Bond 2021 introduced several renovation projects across Richardson ISD, including updates to J.J. Pearce High School. Construction on Pearce began in 1966, and the campus opened to students in the fall of 1969. For over 50 years, Pearce has been teaching, supporting, and guiding students in the Richardson area, and with the remodeling, plans to make room for even more students in the community.
Before students and staff get to enjoy the new and improved Pearce, the three-year reconstruction project has required the school to adapt to the changes construction has caused. Areas of the school have become partially closed off to accommodate the construction, leading to several teachers being relocated to portable classrooms. OnRamps Rhetoric and English III teacher Robyn Lewis appreciates the perks her portable room has brought her: the ability to adjust the temperature, easy access to the outdoors, and her own parking spot. Teachers and students can expect to be back in the main building permanently by the 2024-2025 school year.
RISD Assistant Superintendent of District Operations Sandra Hayes encourages students to look forward to the new features coming to Pearce. The Program Planning Committee allowed students, teachers, and other faculty members to collaborate with architects to provide input on where the school needed improvement. New main halls, improved surveillance, open space and a modernized cafeteria will create an enhanced learning and teaching environment for both students and staff to enjoy.
Pearce is the last of RISD’s four high schools to undergo construction, and Principal Carrie Breedlove expresses her excitement for students to finally see the updated building.
“It’s going to look and feel like a modern, 21st century structure, and our students will really be able to feel the care put into the school,” Breedlove said.
The construction is on track to be completed in time for the 2024-2025 school year.
(This feature was written by Pearce senior Madeline Dorjee, who is a member of the RISD Professional Internship Program that allows students to gain experience in a field or industry of their choice prior to taking college classes. Madeline is interning with RISD Strategy & Engagement and The RISD Foundation. She plans to study journalism at the University of Texas after graduation.)
