With the opening of Frenship Memorial High School in August of 2025, the Ninth Grade Center will no longer be needed to house freshmen. Those students will attend Frenship High School or Frenship Memorial based on where they are zoned.
Frenship Middle School is currently housed in the oldest Frenship building still being used as an instructional facility. Frenship Middle School will move into the Ninth Grade Center building in August of 2025 when freshmen move into the two high schools. However, before that can be done, some additions are needed to the building.
“It is very important for us to provide an equitable learning environment for every student at Frenship ISD when it comes to our facilities,” said Derek Cobb, Frenship ISD Executive Director of Operations. “These additions and renovations to the current Ninth Grade Center building will give the building the same amenities that you will find at the other three middle schools in our district.”
Right now, the Ninth Grade Center shares some of its facilities with the main Frenship High School campus. To create a stand-alone middle school, Cobb says they are working to add a middle school athletic complex directly behind the campus and a fine arts wing to the south of the building. They’re also converting six existing classrooms on the south end of the campus into a Life Skills wing for special education students.
“Construction started late last fall, and there are multiple activities and processes happening simultaneously on this project as we prepare for the transition next year. From site preparation and foundation to structure erection and roofing, we’re starting to see great progress on these projects,” said Cobb. “Contractors will begin work on the interior finishes for the Life Skills wing once the 2024-2025 school year ends.”
Cobb says construction crews have already completed the concrete masonry unit exterior block walls for both the fine arts and athletic locker room additions as well as the metal roof deck. Over the next few months, we’ll continue to see crews working to complete things like the middle school football field and track, tennis courts, and the finishing touches to the building.
Once Frenship Middle School moves to the Ninth Grade Center, the current FMS building will be re-purposed into to a professional development space that will be used districtwide by teachers, staff, and administrators. Currently, there are more than 1,400 staff members across Frenship, and that number is expected to continue growing as more campuses are built.
The repurposing of the Ninth Grade Center and Frenship Middle School are just one of the many projects that Frenship voters approved in the 2020 Bond. Other major projects included the construction of Alcove Trails Middle School, Ridgewood Elementary, and Frenship Memorial High School. Renovations to existing campuses like Frenship High School are still underway.
To read more updates on the Bond 2020 projects, CLICK HERE.