More than three years after the North Dallas tornado that wrecked several schools, Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde offered a tour Tuesday of the repaired Thomas Jefferson High School.
It’s one of three new structures replacing destroyed schools.
Elizalde said she hopes they lure private school students back to public education.
The original Thomas Jefferson High School was more than 60 years old and it was receiving upgrades when the tornado wrecked all that in October 2019.
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“But now we're taking something that was destruction and now we're going to be able to have a debut,” Elizalde said.
The renovated Thomas Jefferson is different in many ways. Classrooms are larger than the 1956 design.
“The classrooms were built much smaller in the original blueprint because the specifications were different,” she said.
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The big new library will be much better, with all the modern media and not just a bunch of books.
The new TJ has a nice baseball field and a nice football practice field courtesy of donations from professional teams.
“It is a private school education at a public school price because it's free,” Elizalde said.
Attracting families that spend money for private schools in North Dallas is a dream with the $158 million TJ renovation that includes a complete replacement of Cary Middle School, adjacent to the high school.
The Cary structure was leveled to become a new kindergarten through 8th-grade Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy. Those two buildings both open in January.
The third destroyed building, the former Walnut Hill Elementary School on Midway Road, will become a career institute offering instruction in trades for students from five Dallas high schools. That building will open next fall.
“Our vision is to keep the students that we have and reenergize folk to say, ‘Huh? Maybe I'll invest in my kids' college education and I can send my kids to public education and use those dollars for college,’” she said.
The current superintendent was a lower-level administrator when the buildings were destroyed. Now, she hopes to oversee a new era in North Dallas public education.
Edwin Flores, the school trustee for North Dallas, and Karen Craft, Thomas Jefferson PTSA leader, both told NBC 5 they wish the new building had come faster, but they are pleased with the results.
Students have attended classes at temporary locations since the tornado.
