More than 800 ninth-grade students have begun school at the new Freshman Center across the football field from Lake Highlands High School.

Rather than spend one more year in middle school, “they get a fresh start” says Dave Casey, the center’s principal. As Casey points out, a “fresh start” is an enormous asset for the ninth-grade students as they begin the first of four event-filled years.

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The idea that ninth grade is a pivotal year for students led the Richardson school board to build the Freshman Center instead of a new middle school to accommodate the community’s growth. The center is modeled on similar schools nationwide.

“But there’s a difference,” says Dave Casey, the center’s principal. “They said, ‘we’ve got all these kids, we’ve got to put them somewhere,’ instead of having a concept. The commitment in our community was to a ninth-grade center.”

The community’s commitment is evident in the $21.1 million, 160,000-square-feet, state-of-the-art facility. Not only is the building an architectural showpiece, from its dramatic lobby and central staircase to the marble tiles that line the hallways, but it also boasts a 400-seat theater impressive by professional standards, an enormous gymnasium, a 12,000-volume library and a high-tech media center.

The school has been wired with fiber optic cable, which will provide each classroom with a high-speed connection and worldwide access. Classrooms have computers housed inside built-in cabinetry.

The Freshman Center’s proximity to the high school allows its advanced students to participate in the high school’s programs. Forty-four freshman will march with the high school band, and freshman are eligible to try out for the high school’s varsity teams. About 50 of the center’s best students walk to the high school each day for upper-level classes.

But for the most part, Casey says, “we can provide tremendous opportunities right here.”

The center has its own band and a complete athletic program, including four football teams, four basketball teams and four volleyball teams. Some upper-classmen actually will be making a reverse commute to perform in the freshman center’s theater.

“I think the children of this district are very fortunate to have such a beautiful facility,” says Assistant Principal Jayne Farmer.

“When my son saw it, he said he wished he could be in ninth grade again.”