Photo by Shawn Epps

Alvin ISD has started construction in Pearland on a new high school needed to accommodate the growing population in the district.



Shadow Creek High School, which is set to open in the 2016–17 school year, will be the third comprehensive high school in Alvin ISD. Daniel Combs, Alvin ISD director of communications, said the district's other two high schools in Alvin and Manvel are at or near capacity, which also resulted in the need for a new high school. The first Alvin High School—now at a different location— opened in 1894, and Alvin ISD opened Manvel High School in 2006.



"The growth in that area is just staggering," Combs said. "Seeing that area as future high-population density, the board opted to purchase the land before the school was actually needed."



Combs said the district purchased the land at 11850 W. Broadway St. with funds from the district's 2009 bond election.



Having secured the site for a future high school in 2009, the district was then in need of funds to build it, which was made possible with the passage of a $212.45 million bond in 2013, he said.



The three-story campus, at a cost of $104.5 million, will house 2,500 students.



"It will have traditional and nontraditional learning spaces that will allow students to develop critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and citizenship, all of which are skills necessary for college or the 21st-century workforce," Combs said.



Shadow Creek High School will draw some students from the current Manvel High School attendance zone, he said. However, district officials are still in the process of setting the attendance zones for the three high schools.



Combs said the district accepted feedback from the community through the first week of December.



Alvin ISD is the fastest-growing school district in Brazoria County. In the last five years, the district has seen significant increases in enrollment, resulting in a total of 20,843 students, Combs said.



"It is expected that within the next five years, the district will reach a total of 25,000 students," Combs said. "Over the next 10 years, it is forecasted that Alvin ISD will surpass 30,000 students."