Woodrow Wilson High School students perform at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new arts and science wing. Photos by Danny Fulgencio
On March 23, Woodrow Wilson students decked out in elaborate tribal costumes danced an Aztec Blessing in the auditorium of the high school while guests trickled in for the ribbon-cutting and open house of the school’s brand new arts and science wing. Dozens of Woodrow parents and alumni, along with community members, attended the ribbon-cutting, eager to see the new 39,000 square-foot facility. Woodrow Principal Kyle Richardson welcomed the crowd, and several other speakers crossed the stage to delever short speeches and “thank you”s. Craig Reynolds, the architect who designed the wing and who also happens to be a Woodrow parent, shared his vision for the new wing. He hopes it will be a space that gives teachers the tools they need to teach, and a space where students can embrace learning and growing. “A school is more than a building,” he says. “We are done warehousing children inside buildings in Dallas ISD.” The $14 million building, which was funded as a part of the 2008 DISD bond election, is three stories high. It includes 19 classrooms and science labs, a two-story rehearsal hall, a dance studio, dressing rooms, a black box theater and all kinds of other goodies. The ceremony wrapped up with the Woodrow fight song, and then the audience took the opportunity to walk down memory lane and see the changes the school has made since the good old days. Jim Peden, of Woodrow’s class of 1959, told his daughter, Leigh Straughn, about when he was in the very first Woodrow musical. In the dance studio, students performed or free-styled to various beats, and in the new band room, band instructor Chris Evetts worked with his students on a prepared set of songs. “It’s great to finally see it complete,” sums up District 2 DISD trustee Mike Morath.
