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Construction on the final building phase of Worthing High School is nearing 100 percent completion, with students and staff eager to move into the new facility next month.

As crews complete final punch-list items, new furniture will be delivered in the coming weeks, preparing the building for students when they return from winter break on Jan. 7.

“It’s really beautiful,” Principal Khalilah Campbell-Rhone said on a recent walkthrough of the new building. “I’m very excited. We just received a permit from the city to start moving in.”

Part of HISD’s voter-approved 2012 Bond Program, the $33-million multi-phase project’s newest structure features four flexible learning centers, three career and technical education classrooms, and new spaces for administrative offices and student guidance. In addition, the new building has a JROTC area, weight room, competition and auxiliary gyms, hospitality lab, commons area and cafeteria, parking lot, and bus drive.

A two-story classroom wing, which was part of an earlier construction phase, opened to students in August 2016 and features brightly colored learning centers, science labs, career and technology education spaces, and a collegiate-style lecture hall. This area is accessible from the new facility through a large outdoor courtyard.

The project also included renovations to the original building, including work on the auditorium stage, music rooms, restrooms, locker rooms, and clinic.

Located in the Sunnyside neighborhood, Worthing is a historic secondary school that offers a comprehensive academic curriculum, as well as career and technology programs, with pathways in tourism and hospitality, information technology, and agricultural and animal science.

Worthing is one of 40 schools, including 29 high schools, being renovated or rebuilt as part of the 2012 Bond Program. More than 70 percent of all HISD construction projects are complete, and that number is expected to top 80 percent by the end of 2018. Once all projects are complete, HISD will boast one of the most modern portfolios of urban high schools in the country. Follow @Build_HISD on Twitter for the latest updates on the 2012 Bond Program and school construction across the district.