Residents give input on Eastwood High’s new design

Members of the Eastwood High community will have a hand in designing the newly renovated campus. They met to tell the project’s architects what features they would like to see, Monday night, as the school begins planning for its 2017 expansion and upgrades.

Remember when Ysleta ISD voters approved the bond last November, they approved spending $93 million to improve Eastwood High. In the name of transparency, YISD also wants residents to have a say in how its designed.

“To me this is an example of what democracy should look like,” said the area’s trustee Mike Rosales. “Where we have input and the ideas comes from the people.”

It’s called a charrette, or a meeting, where all stake-holders give input. YISD is holding six, two for each major bond project, including Bel Air and Parkland Middle. Monday’s charrette was for Eastwood High.

“It’s a very comprehensive, very complex project, probably the most complex school construction project that has every been undertaken in El Paso,” said YISD Superintendent Dr. Xavier De La Torre. “We’re going to try to build a new comprehensive high school for 2,400 students while those students are in the building.”

YISD is including school administrators, coaches, residents with expertise in design, parents, teachers and students.

Together they will come up with ideas. The ideas with the most support will considered by the architects, who will figure out which ones work best.

“There’s a lot of conversation around classrooms resembling more of a ‘Starbucks feel’ is what I’ve picked up from it,” De la Torre said.”More flow more space. I’m hearing a lot of interest in transparent walls to look in and out of classrooms.”

The group met for about three hours, they will meet again next month to go over what the architects chose. De la Torre says the $93 million price tag to redesign Eastwood is the money of the taxpayers. He said this is their school, they deserve to have a say in what it looks like.