ALAMO HEIGHTS, Texas – After two years of construction, the new Alamo Heights High School is complete and ready to welcome students back for the first day of school.
The rebuilt campus replaces a building more than 75 years old that lacked modern safety features and spaces designed for collaborative learning.
District leaders say the new school is built for the next generation of students while still preserving pieces of its history.
“So much has been done to bring our new campus into a place where we’re ready for the next generation of Mules and learning,” Principal Cory Smith said.
During construction, students spent the past two years learning in portable buildings while waiting to return to a permanent campus.
“It’s really relieving,” senior Conrad Rocha shared. “I’m really glad that we’re back in what feels more like a school setting.”
Smith said the new three-story building adds 33,000 square feet of interior space. The rebuild also expanded outdoor areas, including a student lawn and four outdoor classroom spaces that teachers can reserve.
Inside, the campus includes collaborative areas outside classrooms for group projects.
Administrators said safety was also a major focus of the design, including improved visibility and features that allow certain areas to be secured during an emergency.
“We now have a safe and secure single point of entry,” Smith said.
Visitors will be required to check in through the lobby before being buzzed in to enter the campus.
Smith also shared details about the new library that now sits at the center of campus.
“So it’s accessible both from the inside of the building and from the outside courtyard, which was wonderful. We’ve added four independent study rooms into our library, similar to a college. And I think that’s one really special thing about our campus is it has such a collegiate feel to it now,” she noted.
Teachers are just as thrilled to move into the new space.
“This is top-notch,” social studies teacher Zane Reinhard stated.
Reinhard compared the experience to moving into a new home.
“Everything is just perfect and pristine, and I don’t want to scratch anything or hurt anything, but it is absolutely beautiful,” he said.
While the building is new, school leaders worked to preserve reminders of the old campus. Murals were replicated throughout the school, old signage was moved into the library and class photos from past years line the walls.
Construction continues elsewhere in the district. Across the street from the high school, a new district community center is being built and is expected to be completed in August 2027.
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