By Eric Althoff
MANOR, Tex.鈥擳he Manor Independent School District recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the district鈥檚 new K-8 technology campus. School officials were joined by representatives of architect ADM Group, Inc., construction manager at risk Lee Lewis Construction Inc. and planning designer HPM.
As part of a $280 million bond package approved by voters in 2019, the Manor Independent School District is making improvements throughout its purview to accommodate an increasing student population. This also necessitated the new technology campus.
The new campus will entail 40 acres, and its 116,000-square-foot building will host 800 children.聽 The school鈥檚 amenities will include athletic facilities and seating for 500 spectators, as well as art rooms, media center and various flexible classrooms and outdoors learning spaces.
鈥淣ot only is this a momentous occasion for Manor ISD because it marks the first step in building a new state-of-the-art facility for our district鈥檚 scholars, but it is groundbreaking because it will be the first campus of its kind in our region,鈥� Dr. Andre D. Spencer, Manor ISD鈥檚 superintendent, said in a recent statement. 鈥淭his campus will serve K-8 students under one roof, which is a rare educational model in the public school system in our state. We are excited about the many proven benefits of this model, including lower levels of anxiety among middle schoolers.鈥�
Program manager HPM is providing quality control, preconstruction services, schedule maintenance and project management for the tech campus.
鈥淗PM is proud to lead Manor ISD and our project partners through the development of this exciting project,鈥� Andrew Betts, HPM senior program manager, said. 鈥淭his campus will provide a unique opportunity to incorporate technology and interactive learning within nine levels of education, all on one campus.
鈥淭he ceremony is a symbol of Manor ISD鈥檚 commitment to providing the best educational resources for the scholars within this community.鈥�