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District moves forward on new high school
By ROYCELYN BASTIAN
Pouring of the slab and building the structure at Porter High School are only a few weeks away said New Caney Independent School District officials. In the meantime, the district is in the process of completing all of the utility work.
“The construction of Porter High School is on time with a completion date scheduled for early summer in 2010,” said Morris Fuselier, associate superintendent of Administrative Services for New Caney ISD.
Projects that have already been completed include all of the parking lots, roads, except for Shady Lane, and the basic dirt work. Main access points for utility easements are currently being done.
The $56 million project, that was approved by the voters, will begin educating ninth- through 11th-graders and will have a capacity to hold 2,200 to 2,400 people. Each core subject - math, English/language arts, social studies and science - will have 13 classrooms; there will be 10 science labs, a cosmetology lab, two technology labs, a culinary arts lab, a theater that will seat up to 650 people and three gymnasiums.
“Research has shown that small learning communities are successful in high school, which is what we are going to do,” said Ken Hodgkinson, the new principal of Porter High School. “The different programs such as engineering, business and the arts will have their own small learning community.”
The curriculum at the new high school will be designed to not be duplicated with programs that are currently at New Caney High School. The new school will have its own athletic teams, but the district’s football stadium and swimming pool will be used by both high schools. Students will be transported back and forth to those facilities for practices, games and other usage.
“This will be a completely separate high school with a friendly rivalry with New Caney High School,” Fuselier said. “Our effort is to provide a wide range of programs that will be productive to our students.”
In the near future, the district will post a website for community members to give input on the school’s colors and mascot, but for now, the principal is looking at preliminary color schemes to bring to the public.
“Once the website is up we want to encourage everyone to give their thoughts on the school’s color and mascot,” Hodgkinson said. “I am excited about being at New Caney ISD. I am coming into a well-organized, family-intensive district. New Caney is on the cutting edge of educational opportunities.”
As far as enthusiasm from the community goes, Fuselier said that once the attendance zones are created, that might spark more interest.
“The attendance zones will not be created until late fall or early winter of this year,” he said. “When we began the planning stages of Porter High School two years ago, the community wanted two smaller high schools, and we have done our best to listen to them.”
The 326,000-square-foot high school will be located on Riverwalk Drive.
“The construction of Porter High School is on time with a completion date scheduled for early summer in 2010,” said Morris Fuselier, associate superintendent of Administrative Services for New Caney ISD.
Projects that have already been completed include all of the parking lots, roads, except for Shady Lane, and the basic dirt work. Main access points for utility easements are currently being done.
The $56 million project, that was approved by the voters, will begin educating ninth- through 11th-graders and will have a capacity to hold 2,200 to 2,400 people. Each core subject - math, English/language arts, social studies and science - will have 13 classrooms; there will be 10 science labs, a cosmetology lab, two technology labs, a culinary arts lab, a theater that will seat up to 650 people and three gymnasiums.
“Research has shown that small learning communities are successful in high school, which is what we are going to do,” said Ken Hodgkinson, the new principal of Porter High School. “The different programs such as engineering, business and the arts will have their own small learning community.”
The curriculum at the new high school will be designed to not be duplicated with programs that are currently at New Caney High School. The new school will have its own athletic teams, but the district’s football stadium and swimming pool will be used by both high schools. Students will be transported back and forth to those facilities for practices, games and other usage.
“This will be a completely separate high school with a friendly rivalry with New Caney High School,” Fuselier said. “Our effort is to provide a wide range of programs that will be productive to our students.”
In the near future, the district will post a website for community members to give input on the school’s colors and mascot, but for now, the principal is looking at preliminary color schemes to bring to the public.
“Once the website is up we want to encourage everyone to give their thoughts on the school’s color and mascot,” Hodgkinson said. “I am excited about being at New Caney ISD. I am coming into a well-organized, family-intensive district. New Caney is on the cutting edge of educational opportunities.”
As far as enthusiasm from the community goes, Fuselier said that once the attendance zones are created, that might spark more interest.
“The attendance zones will not be created until late fall or early winter of this year,” he said. “When we began the planning stages of Porter High School two years ago, the community wanted two smaller high schools, and we have done our best to listen to them.”
The 326,000-square-foot high school will be located on Riverwalk Drive.
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