Collin County Growth Evident At School Registration
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FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - Signs of the growth of Collin County are everywhere, especially in the number of new faces in kids' classrooms. Frisco ISD is estimating thousands of new students for the 2016-2017 school year.
It's been a year since a promotion at work brought Danny Papakalos from Arizona. Now his family is completing the move by enrolling in the kids' new school district.
"It's still a lot of work. There's a lot of boxes, stuff like that, and the kids are trying to figure out where they fit right now, but the whole reason why we picked this area was to come to the Frisco school district," Papakalos said.
One of the fastest growing school districts in Texas, Frisco ISD expects to add 3,600 students this year. The Papakalos family tells us two things drew them to this area, Frisco ISD's philosophy on small schools and a strong athletic program.
"They're excited, and they're nervous," Papakalos said.
The Papakalos aren't alone. Several families feel the same.
Himanshu Valji moved all the way from South Africa for his wife's job in Dallas.
"We're quite excited and quite happy... and nervous. The kids are a bit nervous, but at the same time they're excited as well," Valji said.
To prepare for all the new students, crews are putting the finishing touches on four new schools, including Lebanon Trail High School, that will open this school year.
"We're starting the process of getting all the documentation and getting registered, so that's all done and we're good to go," Valji said.
Now that enrollment is out of the way, a few weeks before classes begin, families new to the area have enough time to explore their new hometown.
"That's part of the excitement of coming to the Frisco area is there's just so much for the young teenager, the young athlete, and the people that like sports, it's a great place, so we're looking forward to it," Papakalos said.
That first bell for these new students rings on Monday morning, August 22.
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