After about 16 months of construction, New Caney ISD’s Highlands Elementary School is slated to be completed in July, said Scott Powers, the district’s executive director of public relations, via a May 7 email. The school is slated to open for the 2025-26 school year, which begins Aug. 6, according to NCISD.

Highlands Elementary is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Primary Year Program, as previously reported by Community Impact. Rodree Carlile—the former principal at Kings Manor Elementary—will lead Highlands elementary and was named principal Jan. 6.

Fifty students per grade level—first through fifth grade—will be accepted at the campus for a total of 250 students, as previously reported. In the 2026-27 school year and after, transfer applications can be submitted for first grade students.