The Harris County, Texas, Department of Education (HCDE) is building a new adult education facility and a new middle school, and renovating an existing administration building.
The $19.1 million. 51,000-square-foot adult education facility will accommodate 1,000 to 1,200 students. It will have 17 classrooms, five laboratories, community/multipurpose rooms, administration spaces, a two-level parking garage and a surface parking lot.
It will replace an aging group of buildings and provide a unified campus much like a community college. It will enable the county to expand its course offerings and enable students to grow their language skills, complete their general educational development, and develop new job competencies.
Highpoint Middle School will serve 60 students in grades six to eight. The $8.2 million, 28,000-square-foot facility will have six classrooms, two computer labs, a science lab, administration rooms, multipurpose rooms, teacher work room and break rooms, and a clinic. lt will replace an older facility that can no longer be expanded.
The architect for the adult facility and Highpoint is cre8 Architects.
The county education department's existing administration building, constructed in 1989, has not been upgraded in many years. The $8.8 million renovation project will give the facility a modern look. The existing board room will be moved to the first floor to improve access for visitors and guests. Other spaces will be consolidated and realigned for a more efficient working environment. Building systems will be brought up to code standards, including the installation of a sprinkler system.
The architect for the renovation is English + Associates Architects.
The program manager for all three projects is Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam.
All three projects are scheduled to be completed by December 2022.
The county department of education serves about 30,000 students; it has four alternative campuses, 17 Head Start centers for early childhood education, after-school programming in dozens of settings, and the largest adult education program in Texas. It also provides therapy services in area schools.
