dallas isd annexed pleasant grove isd in 1954, and pleasant grove high school (now john quincy adams elementary school) was replaced by the newly constructed samuell high school in 1956-57. in the 1950s and early 1960s, a number of new housing developments in the pleasant grove area made samuell one of dallas' largest high schools; a new wing was opened in the mid-1960s to handle the increase in population. h. grady spruce and skyline high schools, two historical rivals and closest schools to samuell, were opened in 1963 and 1971 to help reduce attendance.