The overview
Richardson ISD’s middle school transformation, which transitions sixth graders from elementary to junior high campuses, began with Lake Highlands and Forest Meadow, which opened as middle schools last year.
The 2025 bond that voters approved in November will fund construction on the remaining six junior high campuses to convert to middle schools.
“We wanted to ensure that there was equity across all eight middle school transformations, with Lake Highlands and Forest Meadow being our trailblazers,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. “However, every site and some programming that is housed at each campus does influence the design of the building, and each building will have a unique look and a unique identity.”
The details
The junior high campuses require varying levels of expansion, renovation and construction to take on the additional students and programming planned for the middle schools, chief of staff Mike Jasso told the school board. The current designs plan for a 1,000-student capacity across all campuses.
Academic and extracurricular programming expansions for the middle schools include:
- Core academic spaces (sixth through eighth grade)
- Science/labs
- Career and technical education
- Special education and intervention
- Fine arts and athletics
- Guidance and counseling
- Collaboration
- Teacher support spaces
- Administration/clinic
- Cafeteria/kitchen
“We are now constructing schools that can compete with any other school in the DFW area,” board trustee Eric Eager said. “It’s going to have long-term impacts for current and future generations.”
Breaking it down
James Watson, RISD’s senior executive director of operations, presented initial design plans and early renderings for each of the transformed middle schools. The major construction plans for each school include:
Apollo Junior High
- Building additions for core classrooms, cafeteria, kitchen and gym
- Additional parking
- New main entry
- Constructing new school where track and football field currently sits
- Reconstructing new track and football field
- New building addition for administration space, cafeteria, library and gym
- Shifting football field north to create additional parking and circulation
- New main entry
- New pickup and drop-off lane
- Three-story addition with administration, fine arts and athletics
- New main entry
- New parking and circulation
- New tennis courts
- Constructing new three-story school on location of baseball field
- Baseball field reconstructed on old building site
- Additional parking and queuing areas
- Constructing new building where track, football field and tennis courts are located
- Reconstructing track, football field and tennis courts where old building sits
Students will remain on all campuses throughout construction, with portable buildings used for instruction as needed.
What’s next
This month, the city is reviewing design plans, which are set to be finalized in the spring. School board President Chris Poteet said that people should be prepared for these early design plans to change throughout the process.
Construction is slated to begin in June and projected to last until May 2028, with all campuses planned to open to sixth graders as middle schools in fall 2028.
