KILLEEN, Texas — The newly built Chaparral High School won't be on display until Thursday night, but Principal Gina Brown wanted to give everyone a preview.
Brown said the High School is pretty but functional.
Both the classrooms and common areas between will feature soft seating, much like a college campus. Brown added that she feels the campus as a whole resembles that of a College.
The new school can fit three-thousand students, but as of right now only around 17-hundred are enrolled. Brown says this leaves room for growth.
"The school is definitely looking towards the future," she added.
That's why they've decided not to include lockers, leaving more room in the halls for students to get to and from class.
Inside the classrooms, students will find desks tailored to their learning styles. Some desks will be shorter for students to sit at, while others will be tall so they can stand.
A few desks will also give high schoolers the ability to write on them with dry erase markers.
"It's an environment where first of all, students are going to feel safe, so they're going to be more likely to collaborate with others," Brown said.
Every hallway will have a space for collaboration, where students can sit and eat, do homework, socialize or study.
This collaborative environment is also open to the teachers.
"We've hired 93 teachers, so a lot of them are spread out, but we've made sure to group them by content areas," she said.
This will allow students to find teachers they need for a certain subject easily, and for teachers to be able to work together.
Brown said when students walk into the new school they're going to want to be there, adding that they're always looking for more feedback, just like they did when this project was being built.
"We're anxious to get feedback from students – my big thing is you're only as great as the students you serve," she said.
A dedication ceremony will be held at the High School Thursday night at 6 p.m. Community members and administration will have the chance to see the inside of the building for the first time.
Brown said she is most excited for people to see the cafeteria, which she said looks like a five star Café.
"What I am hoping is that when students walk in the building there is just this sense of pride - rather than I have to go to school," she added.