Construction is ongoing at Richardson ISD’s six junior high schools as students returned to campus earlier this month.
District officials shared updates at the Aug. 20 school board meeting on the middle school transformation project, which will transform RISD’s six remaining junior highs into middle schools for sixth through eighth grade.
The overview
All six junior highs successfully welcomed seventh and eighth graders back to campus on Aug. 12 for the first day of school, Superintendent Tabitha Branum said.
Construction kicked off this summer on all middle school sites. Richardson North Junior High and Apollo Junior High will receive renovations and additions to their existing buildings to transform into middle schools.
Liberty, Parkhill, Westwood and Richardson West junior highs are having brand-new campuses built next to the current schools.
Construction is planned to wrap up in summer 2028, with the new middle schools opening to sixth through eighth grade in fall 2028.
“Two more summers left and we’ll have six amazing middle schools,” said Le Estes, executive director of facilities planning, design and construction.
What’s new
Students at Apollo and North began the school year in portable classrooms while the existing junior high buildings are renovated.
Portables and covered walkways were installed this summer for students and staff, as well as a temporary administration suite at Apollo. Estes said construction fencing was also put up around the junior high buildings.
The northwest corner of North has been demolished, Estes said, and renovations to both buildings and construction of new academic wings are ongoing.
A closer look
Construction fencing was also installed at the other four campuses around the sites of the new middle school buildings, Estes said.
Temporary parking spaces are also in place at Liberty and Parkhill, Estes said.
The new buildings are currently under construction at Liberty, Westwood and West, while underground utilities for the new campus are in progress at Parkhill.
The demolition of Parkhill’s small gym is also ongoing, while the Richardson High School baseball field was demolished this summer to make way for the new Richardson West Middle School.
Also of note
Most of the new middle school buildings are being constructed on the site of junior high athletic facilities, requiring some athletic programs to shift practices to an off-site location during construction. Branum said all of the new off-site athletic practice plans are “ready to go” for the year.
