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An architectural rendering of the new Tennyson Middle School imagines a palette of natural colors in its exterior trim.
Some Waco Independent School District trustees voiced concern this week that the design of the new $64.5 million Tennyson Middle School would fail to adequately protect students in case of a school shooter.
Waco ISD trustees reviewed updated design plans for Tennyson at Thursday’s board meeting, a review that had been routine for plans for the new Waco High and Carver Middle schools.
In the light of the May 24 Uvalde school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers, however, security concerns were higher.
After discussion, the board approved the design plan 4-2, with at-large Trustee Keith Guillory and District 1 Trustee Jeremy Davis opposing on security grounds.
The sticking point for Guillory and Davis were interior classrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows allowing views of the hallway, a common feature in contemporary school design and previously seen in Waco High School and Carver Middle School architectural renderings.
The large windows are meant to create a feeling of openness and connection to other educational activities going on in the school.
Guillory questioned whether an active shooter in that hallway would also have an open view of the students inside the classroom and asked what measures were taken to protect against an active shooter.
Jarrod Sterzinger, director of architecture for Austin architectural firm O’Connell Robertson, explained the emphasis was limiting access to outsiders, starting with a perimeter fence and including exterior entrances that would require security cards to enter.
The new Tennyson Middle School features a front entrance facing Sanger Avenue.
A schoolwide lockdown could be implemented instantly, and the grouping of similar classrooms in academic “neighborhoods” would allow an additional level of restricted access. Sterzinger also said that classrooms would have window shutters that would be pulled down in a lockdown to deny a view into classrooms.
Superintendent Susan Kincannon said that security protections are built into the school’s design.
District 4 Trustee Jonathan Grant acknowledged security and educational function both needed consideration.
“We don’t want to build a facility that looks like a penitentiary,” he said.
The two-wing Tennyson floor plan and design is similar to that approved for Carver Middle School. As in Carver, the library takes a central location, said O’Connell Robertson associate Doug Dawson. The design features multi-use spaces in hallways for small group discussions, projects and socializing.
Neutral colors drawn from nature — gray, brown, green — will predominate the school’s trim and interiors, Dawson said.
Construction on the school, part of the $355 million bond issue passed in November, is expected to start in December with the main building ready by May 2024. Site and track completion is anticipated by December 2024.
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Carl Hoover has covered Waco arts and entertainment, and more, for the Tribune-Herald since 1984.
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An architectural rendering of the new Tennyson Middle School imagines a palette of natural colors in its exterior trim.
The new Tennyson Middle School features a front entrance facing Sanger Avenue.
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