London Independent School District is growing fast, but a new primary school will give the school district a bit of space.
The new London Primary School will serve prekindergarten and kindergarten students this fall. The space these grades are leaving at London Elementary School means the older grades won’t be as cramped. Without the new primary school, the elementary school would have more portable classrooms.
London ISD celebrated the new school Friday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting.
Near the entrance to the school is an open-concept library. The school’s gymnasium doubles as a cafeteria.
At the ribbon-cutting, soon-to-be kindergartner Jayla Fulbright headed straight for the bookshelves in the library. She picked up a book to read, before sitting down to color at a child-sized table.
“It’s beautiful,” mom Alexa Fulbright said of the new school. “I love that everything is tiny for little ones. Everything is miniature. It’s just for them.”
Fulbright has several older children in the district, and she’s seen how the district has grown. When her son, now a fourth grader, was in pre-K, she only remembers two pre-K classrooms.
“It’s great to see that there’s many more classes and space,” Fulbright said.
Funding for the new school was secured by a bond election approved by voters in 2022. The new, 30,346-square-foot school cost $14.5 million.
Superintendent Bill Chapman said that in addition to free pre-K for qualifying students, the district offers tuition-based pre-K for any 4-year-old in London ISD. The new school includes several open classrooms, which Chapman expects to fill as the district continues to grow.
Chapman said that at junior high school and high school, the district will likely meet capacity in the next two to three years. The district will have a facility committee examine the short-term and long-term needs of the district, Chapman said.
The district is expected to experience 8% growth each year, Chapman said.
Construction on London Primary School was only recently completed. Teachers are now hurrying to move in and personalize their classrooms before students return on July 23.
“I’m super excited to be welcoming our newest and littlest Pirates,” Principal Lori Maldonado said.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Take a look at London ISD’s new primary school for pre-K and kindergarten
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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