The new center will have two shop rooms, including CNC shop, which will have several computer numerical control machines. The new center will have two shop rooms, including CNC shop, which will have several computer numerical control machines.[/caption]

Applied tech center at Anderson HS to be finished in OctoberNWA-2015-09-25-1-02

Austin ISD Construction on Austin ISD’s new 14,500-square-foot applied technology center at Anderson High School is on schedule to wrap up in mid-October. The Boy Scouts of America National Foundation is funding the $2.9 million construction of the facility, which will be used by all AISD students. “It’s the first time we’ve built a building without bond funding,” said Richard Frazier, who is the orchestra director but also has been involved in the high school’s construction projects. The Boy Scouts will use the facility for summer camps and possibly for projects to help them earn technology-focused badges. However, first use of the facility will be for AISD students to help prepare them for careers in technology, Frazier said. Designed by GSC Architects, the facility will have a computer and electronics lab for students to design solutions to problems. The facility will also have a woodworking and sheet metal shop room as well as a CNC shop room with equipment such as computer numerical control machines, a 3-D printer, 10 lathes and mill. These tools are similar to those at The University of Texas Pickle Research Campus, which has a partnership with AISD for mentoring students. Students will be able to make components for robotics and fabricate other designs. “There’s an immediate job market for that,” Frazier said. High school students from other AISD campuses will be bused to the center for classes through the district’s new student-sharing program.

Round Rock ISD trustees and community members break ground July 28 on the new elementary school. Round Rock ISD trustees and community members break ground July 28 on the new elementary school.[/caption]

Elementary school expected to alleviate overcrowding

Round Rock ISD The district broke ground July 28 on its 34th elementary school and expects to open the new facility in time for the 2016-17 school year. The location of the new school at 2800 Sauls Drive off Bratton Lane will help alleviate overcrowding at Wells Branch Elementary School on Merrilltown Drive at Bratton Lane. The district already owned the property for the new school. The layout of the new 118,324-square-foot facility will be similar to Elsa England Elementary School on Pearson Ranch Road, which opened in August 2012, school officials said. Round Rock ISD has not yet modified its district map to include attendance boundaries for the new school; that process will begin this fall, officials said. The district named Gabrielle Niño the school’s first principal. Niño was principal of Bluebonnet Elementary School in RRISD for four years. Before that she was assistant principal at Robertson Elementary School, summer school principal at Union Hill Elementary School and a teacher at Cactus Ranch Elementary School. “I am honored by the district’s request and look forward to my continued service to the community as well as the challenges ahead,” Niño said in a news release. Superintendent Steve Flores said Niño will bring a wealth of experience to the community. Voters approved funding for the new elementary school in May 2014, and the project is estimated to cost $36.7 million.