Families in Dickinson ISD's fastest-growing neighborhood now have a school to call their own. Ruth E. Laird Elementary, a pre-K through fifth-grade campus built to serve 1,000 students in the Lago Mar community, held its official ribbon-cutting Wednesday, July 29.
Classes start Aug. 13.
The ceremony drew the Laird family, members of the Board of Trustees, architects from PBK, general contractor Bartlett Cocke, campus staff and community members, the district announced.
The 30-acre campus sits at the corner of Lago Crossing and Hughes Road in the southwest portion of the district. It is the centerpiece of a $120 million bond package voters approved in March 2023 without a tax-rate increase; the district's rate held at $1.294. Superintendent Rebecca Brown and Board President Corey Magliolo oversaw a bond program that allocated roughly $68 million to the elementary complex. The district purchased the land in December 2020 and broke ground in fall 2025.
Who was Ruth E. Laird?
The school's namesake, known as "Mrs. E," spent more than three decades teaching at Dunbar, Barber, Silbernagel and Bay Colony elementary schools in Dickinson ISD. After retiring, she returned as a substitute teacher for nearly a decade. She was also a founding member of the Dickinson Historical Society, and the City of Dickinson issued a proclamation honoring her legacy.
The Board of Trustees selected the name in January as part of the district's "Legacy of Excellence" tradition. In a news release at the time, the district said naming the school after Laird ensures future students will enter a campus rooted in the values she lived daily: learning, kindness, connection and community pride.
What families need to know
Laird Elementary can accommodate up to 1,400 students at full build-out, according to bond documents, though the district lists initial capacity at 1,000. Lago Mar is projected to grow to approximately 5,000 homes, making it the district's largest source of new enrollment.
New student online enrollment opened Tuesday, July 21. A centralized enrollment event is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Kranz Junior High. The district's Back to School Community Fair runs Saturday, Aug. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon, co-hosted with M.I. Lewis Social Service Center.
