Rediscover Fort Worth ISD Celebration Attracts Enthusiastic Crowd to Southwest High School
Gray skies turned blue for the excited crowd that turned out for a celebration of new facilities at Fort Worth ISD’s Southwest High School on June 3. Attendees received an update on the school’s 2017 bond projects, including renovation of the media center, engineering classroom, award-winning robotics, science work space, and an updated radio/tv/graphic design suite, with its state-of-the art broadcast studio.
Fort Worth ISD Board of Education District 6 Trustee Anne Darr opened the celebration with a heartfelt welcome to “Rediscover Fort Worth ISD and Southwest High School.”
“It’s been too long since we have been able to gather together,” she said, “and it is fitting that our first event is to highlight one of the many success stories of our 2017 Capital Improvement Program.”
Mrs. Darr provided a brief history of the school, built in 1967 and opened in 1968. She described how an aging and obsolete infrastructure has been replaced with a new roof, energy efficient air-conditioning and lighting, and new ceilings.
She also detailed how the beautiful new façade serves as an introduction to the 3,000-square-foot front entry addition that provides a higher level of security for students, staff, and visitors. It also presents a dramatic, sleek and modern level of visibility with plenty of curb appeal.
Superintendent Dr. Kent P. Scribner thanked the community and the board for supporting the Southwest High School project.
“The pandemic did not stop our teachers and it did not stop our construction projects either,” Dr. Scribner said. “The work continues and that is why we are able to showcase Southwest High School today.”
Dr. Scribner explained the importance of the career and college counseling facility known as the Go Center, also located near the front entry. He and Principal John Engel invited visitors on student-led campus tours, taking visitors down bright hallways, into contemporary classrooms and labs.
The Southwest Jazz Band entertained as guests queued up for the campus tours. Throughout the morning, visitors –including members of the District’s Capital Improvement Oversight Committee, spent time in the school’s new TV studio, sitting at the anchor desk, the talk show set, and posing in front of the green screen. Many spoke with Southwest students who are getting a head start on broadcast careers, both in front of and behind the camera.
Visitors also saw areas still under construction, including the cafeteria and library. The tours ended with a short ride to the field house, with its new lockers, workout spaces and meeting room.
The school was 207,887 square feet when the new construction began. When complete, the school’s new square footage will be 229,252.
Another Rediscover Fort Worth ISD event is slated for 10 a.m., Wednesday, June 9, at North Side High School, debuting the campus’s new Mariachi rehearsal hall, a beautiful outdoor mural, and new and improved professional cosmetology salon and classroom as well as a two-bay auto technology work space. [See attachment for invitation.]
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