AISD Announces Plan To Move Into Former Hastings Distribution Center

By • Dec 25, 2017

Credit aisd.org

Amarillo school superintendent Dana West last week announced that the Amarillo Independent School District would be making use of the former Hastings Distribution Center on Plains Boulevard in Amarillo.

As The Amarillo Globe-News reports, AISD plans to convert the 200,000-square-foot building into a high school academy for science, technology, engineering and math students. It’s not yet known how exactly the academy will operate, or whether it will operate full-time or part-time.

AISD is hoping to recruit 1,000 students to the new facility. The price tag for the remodel project currently stands at $3.4 million—far lower than the $80 to $100 million it would cost to build a new school.

The school district is still considering building a new school sometime in the future, but moving into the Hastings building will put off that necessity for a few years. The building was left empty when Hastings, a major nationwide entertainment retailer formerly based in Amarillo, folded last year.  

Related Content

AISD To Retain Shortened Summer Calendar With More Fall Breaks

By • Dec 19, 2017
Public Domain

The Amarillo Independent School District will send students to school early again next summer, according to The Amarillo Globe-News.

Amarillo Approves $100m Bond For School Improvements

By • Nov 12, 2017
Who What Where Nguyen Why / Wikimedia Commons

Amarillo voters last week approved a massive $100 million bond proposal benefitting the Amarillo Independent School District. In response, AISD officials announced an aggressive construction schedule to spend the money on a wide variety of school repairs and renovations.

Amarillo teachers to receive $1,800 raises next year

By • Jun 1, 2017
amarillo.com

The Amarillo Independent School District voted this week to give all Amarillo public school teachers a $1,500 raise, reports The Amarillo Globe-News.

The Amarillo Independent School District Board of Trustees voted for the raises unanimously, 6-0. The plan gives raises to all AISD employees, not just teachers, and it comes with a price tag of over $5 million.

Study: Graduation Rates At Texas Charters 30 Points Lower Than Public Schools

By • Dec 19, 2017
USDoD/Public Domain

According to a new study, the average graduation rate of Texas charter schools students is almost 30 percentage points lower than that of traditional public schools.

As Houston Public Media reports, the 2017 study from the Texas Education Agency showed that fewer than two out of every three Texas charter school students graduated on time.

Panhandle Philanthropists Give Aid To Rural Students

By • Oct 11, 2017
Flickr Creative Commons

Three big-name philanthropists from the Texas Panhandle have ensured that six high school students from Miami and Canadian will be able to pay for college, reports The Amarillo Globe-News.

The funding comes from the Pickens-Abraham Foundation, which is a partnership between energy magnate T. Boone Pickens and Salem and Ruth Ann Abraham of Canadian. In addition to the tuition funds for the six high school students, the foundation also provides funding for the Canadian and Miami independent school districts.

Oklahoma School Districts Receive $2M Grant For STEM Studies

By • Dec 18, 2017
Misawa AFB

Oklahoma’s school districts got an early Christmas present this week, as it was announced that districts statewide would receive a $2 million grant.

As KOKH reports, the donation is being provided by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board. The grant will go toward educating Oklahoma students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, better known as the STEM subjects.