Unique New High School Debuts in Texas
By SCN Staff
HOUSTON—Sheldon Independent School District (ISD) recently announced the completion of its new C.E. King High School in the Houston area.
Designed by Huckabee and constructed by Durotech, the school is a flagship campus for Sheldon ISD’s program. The 580,000-square-foot campus is just a mile from Generation Park and will house up to 3,500 students. The school is designed like a college campus, with promenades and quads where students, faculty and community members can interact. The classrooms have flexible spaces where educators can plug and play various teaching equipment based on workforce demand.
The campus features a traditional, comprehensive high school education program, as well as six career and technical academies aimed at helping students become college and career ready. The six academies include: business and industry; human services; public service; agriculture, manufacturing and construction; science, technology, fine arts and math; and an early college academy for traditional academics. The goal for the early college academy is for students to graduate with not only a high school diploma, but an associate’s degree or an industry certificate that can help students continue on to community college, trade schools and traditional four-year college.
Sheldon ISD is one of the fastest-growing school districts in the Houston area. The 9,000-student school district is in the booming petrochemical corridor northeast of Houston. By 2025, Sheldon ISD is expected to have more than 15,000 students. In May 2016, to handle this rapid growth, Sheldon ISD voters overwhelmingly passed a $285 million bond to address student growth, safety and security measures and other potential facility upgrades. This bond program is the largest in the district’s history.
“Sheldon is making a statement with this new high school,” said JP Grom, AIA, vice president at Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), the firm serving as the program manager for the bond program. “The high school will serve as a visual anchor point for Sheldon ISD. They’re driving a stake in the ground, saying ‘Sheldon ISD is here, we’ve arrived.’”
Other elements of the bond program include the Sheldon Lake Elementary School and Panther Stadium that opened in August 2019, new track, baseball and softball fields, and tennis courts. The bond program also includes additions and renovations to existing middle schools as well as district-wide energy management upgrades.
LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs.