The Manor Independent School District (MISD) held a groundbreaking Thursday for its new early college high school campus.
The 85,000-square-foot school, which will accommodate 800 students, is slated to open before the 2023-2024 school year, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported.
Superintendent Dr. Andre D. Spencer foresees a bright future for the district’s newest addition.
“This is a great day in Manor ISD,” Spencer said, according to KVUE. “We are breaking ground on a new building for a group of scholars who we expect to break ground academically in their respective fields of interest. We expect great things to come out of this facility and the scholars who will call this home.”
An MISD-issued press release stated that the school seeks to provide its students with an educational experience akin to that on a college campus.
The release said there will be amenities such as a commons area, coffee shop and buffet-style café.
“This new campus means more academic opportunities for our students, teachers and ACC professors,” Principal Dr. Alime Sadikova said, KVUE reported. “It gives students a collegiate atmosphere that provides them with academic freedom and still holds them accountable for their own learning.”
A $280 million voter-approved bond package finances the $35.5 million school.
The district said the projects will keep up with the growth it’s projected to experience within the next decade.
“Manor ISD’s student body is expected to exceed 12,000 students within the next few years, which underscores the need for improved and state-of-the-art educational infrastructure,” HPM Senior Program Manager Andrew Betts said, according to Austin’s KLBJ.
Aside from accommodating growth, KVUE reported, the bond also focuses on facility upgrades and repairs, as well as transportation, security and technology improvements.
