Two campuses in the Dallas school district that were closed in 2012 will be revived when classes resume next week.
The Dallas Morning News reports that the buildings that housed Fannin Elementary and D.A. Hulcy Middle are reopening as part of the district's Public School Choice initiative.
Fannin Elementary will reopen as an innovation, design and entrepreneurship academy (IDEA) for high schoolers, and Hulcy Middle School will focus on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).
About 125 ninth-graders will start IDEA at Fannin High School, and about 200 sixth-graders will begin the STEAM program at Hulcy. Each schools will add a grade in succeeding years; Fannin will eventually serve grades nine to 12, and Hulcy will service grades six to eight.
Choice schools in Dallas have instruction that is tailored around specific interest areas such as performing arts or STEAM or a certain learning style such as personalized learning. The district's goal is to have 35 Choice Schools by 2020.
The district says the IDEA program at Fannin will be a personalized learning school. Students receive personalized instruction based on what they need to know, when and how it should be taught, with content tailored to their needs. Every student will be issued a laptop and will have internship opportunities with a business mentor beginning in the 10th grade.
The STEAM program is described as a student-centered, community-based school that anchors teaching and learning under a science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics model.