Jaime D. Padron Elementary School—located in a retrofitted campus that was once the site of a warehouse—will open in August, Principal Rafael Soriano said.
Formerly known as North Central Elementary School No. 2, the Austin ISD school is one of a few facilities constructed as part of the district's $343.7 million 2008 bond program. AISD held a groundbreaking Oct. 1 for the 7.6-acre campus, which will include a 143,000-square-foot school with 57 classrooms when it opens Aug. 25.
Soriano, who was principal at McBee Elementary School for five years, said the site has been completely transformed.
"From the groundbreaking to now, you wouldn't recognize the building. People come in and say, 'Oh my gosh, this is the same place?' because it has two stories, and it has a completely different design," Soriano said, adding: "The outside walls were the only things that were left, and everything inside is new. It's really a new school at the end of the day."
