Texarkana Independent School District opened the doors to its new Waggoner Creek Elementary School in the fall of 2016, with the school being constructed as a direct response to classroom overcrowding. The district has grown an average of 146 students per year over the past 12 years.
Voters approved a $29.9 million bond in 2014 to construct both Waggoner Creek and the Sixth Grade Center, which also opened in the fall on the Texas Middle School campus.
Located on 15 acres off Gibson Lane, the elementary school serves approximately 400 students ages pre-K through fifth grade and will accommodate up to 700 students. The 67,800-square-foot facility features 22 classrooms, a research and design center/library, a media center, an art room, a gymnasium, a cafeteria and a kitchen.
During a special meeting to determine the name of the school, Superintendent Paul Norton said it would reflect the part of town in which it is located.
"The Waggoner Creek development area, east and west, is considered the largest master-planned commercial development in the history of Texarkana," Norton said. Several names were considered, he added.
"In the end, we felt the name Waggoner Creek remained consistent with our naming of other community schools, such as Spring Lake Park Elementary and Highland Park Elementary," Norton added.
The name follows TISD Policy CW (Local), which allows for the naming of a new school complex using criteria including the basis of a geographical location, a street location or an established neighborhood.