Lake Ridge superintendent details Calumet High overhaul, reopens Hosford Park for Head Start

Dr. Sharon Johnson Shirley, superintendent of the Lake Ridge New Tech School District, described a multi‑phase building and campus update at Calumet New Tech High School and announced the reopening of a Head Start‑run early learning center at Hosford Park.

The superintendent said the high school will get a secured front entrance with a buzz‑in system and ID checks “so we’re not letting intruders or felons into the building,” a newly gutted and rebuilt auditorium to host plays and band performances, and a renovated field house to address long‑standing structural settling. She said those projects will roll out over the next year to a year‑and‑a‑half.

“These projects are another avenue to keeping our students and staff safe,” Dr. Shirley said. She added that the auditorium work grew out of visiting other districts and balancing “what we want” with “what we can afford.”

Dr. Shirley also detailed middle school upgrades — resurfacing floors, new scoreboards and a refreshed gym/auditorium — and framed facilities work as part of a broader effort to boost school morale and community pride. Host Eric Johnson noted recent stadium and tennis court improvements and said upgraded interior spaces would bring the facilities into line with those exterior investments.

On neighborhood impact, Dr. Shirley said schools often serve as community hubs where a YMCA or other community center is absent. To that end, the district has repurposed Hosford Park: the building, which the superintendent said had been renovated and licensed, now houses the district’s Head Start and an early learning program, with a possibility of moving kindergarten there next year.

“We put in a lot of work to make it come back to life,” she said of the Hosford Park site, and added that central office Head Start staff have moved into the building.

Eric Johnson and Dr. Shirley confirmed September 5 as the opening day for Head Start students at the Hosford Park location and said Artia Nash, the district’s Head Start director, will coordinate registration and invitations. The superintendent asked parents to check the district website or contact Nash for details.

Dr. Shirley thanked staff members, volunteers and Yvonne Acevedo, an assistant she named for coordinating sponsors and logistics at the opening‑day event.

Looking forward, the superintendent said the district will continue its phased repairs and program moves and encouraged families to view the changes as investments in safety, programming and neighborhood renewal.

The program concluded without formal board action; Dr. Shirley closed by thanking families and staff and wishing the community a good school year.