special to viewAn artist?s rendering shows what the new Bishop Gorman High School will look like when completed at 5959 S. Hualapai Way.
Advertisement
Bishop Gorman High School officials plan to start offering classes at the school's new Summerlin campus in the fall.
The school is being relocated from 1801 S. Maryland Parkway to 5959 S. Hualapai Way. The old property does not have athletic fields and can only handle about 1,000 students.
Currently, Bishop Gorman is seeing student enrollment of 1,100 for the 2007-2008 school year. The Hualapai campus is built to handle 1,200 students, a number the school said it expects to reach within a couple of years.
The school was originally slated to open in January, but that schedule proved too ambitious.
Officials said the school experienced some of the same difficulties every major construction project in the valley has recently experienced -- most notably high demand for building materials and labor.
Perhaps the delay is a good thing. The move will require weeks to relocate school property into the new space.
"The changeover will take place this summer," said Jeanne Hamrick, director of development for Bishop Gorman. "We have already begun to coordinate with professional movers and anticipate a smooth transition for all."
Many schools are going high-tech and Bishop Gorman plans to keep up with that trend. The campus will feature state-of-the-art technology to ensure graduates are both academically ready for higher education, as well as technologically savvy. Lap-tops will be available for student use and will be upgraded on a regular basis. Teachers also will have the opportunity to integrate all of the latest technological advances into their curriculum with computers and overhead projectors in every classroom. School officials said Bishop Gorman will be flexible and continually investigate advancements to keep up with technology.
"Our plan is to use technology as a tool to supplement our college prep curriculum," said Virginia Cunningham, associate head of academics and curriculum for the school.
The development of the new 187,000-square-foot campus is estimated to cost more than $52 million.
Four main buildings will house the classrooms, gyms and student activity center. These buildings measure between 24,000 square feet and 46,000 square feet in size. The new campus will include more classroom space, state-of-the-art biology, chemistry and physics labs, a new chapel, athletic fields and gymnasiums, a state-of-the-art theatre, a student commons area, computer labs and resource learning centers, and a college-style lecture hall.
All of the classrooms are to be connected to a central hub that provides the latest Internet, audio-visual, security and surveillance equipment available today, with the capability to grow and keep pace with expanding technology.
A brick tower with an illuminated letter "G" and a cross mark the school's original Maryland Parkway campus. That tower will be duplicated at the new facility.
Established in 1954, Bishop Gorman High School is the city's oldest private school. It was named after Thomas K. Gorman, first bishop of Nevada.
When asked about the percentage of students who drive themselves to school and parental concern over the commute, the school responded that the Beltway made for easy access.
"We have found that parents who want a superior, Christian education in a safe environment, with excellent teachers and facilities, will sacrifice time to drive their children to Bishop Gorman High School," said Paul Sullivan, head of the school. "Having said that, we are always working on new ways in which we can provide more services for our community, even busing if a significant segment of our diverse population suggests a need."
Other private high schools in the Summerlin area include The Meadows School and Faith Lutheran Junior/Senior High School. In addition, The Milton I. Schwartz Hebrew Academy is building a high school on its Summerlin campus.
The Clark County School District is in the process of buying the old Bishop Gorman High School building. The sale is pending the approval from the Vatican, said Bridget Moore, director of communications.
Archived Editions| Advertising | Contact The Staff
