Local districts continue to open new schools
Texarkana’s four school districts provide quality education and state-of-the art facilities.
Since 2016, each of Texarkana’s four public school districts have constructed and opened a new school.
Texarkana Arkanas School District
Even amid a pandemic, Texarkana Arkansas School District No. 7 and Pleasant Grove Indpendent School District opened new schools.
Arkansas Middle School, just off Jefferson Avenue and north of Interstate 30, opened in March. It is the first new school Texarkana Arkansas School District has constructed in more than three decades.
AMS has grade-specific wings for sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Each wing contains 12 classrooms. A fine arts wing is also included.
The $26 million project does not increase taxes. Instead, bonds were restructured and $6 million is partnership money.
Since the opening of AMS, the district has introduced three more learning options for students within the district — including two new elementary schools and a K-12 digital school.
The Harmony Leadership Academy and North Heights Community School will serve as elementary schools, while The Digital Learning Academy will encompass every school in TASD.
The Harmony Leadership Academy will be located in the College Hill Middle School building. HLA will look to nurture an appreciation for artistic expression in students grades K-5.
In collaboration with the Leader in Me program, students will be engaged and challenged to create art and music through multiple media formats.
North Heights Community School will be located in the North Heights Junior High building. NHCS will be a microsociety school for students in grades K-5. This school will look to blend economics, citizenship, government and humanities in an accelerated learning environment.
The Digital Learning Academy staff will be located on the North Heights Community School campus.
Students K-12 are eligible to apply to be in DLA. Students in the DLA will continue to be assigned to their home campuses and have access to extracurricular activities and athletics on those campuses.
“We are proud to provide these additional learning opportunities for students during the next year,” Superintendent Becky Kesler said in an earlier interview. “Our goal is to help each student reach his or her full potential, and I believe the opening of two new K-5 elementary schools and the K-12 digital learning school will aid in our ability to meet that objective as well as provide parents with additional options for their students.”
Pleasant Grove Independent School District
Across the state line, PGISD also fought through challenges to maintain its educational structure in a safe manner, but did so while building a brand new elementary school in the process.
In November 2020, the Margaret Fischer Davis Elementary School opened its doors to more than 500 students. The elementary school (Pre-K through second grade) is equipped with four grade-level collaborative spaces, interactive panel screens in each room and weather-safe rooms in each grade level, providing students and staff with state-ofthe-art technology and tools for interactive lessons and activities.
“The mission of PGISD is to ensure high levels of learning for all students, and the district succeeded in its mission this year by providing uninterrupted learning through the pandemic with 1:1 technology and the opening of a new state-of-the-art elementary school,” Superintendent Chad Pirtle said in an earlier interview. “The continuous commitment of our students, staff and community led to the growth and accomplishments that contribute to the legacy of success in Hawk Nation.”
Liberty-Eylau Independent School District
The rock facade of Liberty-Eylau Elementary School stands as a testament to honor the district’s past while offering a bright educational future for students.
The new school was funded through a $20.9 million bond voters approved in May 2016.
The school provides a quality learning space that is flexible, safe and allows for growth.
It offers a creatively designed 21st century learning environment.
The elementary school resembles the old building, also called the “Rock School,” and features rocks from the original building, which was torn down in July 2017. The rocks were quarried from Hooks, Texas, and lined the outside of the previous structure, which was built in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration project. When it was demolished, rocks were not only saved for the new school, but were also made available to the public if they wanted a souvenir.
Buford Thompson Construction built the school, which was designed by Thacker-Davis Architects. Furniture for the 100,000 square-foot facility was designed by Ledwell to provide flexible learning spaces throughout the building.
Throughout the design of both inside and outside spaces, students and staff were the focus.
There are useful spaces for personal learning activities, creative spaces for group learning and handicapped-accessible play spaces. The designs bring in natural and soft ambient light, provide safe and welcoming spaces throughout the design and have a functional and purposeful flow.”
The building includes a gym, which features a stage that flows into the music room and a special education suite, along with art and science rooms. One of the school’s three hallways is a safety shelter, which is required by the state of Texas for all new construction. It has its own air, electrical, water and ventilation systems to be used in case of an emergency and features reinforced walls, doors and windows.
Texarkana Independent School District
Texarkana Independent School District opened the doors to its new Waggoner Creek Elementary School in the fall of 2016, with the school being constructed as a direct response to classroom overcrowding.
Voters approved a $29.9 million bond in 2014 to construct both Waggoner Creek and the Sixth Grade Center, which also opened fall 2016 on the Texas Middle School campus.
Located on 15 acres off Gibson Lane, the elementary school serves approximately 400 students ages pre-K through fifth grade and will accommodate up to 700 students. The 67,800-square-foot facility features 22 classrooms, a research and design center/library, a media center, an art room, a gymnasium, a cafeteria and a kitchen.
The school’s name reflects the part of town in which it is located.
The Waggoner Creek development area, east and west, is considered the largest master-planned commercial development in the history of Texarkana, according to sources. Several names were considered.
The name Waggoner Creek remained consistent with the district’s naming of other community schools, such as Spring Lake Park Elementary and Highland Park Elementary,
The name follows TISD Policy CW (Local), which allows for the naming of a new school complex using criteria including the basis of a geographical location, a street location or an established neighborhood.