit scholarships. Sixty-seven students from
the Class of 2025 took the ACT, collectively earning a score of
30 or higher on 49 sections — scoring in the 94th percentile
nationally in various subjects. One senior earned a composite
ACT score of 35, and two students earned a perfect score of
36 on the ACT reading section. Here’s a look at a few more
ways our students made us proud:
• Valedictorian Ford Myers studies business at the University
of Texas at Austin and was elected one of two freshman
student representatives at UT’s student government.
• Salutatorian Kathryn Guerra studies biology and
biochemistry at Trinity University.
• Enzo Ampolini received the $253,808 Singer Scholarship
at the University of Miami.
• Ethan Gulden joined SMU’s Hilltop Scholars Program.
The 50th anniversary celebration began in spring 2025 with
two memorable student events. On May 5, 742 students in
grades five through 11 gathered on the football field to form
a “50,” captured by photographer Hillsman Stuart Jackson.
A week later, students sealed Shelton’s 50th anniversary
time capsule inside the illuminated “S” installation in the
Dining Hall.
• Four seniors signed to play collegiate sports, and three were
accepted into competitive fine arts programs in film, music
and visual art.
As the 2025-2026 school year began, the celebration
expanded to the entire Shelton community. Highlights
included the 50th Anniversary reunion for former teachers
and staff, the Feed My Starving Children MobilePack that
brought together more than 5,000 volunteers and a spirited
Homecoming celebration featuring a drone light show
that revealed Shelton’s 50th logo and the entertainment
for Shelton’s 2026 Stampede auction. In October, Shelton
partnered with the Dallas branch of the International Dyslexia
Association, led by Shelton parent and Dallas IDA board
president Dahlem Dodson, for a screening of the documentary
“Hopeville” and a panel discussion on literacy and evidencebased reading instruction.
Fine Arts
Looking ahead, the celebration continues throughout the
2025-2026 school year, culminating with Shelton Stampede
2
NOVEMBER 2025
THE HORIZON
SHELTON SCHOOL
Together, the Class of 2025 completed 10,052 community
service hours, living out Shelton’s mission beyond the
classroom.
Under the direction of Anné Hughes, Shelton’s Fine Arts
program continues to thrive. Students dazzled audiences in
two major productions — “The Matchmaker” and “Footloose”
— both performed to record crowds. Forty-three seniors
earned the Purple and Gold Award for lettering in a fine
arts discipline, including band, drumline, choir, photography,
theatre arts and visual arts.
Throughout the year, Shelton’s music, visual arts and film
programs flourished. Vocal Charge, under Blair King,
presented three concerts, competed in the TAPPS Solo and
Ensemble Contest and earned multiple All-State and Superior
ratings. In the spring, Shelton celebrated its Week of the Arts,
featuring choir and band concerts, a student art reception in
the Gampper Art Gallery, the Advanced Acting class’s
