Cy-Fair ISD begins a new year

Custodians Dierdra Houston and Teresa Elias roll out the welcome mat for returning students at Gleas

The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District is opening two new schools and completing four major renovation projects this year.
Campus openings
Today, the doors to the district's 51st and 52nd elementary school opened to more than 1,700 students.
The $12.07 million Emery Elementary School, located on a 15-acre site at Round Robin Drive and Plantation Myrtles Drive, provides enrollment relief for M. Robinson, Sheridan, McFee and Hemmenway elementary schools. Emery Elementary will open with a projected enrollment of 900 and a staff of 80.
The $13.6 million Rennell Elementary School is located on a 40-acre multi-campus site in the Towne Lake master-planned community on Tuckerton Road and Greenhouse Road. The new school will relieve Birkes and Postma elementary schools. Rennell Elementary will open with a projected enrollment of 800 and a staff of 70.
Renovations
The district also completed construction on major renovation projects at Cypress Creek High School, Jersey Village High School, Bleyl Middle School and Campbell Middle School.
The work at these campuses is wrapping up this summer in preparation for the first day of school," said Roy Sprague, Cy-Fair ISD's assistant superintendent of facilities, planning and construction. The contractor will be performing some ongoing work over the next several months completing any outstanding punch list items. Once school starts, this work is typically performed after school hours so that there is no impact to instruction or school operations."
Cypress Creek High
Along with its $59.7 million physical transformation, this school year the Cypress Creek campus will switch from a traditional high school into a school with six learning communities" career academies of about 500 students each.
Those include agriculture, industry and manufacturing; business and finance; education and human services; government, law and public administration; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and arts, communication and information technology.
Cypress Creek students provided their first and second career academy choices, and were placed in one of the two.
The reconstructed school has several common facilities cafeteria, band room, gymnasiums, and athletic facilities and a distinct area for each of the six career academies with classrooms and offices for administrative teams and counselors.
Jersey Village High
Jersey Village High School divided into four small learning communities of about 800 students each in the 2008-09 school year, and now the $57.5 million renovation project reflects that change.
The school was divided into four sections two on the first floor and two on the second floor with classrooms and administrative areas assigned to each of the learning communities. There are social studies, math and English classrooms and an administrative suite in each community.
The science labs and classrooms are located in a new addition to the building, and space for the early childhood learning program was added to the school.
Campbell, Bleyl
Additions and renovation work at Campbell Middle School cost $20.85 million, and a similar project at Bleyl Middle School cost $28.26 million.
Sprague said the district recently started major renovation and construction projects at Lamkin and Holbrook elementary schools.
The additions currently under construction at these two campuses are separated from the staff and students with the use of fencing, barricades, or use of existing exterior and interior walls," Sprague said. This prevents construction workers from accessing any instructional or support areas within the existing buildings."