TOOELE, Utah — In a little over a year, around 1,800 students will be Golden Eagles at Deseret Peak High School in Tooele, with architecture inspired by the school's name and mascot. They'll be taking lessons, cheering at the games, and learning more about themselves.
"Getting students to pick new fight songs, cheers, they can pick traditions, it's going to be a lot of fun," said Deseret Peak High School Principal Matt Parker.
But before any of that happens, the school needs to finish being built. It was funded as part of a $170 million bond voters passed in 2020 to build new schools in the district. Brett Valdez with the Tooele County School District said they've worked to use dollars effectively throughout the building process.
"By just putting a little more thought in the way we build it up front we can be so much more efficient for years to come with the energy cost, the lighting we have, utilizing the slope of the land," Valdez said.
Valdez says the Tooele County School District sees about a 4-5% growth. The new school will help alleviate overcrowding the district sees at other nearby high schools. The design is also meant to enhance the educational experience. Principal Parker says teacher offices will allow the school to use 95% of their classrooms for student instruction throughout the day.
"Other schools around the county, they have a 70% usage rate because you have teachers in classrooms during prep time," Principal Parker said.
He's also excited about the differing classroom sizes as well as the athletic opportunities that will be available to students as well as community high school sports fans.
"You can also adapt our teaching to be more intentional with our engagement and having more authentic application to what's being taught," he said. "We do have a gym that covers all four corners seating, we do have a turf field, the ability for our players to run right from the locker room right onto the turf field."
The high school at its finish will be five to six years in the making. They're not expecting students until the 2025-2026 school year, but Principal Parker already has a vision for the culture that will exist in the halls.
"I envision students who are coming in ready to learn, but I'm also envisioning teachers who are wanting to learn also and better themselves," he said.
Right now, he is hiring for roles including counselors and lead custodians. Next spring, he and the district will be looking for teachers to be part of the new school and learning environment.
