photo by: Contributed Photo

Langston Hughes Elementary, 1101 George Williams Way.

The Lawrence school district on Friday announced plans for two major capital projects — a new high school program at the former Centennial Elementary School and an expansion of Langston Hughes Elementary — both of which are expected to open next year.

A news release from the district on Friday said that Lawrence school board members will consider approving the planning and development of the two projects at their business meeting on Wednesday.

The release said the first project would be to open a small high school program at the former Centennial Elementary School, 2145 Louisiana St. The elementary school was closed in 2003, and at one point the building housed the Lawrence Virtual School.

The program would be dubbed the “Choice Campus at Centennial” and would offer alternative high school programming in the day and evening. It would offer “accelerated and credit recovery learning” for both full- and part-time enrollment, the release said.

“This program will address the need to provide the option of a flexible learning environment, non-traditional high school student choice program, created in support of students who prefer a smaller, self-paced learning environment,” Superintendent Jeanice Swift said in the release.

The other project would be to expand Langston Hughes Elementary by adding more classrooms and increasing space in common areas. Swift said enrollment at Langston Hughes Elementary had been over capacity for several years.

Both of the projects at Centennial and Langston Hughes would be scheduled to open in August 2026, the release said. Swift said in the statement that the improvements would be funded through capital outlay and would remain within the limits of the approved district budget for 2025-2026.

“We look forward to engaging with our Lawrence Public Schools students, staff, parents and community over the coming months as we refine these plans for both campuses, and we will continue to share regular updates through the coming months,” Swift said in the statement.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. The meeting will also be available via the school district’s YouTube channel. Residents who want to share comments with the board may sign up in advance by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org by noon Wednesday and may participate in person or via Webex video/phone conferencing.