By Stephen Hemelt

Special to The News

NEDERLAND – Haven Fontanille describes it as a whole new world.

“It is more spacious. It is more technology heavy,” the Nederland High School junior said Wednesday evening. “The cafeteria is humongous and beautiful. It is more modern.”

Fontanille was joined by hundreds of others from around the community as guests of Nederland High School’s Community Open House.

The approximately 280,000 square feet facility opened this school year, the result of funding approved by Nederland voters in a 2019 election. 

Fontanille said it is fun exploring the school, adding she got a kick out of watching the CTE (Career and Technical Education) Hall come to life during the initial weeks of the school year. 

She adds the spacious, two-story building is pretty easy to navigate. So far in 2024, her English class is a favorite because of Fontanille’s love of writing.

H.B. Neild Construction served as the project’s construction manager, and IBI Architects handled the design.

This week’s open house came with free pizza and cookies and performances by the Nederland High School band.

School Board president Nicholas Phillips said it’s a great feeling that Nederland students are experiencing with a brand-new building. 

He added teachers love the space, because expanded classroom sizes allow them to interact with students in new ways. 

“The technology in the classroom is up to date,” Phillips said. “Having that new space is like moving into a new home, getting to experience all the bells and whistles.”

The open house allowed Nederland Independent School District to show off the community investment made possible by voters five years ago.

Nederland has a great public school system, so the city is going to thrive, according to Phillips. 

“We want to showcase the investment that the taxpayers made. It’s their school. They need to come and see how great it looks,” he said. “It’s the first new educational building that we have built since 1971. To go in and experience what the kids are experiencing every day, it looks great on the inside. There has been so much hard work put in by everybody in the school district who invested time, sweat and tears getting it to where it is.”

The enhanced amenities are truly special, with spacious and up-to-date CTE hubs, café-style cafeteria, commercial grade culinary kitchen, two-court gymnasium, large classrooms and so much more.

“It’s like a brand-new experience,” junior Juliana Borel said. “It’s really cool to see a new building. I really like the layout and how easy it is to find your classes and get around.”

Her favorite class is algebra because she likes problem solving, adding it is fun to learn new things.

Junior OIivia Nail says the new building feels more real. 

“This just feels like an actual high school experience,” she said. “It’s new, and all the people make it better. The first two days I was just trying to learn (the layout), but the teachers and signs made it a lot easier.”

Her favorite class of 2024 is chemistry because she likes learning and enjoys a lot friends in the class. The new labs make instruction more interactive.