FRISCO, TX- Frisco ISD has opened many facilities over the past few years as more people flock to one of the fastest-growing school districts in the U.S., and Frisco ISD plans to open more. One example of a new facility planned for students is the FISD Visual and Performing Arts Center, which will open in Quarter 1 (the first three months of the year) on Stockard Drive in East Frisco. Originally, plans for the facility were approved five years ago in a bond, but the project renderings and location were released recently in the Dec. 2023 board meeting.
In the board meeting, new incentives for the facility were unveiled to the Frisco ISD community. The facility will provide a great event space to accommodate performances for fine arts programs, campuses, and grades K-12. The facility will have many highlights like a two-story, 1,200-seat performance auditorium, two multipurpose labs, fine arts offices, an art exhibit gallery, and back-of-house support spaces.
A huge reason why the administration decided to create this facility was to support fine arts as part of students’ education. With this facility, Frisco ISD will have its place for the visual and performing arts community. Students will be able to develop skills vital to their education and growth. Frisco ISD Board President Dynette Davis elaborates on how the facility will be a beneficial environment for students.
“We believe that the performing arts center will not only serve as a platform for students to showcase their talents but also promote teamwork, collaboration, and critical-thinking skills,” Davis says. “It will provide a nurturing environment where students can explore their passion for music, theater, visual art, and dance, enabling them to develop lifelong skills beyond the stage.”
Not only will it allow students to have a way to supplement their education, but it will allow fine arts students from different campuses and programs to collaborate in programs. Fine Arts Director Preston Hazzard elaborates on previous experiences that Frisco ISD has had that are similar to what the administration would like to continue.
“We will have a facility where we can do things like a few years ago when we did a collaborative choir performance [with] choir members from all over Frisco from all ten of our high schools that came together for a collaborative choir performance… on an offsite location,” Hazzard says.
“So we’re going to have the opportunity to have many more collaborative performances like that, and we will also be able to have more high school musicals that we will be able to perform in this facility, which will be elevated from where our current auditorium spaces are. Our goal is that our elementary and middle school honor choirs will be able to have rehearsals and some storage space facility; plus, we will have art gallery space [for]… whenever we want to do art showcases. We’re really excited this will be a K-12 facility with events going on from elementary all the way through high school for all our fine arts programs.”
The center will help join the community by involving families and the community in the arts programs hosted at the facility. The administration recognizes their importance to Frisco ISD and wants to help improve the community’s engagement.
“Our goal is to create partnerships and build relationships that will not only benefit our students but also contribute to the overall cultural enrichment of the community,” Davis says. “Through these efforts, we hope to foster a strong sense of community involvement and support for the performing arts.”
Additionally, the community will have the opportunity to attend programs that they previously did not have the opportunity to at individual high schools due to space constraints and the nature of the usual audience at such events. It was previously uncommon for student programs to have an audience of more than friends and family; fortunately, this facility will have the space to accommodate community members and welcome a more diverse audience.
“It’s going to give the broader community the opportunity to come in and see some of those performances. If you currently go to some of our performances in our high schools, and you’re a community member, it can be difficult to find a place to sit and enjoy that. This is going to allow us to be able to reach a broader community to see these performances.”
There will be challenges that the district will face in its building. Most of these challenges involve how Frisco ISD has to look at similar facilities in other districts and how features of the facility still have to be determined until the final Board’s vote in a few weeks.
“This is the first time that Frisco ISD has ever built a facility like this, so most of the anticipated challenges will revolve around this facility will be the sheer amount of people that want… access to this facility, “ Hazzard says. “Our plan of attack for this is just being heavily involved in the building process and that as we continue to design as problems come up, we’re addressing them in real-time and continuing to research with professionals in all the different areas.”
There are future milestones for the district in the construction of the facility in terms of meeting the needs that the district currently has, and many programs still need to be planned out as the administration finalizes what programs the center will have and how it will impact students until the next Board meeting. Although there may be challenges, the district hopes to create a better fine arts experience for its students and open the community to more student events.
