Key Project Attributes
- Grades: PK-5
- Capacity: 900
- Scope: New Construction
- Size: 108,900 square feet
- Completion: 2018
Where Curiosity Meets Creation, Sparking Young Minds through Science and Technology.
DeSoto ISD’s Katherine Johnson Magnet Academy was conceived from a simple, compact building form that is carefully sculpted from within to create a series of secure outdoor learning environments. These courtyards function as light wells, drawing natural daylight deep into the building’s core while establishing a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor learning. At the center of the school lies “The Nest”—an incubation hub that houses key STEAM program components and flexible collaboration spaces. The distributed outdoor areas enhance transparency throughout the building, placing the school’s technology-driven programs on display and ensuring they remain accessible to every student.
Serving grades K–5 with a capacity of 900 students, the academy supports a diverse array of enriched learning opportunities, including robotics, digital art and music, coding and computer labs, science, art, music, and gifted and talented classrooms.
Because the curriculum is highly innovative for an elementary setting, the architecture was designed to foster flexibility, curiosity, and collaboration. Reflecting the “Nest” concept, core learning classrooms wrap the building’s perimeter to maximize daylight and views, while shared learning and specialized technology spaces are interwoven throughout the central zone. At the heart of the campus, a double-height media center serves as the primary collaboration hub, reinforcing both visual and physical connectivity between learning environments.
This distinctive planning and design approach creates a vibrant environment where creativity and exploration are encouraged from the earliest stages of learning. By integrating technology, transparency, and nature, the design empowers young students to engage with innovation and be inspired every day by the world around them.
“Our school’s namesake, Katherine Johnson, was a fierce, extremely capable woman that overcame great adversity, I can’t think of a better icon to inspire students to be bold and use their talents to break down barriers.”
