A brand new Alamo Heights High School building boasts an extra 33,000 square feet, larger classrooms, sleek furniture and windows that let natural light in from almost every direction.
But the campus also nods subtly to the past.
Like the “AH” seal of blue and gold emblazoned on the terrazzo floor near the front entrance. Or the old oak trees that have decorated the campus for years.
“Parents and grandparents and families, while there’s nostalgia on the old building, I think that they want and appreciate what we’re doing for students — for this next generation,” said the Principal Cory Smith.
Modernizing the campus, located in the Alamo Heights Independent School District was a three-year feat: one year of the design phase and two years of construction that forced students and teachers into temporary modular buildings.
But on Tuesday morning, students and staff went back home. Student volunteers helped teachers move boxes and equipment into their new classrooms, welcomed by music and sparkly cheerleaders.
Maria Cubero, a Spanish teacher who’s been with the school for six years, said her favorite thing about the new building is the light that pours in from the large, clear windows found in almost every room and hallway.
“Y la vista,” Cubero added, referring to her classroom’s clear view of treelined Broadway.
She was almost finished decorating her classroom, outfitted with flags, art and books.
On the other end of the campus, Veer Patel, an incoming senior and student body president, carried boxes into classrooms, enjoying the homecoming.
Patel, like most of this year’s seniors, spent a year in the old building and two years in the modular buildings.
“Just seeing this new building, seeing the amount of space we have, the new facilities we have, is amazing,” he said. His favorite part of the renovation was the new furniture and classrooms.
A nod to nostalgia
Alamo Heights High School was established in 1909 in a two-room building near the current location of Cambridge Elementary.
It wouldn’t be until 1950, after the district acquired land, started and restarted design plans, passed a bond issue in a 3-1 vote, that the school opened to the public on the corner of Broadway and East Castano Drive.
“Alamo Heights is a generational school. A lot of our kids’ parents and grandparents went to school here,” said Smith.
Given the tight-knit community, it was important to the architectural design committee — comprised of Smith and other staff — for the new building design to keep integral hints of the old.
The north wing of the main hallway is decorated with rows and rows of framed class graduation pictures, washed in soft yellow light from small spot lamps placed strategically to highlight the photos.
At the end of the hall, the eye is drawn to what could be a life-sized wall graphic of Caledonia, a mule and Alamo Heights High mascot, bucking into action, a copy of a beloved student-painted mural from the old building.
The new facade is also a callback to the original, with a sandy tan brick exterior. And even though the new building is three stories tall instead of its original two, someone looking at the building from the outside wouldn’t be able to tell.
“We set the third floor back by 10 feet so that it doesn’t appear to be a third-story building when you’re looking at it from the front,” Smith said. “It maintains that traditional look and feel of the old building.
The school also kept its World War II Honor Roll, now located on the second floor, a bronze plaque created in 1945 commemorating Alamo Heights High School alumni who served in the war, 25 of which were killed in action and five that went missing in action.
Modern makeover
After the AHISD community passed a $371 million bond in 2023, the district started chipping away at different construction and renovation projects, including tearing down and building a new main academic building for the district’s lone high school.
The high school makeover totaled about $116 million. Smith, who’s entering her seventh year as principal of Alamo Heights High School, was most proud of the school’s larger classrooms, which went from 650 square feet to 800 square feet.
Updates also include new collaborative spaces where students can work in small groups, four new multipurpose classrooms, a brand new library with small groups rooms and more.
“In years prior, if a teacher wanted to send students out to work on a project with a partner or a group, there really wasn’t a space for them to do that,” Smith recalled. “Now, as you walk the building, you’ll notice a lot of open collab spaces. We’ve put one within an easily viewable distance from every classroom.”
The outdoor portion of the campus also got some love, with a redone student courtyard outfitted with stones from the original courtyard, a new student lawn with amphitheater seating and balcony spaces where teachers can hold class in the open air.
Some of the less flashy features are perhaps the most important in schools, like a new front entrance vestibule where visitors have to sign in before entering the building, and bulletproof sliding doors that block the view from inside classrooms in the case of an emergency.
Classroom doors also have extra-strength flip locks that “nothing” can get through, said Smith.
There’s also a room specially designed for teacher professional development and a college room on the first floor where students can meet with advisers.
AHISD’s first day of school is Aug. 19, and there are still some final touches that construction crews are trying to wrap up, including some mural designs, glass installations and unpacking library books. Smith said those shouldn’t get in the way of student learning.
“We’re open for business.”
