Like many of its young students, Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern underwent a significant growth spurt over the past year.

DISD hosted the event to celebrate the completion of Biomedical Preparatory’s expansion project. After the ceremony, attendees toured the renovated school.

On March 5, the school hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of a $32.4 million expansion project. Its scope involved more than 76,000 square feet of new construction and renovations.

Inside their new gymnasium, teachers, students, and the staff of partner Dallas Independent School District (DISD) proudly welcomed local community members and leaders to celebrate this exciting new chapter in the school’s nascent history. In addition to the gym, the three-story building now houses 18 new classrooms, a courtyard, six science labs, an art room, a performing arts area, a music and choir space, small group spaces, and a library that doubles as a makerspace designed for hands-on learning and creating.

Principal Gina Maffucci gives opening remarks at the event and welcomes local community members to the transformed school.

While classes currently span from prekindergarten to fourth grade, the long-term strategic plan is to grow Biomedical Preparatory each year through eighth grade. Already, space has been allotted on the third floor for these older students. At full capacity, the school can accommodate 638 children. Students are selected through a lottery system and follow a STEM-based (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum that encourages both academic interest and personal growth.

It has been a major transformation since the school first opened, said Rhyan Brown, a UT Southwestern employee whose two children attend Biomedical Preparatory in fourth and second grade. She first applied to enroll her son, Chase, in 2022 in hopes of introducing him to new approaches to learning and encouraging his natural curiosity.

Biomedical Preparatory students cheer and greet Angie Gaylord, Dallas ISD Chief Academic Officer, and Joe Carreón, President of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees, as they arrive.

“It makes me excited for the future, to have a school of kids who are science-focused but also socially and emotionally thriving,” Ms. Brown said. “We love the new space. It expands their learning environment and will help expose them to different lessons.”

The original building housing Biomedical Preparatory was named the Dr. Charles Ginsburg Center. It was his vision and proposal that founded the school.

The event also highlighted the unique partnership between UT Southwestern and Dallas ISD and recognized Charles M. Ginsburg, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and former Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Education at UTSW, whose vision was responsible for bringing Biomedical Preparatory to life. The original building, named the Dr. Charles Ginsburg Center, was dedicated to him, and the values extolled by the school are said to be stamped with his philosophy on early childhood education: curiosity, creativity, resilience, empathy, innovation, and leadership.

To Dr. Ginsburg, the school was the natural progression of a 50-year career as a pediatrician and a lifelong advocate of childhood education. His idea for Biomedical Preparatory stemmed from a desire to better serve underrepresented children in the community and tap into the wealth of opportunities available at UT Southwestern, including field trips to its state-of-the-art Simulation Center, one of the largest of its kind in the U.S.

Biomedical Preparatory cheerleaders hear from speakers about evolution of the science- and math-focused school.

In his remarks at the event, Dr. Ginsburg described a quixotic journey and nearly five years of “unbridled commitment and tenacity” that led to the opening of Biomedical Preparatory in August 2022.

“In the future, I envision the third floor to be full of kids, all the way through eighth grade,” Dr. Ginsburg said. “I think it will continue to prosper, to bring together children from all backgrounds in this city, and to utilize all the rich resources we offer here. No matter where their path takes them, I hope to see them successful.”

He credited Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern, as one of the staunchest supporters of the school.

The idea for Biomedical Preparatory and the resulting partnership with Dallas ISD originated from Dr. Ginsburg. During a speech at the ribbon-cutting event, he spoke of his vision for the school.

“Anybody who knows [Dr. Ginsburg] knows that he has the gift of imagination, of seeing things that could be before they’re seen by anybody else,” Dr. Podolsky said at the event. “And when he first came to me to talk about the possibility of a partnership with Dallas ISD to bring to the children of Dallas some of the capabilities, opportunities, and vision for the future that we see here on our campus at [UT Southwestern], it was clear that this was another idea of special distinction. … What has happened in the years since the school opened in 2022 is truly remarkable.”

Students on the robotics and Destination Imagination teams take turns talking about the school model, mission, and values.

Following the ribbon-cutting, a tour of the school took attendees from the spacious gym through the gleaming halls that are lined with student artworks and other projects. For Women’s History Month, pictures of prominent women were on display, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, and musical superstar Beyoncé. Quiet chatter and teachers’ voices filtered from various classrooms before a long line of students trickled into the cafeteria for lunch.

“Today we celebrate more than a building. We celebrate the future,” Biomedical Preparatory Principal Gina Maffucci, M.Ed., said in her speech that day. “This addition represents new opportunities for our students to explore science, build curiosity, and imagine themselves as the next generation of innovators, researchers, and medical leaders. At Biomedical Preparatory, our students are already discovering what is possible for their futures, and this space will continue to help inspire their learning and their growth.”