Memorial Examiner - News
A New Beginning
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| Maria Gomez (in blue), a teacher at Hollibrook Elementary, studies the site plan for the new school. |
Hollibrook Elementary first Spring Branch school to be replaced
By RUSTY GRAHAM
Long shadows from the late afternoon sun Tuesday couldn’t darken the mood at Hollibrook Elementary School .
Students, teachers, trustees, staff, administrators and the community celebrated as ground was broken for the “new” Hollibrook Elementary.
Hollibrook Elementary School, 3602 Hollister, will be the first new construction in Spring Branch ISD’s $597.1 million bond package, passed by district voters in November 2007.
The new Hollibrook is expected to be ready by May 2010, 18 months from now, and cost nearly $19 million.
And the school will be new, no quote marks required. Classes will continue in the current Hollibrook building while construction of the new school progresses on the grounds behind the existing building
Disruptions are expected at Hollibrook during construction of the new school, but displacements won’t be necessary.
“We wanted to be able to stay during the construction,” said Elsa Delgado, Hollibrook principal. “We know we have to be patient during construction — there may be times we have no water, or no electricity.”
Tuesday, adults were seated and standing under Hollibrook’s covered play area and students were sitting cross-legged around the edges. Golden shovels were half-buried in soft dirt on the eastern side of the pavilion, awaiting the symbolic turning of ground for the project..
“After 12 years, we’re breaking ground on a new school in Spring Branch,” said Spring Branch ISD Superintendent Duncan Klussmann told the crowd, who thundered approval with a large ovation.
Klussmann noted that with the bond program, “buildings will catch up with the incredible teaching that goes on in Spring Branch.”
Susan Kellner, president of the Spring Brand ISD board of trustees, praised the community involvement required to make district improvements.
“Communities and schools are inextricably linked,” said Kellner. “We can’t have one without the other.”
Delgado, Hollibrook’s principal, said her faculty and staff were excited about the new “journey” that would merge the school’s past and future.
Delgado talked about the 80-year-old crossing guard who’s been there since the mid-1980s. She talked about the teachers who have been at Hollibrook for 25 or more years. She talked about the Hollibrook alumni who have returned to teach at the school.
And recognizing the diversity of her school and community, she repeated her remarks in Spanish.
Diana Navarro, an alumna of Hollibrook and a current teacher, said that while she might miss the old building, it’s the people and the memories that more largely form her Hollibrook experience, and those will follow her into the new building.
Later, during refreshments and mingling, Delgado searched for the right words to describe her feelings about being the first school to be replaced.
“Its ... its ... what’s the best word?” she said. “Its indescribable. There are no words.”
She found plenty of words to describe her school, though, both her current and future ones, and the impact both have on her students
While Hollibrook has seen additions and remodeling throughout its 50-year history, it remains a 50-year-old building, designed for 1950s teaching methods.
Today’s teaching methods include lots of interaction between teachers, students and technology, she said, .
“It feels like a 50-year-old school, Delgado said. “There’s a lot of noise.”
With 100,000 square feet, the new facility will be able to accomodate 800 students in three classroom wings.
The new Hollibrook will be built behind the existing buiilding, to the east. Once the building is complete, the existing Hollibrook will be demolished and the land turned into a playground.
The school is the first of 12 elementary schools that will be replaced throughout the life of the bond package.
Other than early learning centers, the last schools built in the Spring Branch school district were Buffalo Creek Elementary and Treasure Forest Elementary, said David Slattery, a member of the bond advisory committee.
Slattery said that while the new construction will get the attention, every Spring Branch school facility will be touched by the bond package.
“We’ve already replaced chilling systems, air conditioners, roofs -- things you can’t see,” he said.
getting schooled
Over the next five years, $244.1 million of the $597.1 million Spring Branch ISD bond package will be spent replacing 12 elementary schools. Hollibrook was the first.
The others:
Edgewood
Frostwood
Housman
Meadow Wood
Pine Shadows
Ridgecrest
Shadow Oaks
Valley Oaks
Westwood
Wilchester
Students, teachers, trustees, staff, administrators and the community celebrated as ground was broken for the “new” Hollibrook Elementary.
Hollibrook Elementary School, 3602 Hollister, will be the first new construction in Spring Branch ISD’s $597.1 million bond package, passed by district voters in November 2007.
The new Hollibrook is expected to be ready by May 2010, 18 months from now, and cost nearly $19 million.
And the school will be new, no quote marks required. Classes will continue in the current Hollibrook building while construction of the new school progresses on the grounds behind the existing building
Disruptions are expected at Hollibrook during construction of the new school, but displacements won’t be necessary.
“We wanted to be able to stay during the construction,” said Elsa Delgado, Hollibrook principal. “We know we have to be patient during construction — there may be times we have no water, or no electricity.”
Tuesday, adults were seated and standing under Hollibrook’s covered play area and students were sitting cross-legged around the edges. Golden shovels were half-buried in soft dirt on the eastern side of the pavilion, awaiting the symbolic turning of ground for the project..
“After 12 years, we’re breaking ground on a new school in Spring Branch,” said Spring Branch ISD Superintendent Duncan Klussmann told the crowd, who thundered approval with a large ovation.
Klussmann noted that with the bond program, “buildings will catch up with the incredible teaching that goes on in Spring Branch.”
Susan Kellner, president of the Spring Brand ISD board of trustees, praised the community involvement required to make district improvements.
“Communities and schools are inextricably linked,” said Kellner. “We can’t have one without the other.”
Delgado, Hollibrook’s principal, said her faculty and staff were excited about the new “journey” that would merge the school’s past and future.
Delgado talked about the 80-year-old crossing guard who’s been there since the mid-1980s. She talked about the teachers who have been at Hollibrook for 25 or more years. She talked about the Hollibrook alumni who have returned to teach at the school.
And recognizing the diversity of her school and community, she repeated her remarks in Spanish.
Diana Navarro, an alumna of Hollibrook and a current teacher, said that while she might miss the old building, it’s the people and the memories that more largely form her Hollibrook experience, and those will follow her into the new building.
Later, during refreshments and mingling, Delgado searched for the right words to describe her feelings about being the first school to be replaced.
“Its ... its ... what’s the best word?” she said. “Its indescribable. There are no words.”
She found plenty of words to describe her school, though, both her current and future ones, and the impact both have on her students
While Hollibrook has seen additions and remodeling throughout its 50-year history, it remains a 50-year-old building, designed for 1950s teaching methods.
Today’s teaching methods include lots of interaction between teachers, students and technology, she said, .
“It feels like a 50-year-old school, Delgado said. “There’s a lot of noise.”
With 100,000 square feet, the new facility will be able to accomodate 800 students in three classroom wings.
The new Hollibrook will be built behind the existing buiilding, to the east. Once the building is complete, the existing Hollibrook will be demolished and the land turned into a playground.
The school is the first of 12 elementary schools that will be replaced throughout the life of the bond package.
Other than early learning centers, the last schools built in the Spring Branch school district were Buffalo Creek Elementary and Treasure Forest Elementary, said David Slattery, a member of the bond advisory committee.
Slattery said that while the new construction will get the attention, every Spring Branch school facility will be touched by the bond package.
“We’ve already replaced chilling systems, air conditioners, roofs -- things you can’t see,” he said.
getting schooled
Over the next five years, $244.1 million of the $597.1 million Spring Branch ISD bond package will be spent replacing 12 elementary schools. Hollibrook was the first.
The others:
Edgewood
Frostwood
Housman
Meadow Wood
Pine Shadows
Ridgecrest
Shadow Oaks
Valley Oaks
Westwood
Wilchester
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