Pflugerville ISD opened the doors to Dearing Elementary School to students for the first time Aug. 25.

Dearing, located at 4301 Gattis School Road., opened this year to accommodate population growth in Plugerville ISD's northeast side. Its first year's enrollment was 550 students, and the school was built to accommodate approximately 800.

"The district expects to grow to about 40,000 students before it is built out, and finding land suitable for building schools is always challenging," PISD Public Information Officer Amanda Brim said via e-mail. "The property on which the campus is located allowed the district to provide relief to the growing student population in several elementary schools in that part of the district."

Dearing utilizes energy-efficient designs including environmentally-friendly carpeting, a geothermal heat pump, and composting and recycling stations.

The school also features an outdoor learning center, at which students can harvest rainwater to irrigate plants grown there.