© 2026 ABC News

A former coach of Gomez's, Stephani Gray, appears in the school's video to explain what the pop star was like as a student.

\"As a student, Selena was so humble, and she was very kind,\" she says. \"She had a really kind, soft spirit. Hard, hard worker. Real humble. Just a really neat kid.”

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy Mansfield Independent School District
PHOTO: Selena Gomez visited her former middle school, Danny Jones Middle School in Mansfield, Texas.
>

She also shares a memory about the moment Gomez told her she was moving to Florida to appear in a Disney film.

\"She said, 'Oh I’m just going to be in a little Disney film,' and I said, 'Oh. Okay,' because sometimes middle school kids kind of exaggerate.\"

📹 September 9: Selena Gomez at Danny Jones Middle School in Texas. pic.twitter.com/QflMAzUJdZ

— Selena Gomez News (@SGomezNewsCOMs) September 10, 2019

During her visit, Gomez also offered some advice to students and encouraged them to be kind to one another.

\"What I would tell them is that it’s really hard, but it’s worth it,\" she says about school. \"I wasn’t a straight-A student by all means, but I think it’s really important, and I think it’s also important to make sure that you're being kind to someone.\"

\"Just encourage them in their school work and know that anything is possible for them,\" she added.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/selena-gomez-heads-back-middle-school-advice-students/story?id=65535712","legacySlug":"/culture/story/selena-gomez-heads-back-middle-school-advice-students-65535712","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"17:12","publishDate":"09-11-2019","updatedTime":"21:52","updatedDate":"09-11-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"Selena Gomez visited her former middle school, Danny Jones Middle School in Mansfield, Texas.","credit":"Courtesy Mansfield Independent School District","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/selena-gomez-ht-jt-190911_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/11/2019 17:12:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":65535712,"headline":"Selena Gomez heads back to her middle school","mediaAssetTitle":"SELENA GOMEZ GOES BACK TO HER MIDDLE SCHOOL","description":"The singer encouraged students to be kind to one another. ","duration":"0:43","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190911_gma_digital_gomez_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["64651432","64559065","62607813"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"July 30, 2019","headline":"'Shark Tank' superfan Selena Gomez receives best birthday surprise from her pals","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/shark-tank-superfan-selena-gomez-receives-best-birthday-64651432","id":64651432,"image":{"alt":"'Shark Tank' superfan Selena Gomez receives best birthday surprise from her pals","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/gomez-gty-er-181219_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"July 25, 2019","headline":"What made Selena Gomez cry 'grateful tears' on her 27th birthday","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/selena-gomez-posts-emotional-message-turning-27-cries-64559065","id":64559065,"image":{"alt":"What made Selena Gomez cry 'grateful tears' on her 27th birthday","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/selena-gomez-01-as-ap-190725_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Sipa via AP Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 24, 2019","headline":"Selena Gomez on how therapy has helped her better 'understand' herself ","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/selena-gomez-therapy-helped-understand-62607813","id":62607813,"image":{"alt":"Selena Gomez on how therapy has helped her better 'understand' herself ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/selena-gomez-2-gty-thg-181015_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Selena Gomez heads back to her middle school","description":"The singer encouraged students to be kind to one another. ","duration":"0:43","uploadDate":"09-11-2019","publication":"09-11-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190911_gma_digital_gomez_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190911_gma_digital_gomez_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/selena-gomez-heads-back-middle-school-advice-students-65535712"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Selena Gomez heads back to her middle school","pubTime":"13:12","pubDate":"09-11-2019","modTime":"17:52","modDate":"09-11-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":65535712,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Selena Gomez heads back to her middle school","mediaAssetTitle":"SELENA GOMEZ GOES BACK TO HER MIDDLE SCHOOL","videoId":65535712,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/selena-gomez-heads-back-middle-school-advice-students-65535712"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/65535712","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/65535712","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};