‘I get emotional’: After 2019 Dallas tornado, rebuilt Thomas Jefferson, Walnut Hill reopen

For Jazmine Cabriales, walking back into Thomas Jefferson High School feels like a miracle.

She was only a few months into her freshman year when a tornado destroyed the building where she’d expected to make all her high school memories. Now, finally, she’s starting her last semester as a senior inside a fully renovated, expanded campus.

The huge light-soaked library, she said, is her favorite place.

More than 1,400 TJ students are expected to return for class next week. Among them are roughly 300 seniors like Jazmine, for whom the homecoming holds a special meeting.

“I get emotional thinking about my seniors,” Principal Ben Jones said. “They had the option not to follow us. … They stuck with us.”

After the 2019 tornado, the student body relocated to one of the district’s old middle school buildings, about 10 miles away. Aside from the longer commute, Jones said, the teenagers dealt with using classrooms, a gym – even bathrooms – that were better sized to 11-year-olds.

Now that they’re back at TJ, the principal said the modernized features are designed to give them a more collegiate feel. There’s a culinary lab that rivals a restaurant kitchen and all new technology.

The auditorium, Jones said, is one that the city’s premier arts high school – Booker T. Washington – would be jealous of. And the gigantic gymnasium will, for the first time, be able to fit in all of TJ’s students to cheer during pep rallies.

There’s room to grow, too. The building can accommodate more than 2,000 and district officials hope the new campus will be a draw for more families in the community.

While Thomas Jefferson is situated in a relatively affluent, primarily white neighborhood, the student population is 95% Latino, 3% Black, and 1% white.

The original building was six decades old and it needed modernization even before the tornado ripped through.

“For so long, our staff has instilled in kids that you are excellent and you have the world at your fingertips,” assistant principal Erika Vigil said. “The setting hasn’t always matched that.”

She said the staff is now eager to show the students their new campus and tell them: You deserve this.

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The district ran into challenges during its re-building process. Trustees had to approve additional funds for the project last year; the district didn’t receive full replacement costs from its insurance coverage; and DISD canceled its initial contract for construction at the two sites.

The district also created a new pre-K through 8th grade campus – Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy – on a neighboring site that was also hit by the storms. Principal Philip Meaker said children can now spend pre-K through high school essentially on the same block.

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The two principals are working to blend the two communities, with ideas like having the high schoolers coach younger sports teams.

Amid the excitement of the reopening, there are still reminders of the storm.

All throughout Thomas Jefferson’s halls are signs pointing toward the gym: It’s the campus tornado shelter.

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(The Beck Group, the project contractor, is one of the community supporters of the DMN Education Lab.)

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

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After 2019 Dallas tornado, rebuilt Thomas Jefferson, Walnut Hill reopen

[15/15] Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Benjamin Jones pauses as he gives a tour to the media on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[1/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy pre-k teacher Cesiah Vasquez finishes decorating a classroom ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[2/15] A part of Thomas Jefferson High School is reflected on the front entrance on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[3/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy pre-k teacher Cesiah Vasquez, right, and Kimberly Cave rearranges the photos of the students as they finish decorating a classroom ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[4/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy pre-k teacher Kimberly Cave reacts while wearing a smock while decorating a classroom ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[5/15] Construction workers work at one side of the newly renovated library at Thomas Jefferson High School on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[6/15] Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Benjamin Jones talks to the media about the new additions in the class room during a media tour on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[7/15] Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Benjamin Jones gets emotional while talking about the opening of the new campus during a tour on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[8/15] Construction workers work at one side of the newly renovated library at Thomas Jefferson High School on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[9/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy teacher Maria Martin decorates the classroom ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[10/15] Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Benjamin Jones walks along the hallway as he gives a tour to the media on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[11/15] Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Benjamin Jones talks to the media about the new additions in the class room during a media tour on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[12/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy Pre-k teacher Magdalena Domino decorates the board along the hallway ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[13/15] Construction workers pass along the hallway at the new campus of Thomas Jefferson High School on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[14/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy teacher Maria Martin decorates the board along the hallway ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[15/15] Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Benjamin Jones pauses as he gives a tour to the media on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

[1/15] Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy pre-k teacher Cesiah Vasquez finishes decorating a classroom ahead of the reopening of the new campus on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Dallas. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, Todd A. Williams Family Foundation and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.