Hundreds of parents and children came to a celebration of the progress being made on a new school building for Kolter Elementary on Saturday, Sep. 14, which is scheduled to open next summer at its original location, 9710 Runnymeade Drive, Houston.

"Soon, the kids sitting here will get to come home to Kolter Elementary at this beautiful new campus right here in their neighborhood," Houston ISD Board Member Sue Deigaard said.

The reconstruction of the school comes after the original building sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Harvey in Aug. 2017. It is one of four HISD elementary schools being rebuilt as a result of the hurricane.

"Who we are is much bigger than anything Mother Nature can bring our way, and much bigger than any building—although this one is pretty big," Kolter Elementary Principal Julie Dickinson said at the event. "To all of you students here today—and there's a lot of you here—you make everything worth it, and you're the reason we do what we do, and I promise there won't be a challenge too big for us to always do what's best for you."