Las Vegas Schools have ten new schools opening for the 2006-2007 school year. Nine are brand new schools, while one is a replacement of Rancho High School. This is part of a long term plan to meet student population demands and create modern facilities. The schools opening in August are six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. The new elementary schools are Hayden Elementary, Schorr Elementary, Steele Elementary, Thompson Elementary, Ward Elementary and Wright Elementary. The middle schools are Johnston and Tarkanian and the high schools are the new Legacy High School and the replacement Rancho High School. All these new schools create the need for more teacher and support staff. With this in mind Las Vegas Schools is engaging in a very active recruitment process including holding a recruitment fair this summer to be held at the Desert Rose Adult High School. In the area of academic staff Las Vegas Schools are hiring over one thousand new staff and teachers. But academic staff are not the only ones needed to keep a school running. These new member schools of Las Vegas Schools are also in need of bus drivers, transportation aides, vehicle mechanics and substitute food service workers.
The New Rancho High School
The newest edition to Las Vegas Schools is the placement of the old Rancho High School. The new design may seem surprisingly familiar to the students. The new Rancho High School is based on the same design used in most suburban shopping malls. The new 330,000 square foot school was built on the site of the former schools athletic field. The old school will be torn down later in the school year. The new Rancho High School follows a two story mall design and the total building cost was around $75 million. The money came from the Las Vegas Schools $3.5 billion capital improvement plan approved by voters in 1998. The new design did cause a little concern but it actually creates a very functional and friendly space which can add to the success of a school. The Rancho High School principal plans to divide the school into four distinct sections each with its own assistant principal and student services. These sections will possibly be divided based on grade level or program type. Rancho High School is well known for its magnet programs that aim towards the medical and aviation fields. These magnet programs will have new offices and special facilities on the new Ranch High School campus. The ROTC will also have a new area. The Rancho High School ROTC is one of the largest in the U.S. and the facility will be able to accommodate over five hundred students. The Ranch High School replacement is part of a long term replacement plan by Las Vegas schools. The plan was to replace five existing schools Sunrise Acres Elementary, Wendell Williams Elementary and Rancho High School are the first three with Booker Elementary and Virgin Valley Elementary to follow.
Rancho High School is Second to Have Mall Design
Rancho High School is the second Las Vegas School to have the mall design. The first was at Buffalo and Grand Teton. The mall design creates a new and unique space that provides natural light and fresh air to the classrooms while creating a more secure environment than a conventional school design. Both the current principal and the president of the construction company building the new school are former Rancho High School graduates, who are extremely pleased with the modern replacement.
