The Phase III expansion of Melissa High School has been selected for the 2026-27 Exhibit of School Architecture, a juried showcase run by the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Texas Association of School Boards, Melissa ISD announced Wednesday.
The project, finished in August 2024, added an academic wing and space for career and technical education and the International Baccalaureate program. According to the exhibit's online entry, the work raised the campus's capacity from 1,200 students to 3,600.
Melissa High was one of 33 projects chosen this year. The district said 29 came from school districts, while the other four were an early childhood program and three college projects.
What the judges looked at
A 12-member jury reviews the entries: four school board members, four school administrators and four members of the Association for Learning Environments' Southern Region. They score projects in six areas, covering design, value, wellness, community, planning and transformation. The district said 69 Stars of Distinction were handed out across those areas this year; its announcement did not say whether Melissa High received one.
Inside the expansion
The exhibit entry, credited to WRA Architects, describes an expanded academic and CTE tower that extends the existing four-story tower, with a skybridge joining the two and marking a new visitor entrance. A new food hall doubles as a storm shelter and sits beneath a two-story media center.
A gym addition gives cheer, color guard and drill team a practice space and serves as a second storm shelter on the east side of campus.
Dining also changed. The old single-line serving area in the student union was converted to stations offering different food concepts, and a bus loop that was no longer used became a spot for a student-run food truck and a pavilion.
