T. H. Williams High School is a secondary school in Plano, Texas (USA) serving grades nine and ten. It is part of the Plano Independent School District. In Plano ISD, high school freshmen and sophomores attend one of six high schools. Juniors and seniors attend "senior high schools". Bowman and Otto middle schools feed into Williams. Williams High School feeds into Plano East Senior High School.
History
Williams High School first served as Plano High School when it was built in 1961. That year the school included grades 8 through 12 and the total enrollment was 390 students. It was the first racially integrated school in Plano. Enrollment grew steadily until the 1965–66 school year when it was 653. The following school year, the campus became a grade 9 through 12 school and enrollment dropped to 555. Two years later, Williams became a grade 10 through 12 facility with 627 students. A new senior high school was completed in 1975 leaving the Williams campus with 938 freshmen and sophomores. Enrollment numbers had reached 1712 students by the 1973–74 school year. Enrollment has fluctuated over the years and as of the second week of the 2003–04 school year, enrollment had grown to 1633. Enrollment topped over 2000 students by the 2010-2011 school year, before dropping back down with the opening of McMillen High School relieving Williams’ enrollment.
Since its inception, Williams High School has experienced several renovations and additions. In 1961, $911,590 was paid to Avery Mays Construction Co. In 1970, an additional $1,100.000 went to KAS Construction Co. in an attempt to accommodate increased numbers. This addition included a library. $279,968 went to Corgan Associates in 1975.
JPJ Architects was awarded a $6,116,400 construction contract in 1989. At this time, the school underwent a major set of additions , renovations, and modernizations. Any remaining asbestos was removed. A two-story classroom addition was added, and the rear entrance of the school received a facelift with a new ‘Warrior Center’ being constructed consisting of large windows and a roof made completely of skylights.
Williams High School underwent a $12,634,480 renovation and addition completed in 2002. This provided the school with a new band hall, and a large wing of additional classrooms in the rear of the school, and converted the auto-tech and agriculture classrooms into traditional classrooms as those programs had been eliminated from the school. A new dance gymnasium was also added at this time. The school’s kitchen was expanded and the cafeteria received a fourth serving line at this time.
The 2002 renovation also provided a new exterior look for Williams. A new facade was built over the front entrance off 17th street as well as over the auditorium. The front of the school looked completely different than it did before the renovation. It gives the appearance that the building is much taller than it actually is.
Another new addition came in 2006 as the school’s population continued to increase thanks to the population growth in Far East Plano, Richardson and Murphy in the mid-2000s. This , two-story Science Addition contains 12 science laboratories accompanied by restrooms and storage areas. The new addition to Williams High School was completed in August 2006 at a cost of $6,630,343.
In 2011, with the opening of McMillen High School reducing the school’s enrollment to a more manageable level, spare classrooms throughout the school were gutted and converted into collaboration spaces for Project Based Learning. At this time, a large set of classrooms were also gutted and converted into a new, modern counseling center.
In 2013, another set of original classrooms and restrooms were gutted to make space for Plano ISD’s new Health Sciences academy. This renovation created state-of-the-art classrooms for students interested in the medical field to learn and receive training and certification, complete with hospital beds.