Students, Austin ISD staff and community members rallied at Menchaca Elementary School today in celebration to kick off construction related to the school’s modernization project.

Menchaca Elementary, located at 12120 Manchaca Road, Austin, is one of 17 AISD campuses being modernized with funds from the district’s 2017 bond, Austin ISD Superintendent Paul Cruz said at the event. Through modernization the campus will receive technology upgrades, safety improvements, flexible learning spaces and a new building.

Cruz thanked the local community for supporting the district’s bond and for “looking at the future, not the past.”

Menchaca Elementary School Principal Eliza Loyola also spoke at the event and directed the school’s students to form an outline where the new building will stand. Students then grabbed shovels and turned dirt at the campus.