FAQs

The Ninth Grade Center is Hutto ISD's newest campus that is set to open fall of 2021.
Due to the growth of the district and the capacity of Hutto High School, a new school was needed to provide room for growing class sizes at HHS. 
The NGC will be the home for all Hutto High School freshmen students.

301 Destiny Lane, Hutto, Texas, 78634.

It should be noted this is a new road that serves the school and school district property and is accessed by the new CR 115 that comes off of FM 1660 and will serve both our school site and the new Mustang Ridge Subdivision.

The school is named “Hutto HS 9th Grade Center”.  It will be referenced as the “NGC”.

All current 8th graders from FMS and HMS will attend the NGC.

True freshmen will attend the NGC. In other words, if it’s a student's first year as a freshman, they will attend the NGC.  If a student is repeating their freshman year they are a (freshmore), they will attend HHS. 
The NGC will house all first-time 9th-grade students.
HHS will house all 10th through 12th-grade students plus any repeating 9th-grade student. 

Dr. Whitfield is working with our District Operations Team to begin small tours in late April with the desire to take incoming Freshman (FMS and HMS 8th graders) on tours in the month of May.  COVID social distancing restrictions may be in place...and construction conditions may restrict tours.  BUT, we want to show off our facilities for these students and the community as soon as it is reasonably possible.

By JUNE, HISD should be able to occupy NGC and we will have a summer of final set-up and cleaning and preparations as we welcome our young scholars in AUGUST!!

No.  The NGC is still considered part of Hutto High School.  While we have a separate 9th-grade campus, the district still has only ONE high school.  

This will depend on demographic projections and student growth in the district.  

Yes.  All HISD campuses will have the hippo as the mascot.

The ribbon-cutting and open house is scheduled for August 5 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm.

Start and stop times for all schools will change next year. The NGC will start at 9:00am and end at 4:25pm. The NGC and HHS will have the same operating hours.

Students will be on a 9-period day like HHS.  They will have 4 core classe (Math, Science, English, Social Studies), 4 elective courses , and a lunch period. 

No. HISD is shifting to a 3-tier busing schedule.

Our goal is to run regular home to school routing wherein we will have elementary, middle school, and high school runs.  To maximize the efficiency of our route services, HHS and the NGC will be treated as once campus, but as two stops.  And, to the extent possible, transportation between NGC and HHS or HHS and NGC will be handled as regular route stops and not as specialized shuttles if at all possible.

A separate turn lane has already been constructed to guide traffic into the new road leading to the NGC.  

No.  The NGC will eventually become HuttoISD’s second high school.  Once the decision is made to proceed with a full second high school,, a grade level will be added each year until there is a full graduating class.   According to the most recent demographic/growth report, we may not add a 10th grade class until 5 to10 years from now.  As with any demographic study, these numbers are subject to change annually. 

The NGC will have band classes for freshman students.  Those students who are part of the marching band will ride a bus in the afternoons to HHS to practice.  There will be other times practice might move to the morning.  If so, there will be a bus to pick up students and take them to the NGC before 1st period begins.

Not during the 2021-2022 school year. The plan is to offer orchestra the following school year.

The NGC will have the same freshman athletic offerings that HHS has now.  Most students will practice at the NGC, but if the facilities do not exist at the NGC, then those students will be bussed to HHS for practice in the afternoons or bussed from HHS if it is a morning practice.

As we identify athletes and extra-curricular students who may make a varsity level team or group...and for sports/groups who may practice JV and Varsity at HHS before and after school, we will work to utilize our existing route structure to transport students as a part of normal bus stop delivery.  If and where we can, we hope to maximize the efficiency of our route services, as we identify student riders.

Yes, they will. These decisions will be made by the respective head coaches in each sport. Transportation from the senior high school to the NGC will be provided in the morning and to the senior high school at the end of the day for those students who are placed on JV or varsity teams.

Not in the initial manner in which it was planned. However, many of the topics will be infused into our culture and climate, instruction.

Hippo Herd Hour was designed to equip freshmen students with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully transition academically, behaviorally, and socially into high school and into post-secondary opportunities. Some of the topics students will be introduced to include: organizational and study skills, effective time management, short- and long-term goal setting, effective communication, working collaboratively, academic and career exploration, character education, self-management, and leadership. Topics will be differentiated to meet the varying needs of our students. This course will be taken by every student attending the Hutto High School Ninth Grade Center, will be offered during the school day, and will be a year-long course.     

In other words, I like to call this teaching the "hidden curriculum".  This course will include many skills we expect kids to know, but they are never explicitly taught.  The way our high school schedule is designed, our kids are able to earn 32 credits and are only required to earn 26. Adding this course will not affect students being able to graduate with the correct amount and type of credits. Including this course is a way to be proactive with the goals of easing the middle school to high school transition, decreasing the number of students failing courses, and better preparing students for their 10th - 12th-grade years and life after high school.   

Yes. Credit recovery opportunities (possibly actual classes and/or computer-based credit recovery) will be available.

The NGC field is not for walk-up public use. The field and track may only be used with authorization through the district’s facility use guidelines.  For the first year, while the track is under warranty, no non-school use will be allowed.