Approximately four months after the project broke ground, Dripping Springs ISD officials said construction is on schedule for Driftwood Springs High School.

“The biggest piece that you can see is definitely the tilt walls, which is really allowing that campus to take shape, and you can tell what it's really going to look like,” DSISD Chief Operations Officer Scott Berry said.

The latest update: Driftwood Springs High School is on track to open in fall 2028. The 506,000-square-foot school will have the capacity to serve 2,500 students and will include baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, practice fields, a band practice lot, an agriculture barn and an auditorium. 

Tilt walls are concrete slabs poured horizontally, then raised vertically once they’ve set. In the academic area, all of the walls have been poured and raised. The team is now working on the tilt walls in the gym area.

How we got here: The district has been planning a second high school for several years as a response to growing enrollment.

Check out the latest business and dining updates in the Southwest Austin area.

Now open

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar
The restaurant features the signature conveyor belt with small plates of sushi that guests can grab at will. The menu includes nigiri, gunkan, hand rolls, udon, ramen, and desserts such as mochi and taiyaki ice cream.

• 5601 Brodie Lane, Ste. 1400, Sunset Valley

Coming soon

Fresca Palapa
The Mexican-inspired beverage and snack shop serves agua fresca drinks, smoothies, fruit cups and savory snacks such as elote cups, nachos and hot chips with chamoy, Tajín and lime.

• 2901 S Capital of Texas Hwy., Austin

Worth the trip

Bento & Blaze
The food truck will open at Fetch Food Park and specialize in Japanese bento boxes featuring items such as grilled teriyaki, chicken katsu or steak, served with steamed rice and other sides. The truck will also serve a rotating selection of classic Japanese finger foods for appetizers.

• 17499 Hamilton Pool Road, Austin

Five-year-old Avry Jo Schapansky rang the bell at Dell Children's Blood and Cancer Center on Aug. 7, celebrating the end of her cancer treatment and marking her as the first patient in Central Texas to complete a stem cell transplant through the hospital's new program.

Why it matters: Before Dell Children's launched the program in August 2025, families needing this level of care had to travel outside Central Texas, often for a month or longer, to hospitals in Houston, Dallas or San Antonio.
Schapansky, diagnosed with high-risk Stage 4 neuroblastoma, underwent a roughly year-and-a-half treatment plan that included chemotherapy, surgery, tandem stem cell transplants and radiation.

Dr. Shannon Cohn, her pediatric oncologist, said the family's decision to stay reflected trust in a brand-new transplant team.

The program was made possible in part through a gift from the Shivers Cancer Foundation, which helped recruit Dr. Amir Mian to lead it, along with a partnership with nonprofit blood center We Are Blood. Dell Children's is now working toward offering CAR T-cell therapy and gene therapy in 2026.

From 2020-25, more than 45,000 wildfires burned over 2.7 million acres of Texas land, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Ahead of the 2027 state legislative session, lawmakers are looking into ways to better prevent wildfires from happening and prepare communities to respond when fires do start.

The background: In 2025, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 34, which required the Texas A&M Forest Service to create a statewide database of firefighting equipment; established a council to improve emergency communications between local, state and federal agencies; and increased funding to help rural volunteer fire departments purchase equipment from $30 million to $40 million.

Quote of note: Sen. Kevin Sparks, a Midland Republican who authored the law, said more work needs to be done to increase wildfire preparedness across the state.

"As we move forward, our focus should be on a more proactive approach that prioritizes prevention and mitigation alongside response preparedness," Sparks said during an Aug. 11 hearing of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs.