SAN ANTONIO – John Jay High School families should expect traffic changes, limited entrances, and ongoing construction when students return to class Monday.
However, Principal Teresa Cuellar Hernandez says the work will provide long-needed upgrades to classrooms, programs and parking.
“The day kids let out, we went for construction. But we have been in construction on the other side of campus since about March of last year,” Cuellar Hernandez said.
The project includes significant improvements across the campus, including new engineering and robotics classrooms and upgrades to the career and technical education department.
“Our whole CTE department is getting new culinary labs, new cosmetology labs,” Cuellar Hernandez said. “It’s going to be so amazing. We really need it.”
The campus ROTC program will also be brought under one roof with the rest of the school, a move officials say will help add more parking. For now, families should prepare for congestion.
Cuellar Hernandez said there will be one parking area that must serve staff, students and visitors. There will also be only one entrance and exit for vehicles, and one entrance into the building near the auditorium.
“We want parents to be really, really patient with us,” Hernandez said. “Right now for our parents, the drop-off is going to be a mess until we get a procedure going.”
The return to campus also comes with renewed attention on pedestrian safety near the school. Last September, Jose Flores III, 16, was hit while crossing Marbach Road during lunch and later died.
San Antonio’s Public Works Department installed a traffic light that will stop cars so people can cross safely. Later this year, the city says it will conduct a comprehensive corridor study of Marbach Road from Loop 410 to Military Drive.
Campuswide work is expected to be completed by January 2027.
John Jay officials sent out the video below to families to help navigate the first day of school:
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