New pre-k center coming to Texarkana ISD

TEXARKANA, Texas (KSLA) - In November of 2022, Texarkana, Texas voters approved a major bond proposal to improve educational opportunities across the Texarkana Texas Independent School District (TISD). Helping students get an early start in learning is part of the improvements.

The Paul Laurence Dunbar Early Education Center has served as a pre-k school for TISD for the past 10 years. School leaders say fewer than 300 students attend this school, but that number is expected to increase to more than 600 students with the construction of what leaders say is a state-of-the-art pre-k center.

“The learning environment is going to be highly interactive and immersive. It will look more like a children’s museum than a traditional classroom,” said TISD Superintendent Doug Brubaker.

Brubaker says the new school will be the first of its kind within a 200-mile radius of Texarkana. The proposed school will serve 3 and 4-year-old students and was made possible by a bond passed by voters in 2022.

“We think it is going to have a huge impact, because if you bring in more 3-year-olds and they have a whole additional year before they start kindergarten, they will have the opportunity to be that much more, to be prepared for kindergarten and what lies ahead, so we are really excited about this,” Brubaker said.

The new facility will be constructed on Carroll Street next to Texarkana College. Brubaker says the location is convenient and accessible to families across the district. It’s currently located inside the Dunbar attendance zone. And although the location will change, the name will remain the Paul Laurence Dunbar Early Education Center.

“Dunbar has had a special place in our community for decades and actually, I got to spend some time with the Dunbar alumni at their reunion and they are very excited also to see that history, that legacy from Dunbar will be honored in this new facility,” said Brubaker.

The new building will carry a price tag of around $48 million and should be ready in 2025.

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