Teachers and community members lined the main hall of Waco High School on Wednesday to welcome students for the first day of school. As students filed in the Trice Avenue entrance, cheers erupted.
Students who were otherwise gloomy about their first day even cracked a smile as they walked through the tunnel of teachers and pom-poms.
Like many first days, there were a few glitches, including faulty metal detectors and forgotten clear backpacks.
But this year also marked the grand opening of the school’s new $157 million campus.
The new Waco High is one of three new or renovated schools financed by a 2021 bond package to open this year. South Waco Elementary and Kendrick Elementary also welcomed students Wednesday.
“So it’s a great opportunity to pour into our students of today,” Spicer said.
The $355 million bond package also funded the replacements for G.W. Carver and Tennyson Middle Schools, which had previously been completed.
Senior Alana Bond said that even though she had toured the building before, the change is still an adjustment.
“This is a really drastic change from the old building,” Bond said.
Waco ISD Superintendent Tiffany Spicer said the project was both needed and deserved.
“The people of Waco, Texas, voted to make this happen for you,” Spicer said.
The district also sought to honor Waco High’s history. In the 1980s, the school was created by consolidating Jefferson-Moore, Richfield and the original Waco High into a single campus at the 1960 Richfield site.
The mascots and colors of the three schools are displayed throughout the new campus, including murals, classroom wings and libraries.
“If you walk down the hallway, you’ll see tribute and homage to all of our students, our staff and the schools that make up Waco High School,” Spicer said.
She said the opening is a milestone for students and staff.
“So the teachers can say, I was here on Aug. 13, 2025. And the class of 2026 – they say, hey, I was there. I was a senior when it opened. And the class of 2030, when they come, they say, I was here for all four years,” Spicer said.
The new campus can hold more than 2,000 students. It features open seating areas for lunch, classroom pods with flex spaces in the middle and expanded career and technical education opportunities. The athletics department features two new gyms and a new weightroom.
Senior and Student Council President Lily Rose said those features make the school feel more sophisticated.
“It feels like a college campus. I feel older being here, like I feel like I’m actually a senior,” Rose said.
She described the experience of starting her senior year in a brand-new school as a peak moment.
“It feels like a top-of-the-mountain type feeling,” Rose said.
Rose said she hopes to build on that feeling throughout the year.
While construction on the building itself is complete, there are still a few final projects under construction. The old Waco High building has been demolished and by January, students will be parking on a parking lot where the building once stood.
