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Construction on the new Parker Elementary School — Houston’s original music magnet — is almost 25 percent complete with the steel structure already in place and build-out of the interior walls underway.
“Things were very slow in the beginning due to rainy weather, but since the walls have gone up, things have been moving along quite quickly, said Parker Principal Lori Frodine. “We prefer a quality job rather than a rushed job, so we are very happy to see that.”
Some of the features of the $30 million project include a 500-seat auditorium, expanded music and practice spaces, and flexible learning spaces for 850 students.
The project’s completion is slated for fourth quarter of 2017, with the school opening its doors to students in January 2018.
In addition to the new school, Parker PTO recently began raising funds for a new SPARK Park. The SPARK School Park Program works with schools and neighborhoods to develop community parks on public school grounds. Contact the Parker PTO — https://parkerpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home — for more information on how to join the organization or donate to the new park.
HISD is in the process of renovating or rebuilding 40 schools as part of the voter-approved 2012 Bond Project. Construction is underway at roughly three dozen campuses, which is more activity than any other time in district history.
Almost 50 percent of bond projects will be complete and open to students by the end of this summer.
Once all work is complete, HISD will boast of one of the most modern portfolios of urban high schools in the nation.
For more information about the Parker construction project, visit www.houstonisd.org/Page/71777.