On October 9, the Doss Elementary School community and Austin ISD celebrated the grand opening of the modernized campus. Below is a full recording of the virtual grand opening ceremony and individual clips of Principal Steenport cutting the official ribbon, a tour of the new school, and students sharing what they’re looking forward to the most once in-person learning is in full swing.

The vision for the Doss “treehouse” design was inspired by its location among the trees—and as the home to the owls. Throughout the design process, the Campus Architectural Team envisioned the treehouse as a playful, safe and exploratory environment within a natural setting. A treehouse transports a child to a world of adventure. It offers a protective, creative space for play—and provides a new vantage point to the world. Serving students in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade, the campus brings capacity to 900 students.

While we wish we were able to hold this event in person, due to health and safety reasons, the district opted for a virtual event to ensure the school community was still able to celebrate the grand opening of Doss Elementary School. The event was held virtually via Zoom webinar and featured remarks from Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde, Board of Trustees Vice President Cindy Anderson, At-Large Position 8, Trustee Kristin Ashy, District 4, Council Member Alison Alter, District 10, and Doss Principal Dr. Nathan Steenport.

The program for the event can be found here.

Follow along with the video using the closed captioning found here.

Watch the recording of the full event:

Watch the virtual grand opening campus tour: