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SPANISH FORK — On Wednesday, around 1,600 students headed into a brand-new building on their first day of school in the Nebo School District.
KSL-TV got a chance to tour Spanish Fork's new high school, which, as school leaders described it, is a "double-decker." The new school replaced the old building, which included six permanent buildings. Now, everyone will be under one roof.
"This has been in the works for several years," Matt Christensen, Spanish Fork High School's principal, said.
Back in May, a sneak peek was done through an open house.
"But it wasn't finished," Christensen said.
Now, the big reveal took place on Aug. 14, the first day of school.
"This building is for you guys. We want you to come in, embrace it, and just enjoy it," Christensen said.
Christensen said the school's space has grown by around 100,000 square feet, compared to the old building. That space includes a state-of-the-art auditorium, brand-new gyms and four learning wings with top-of-the-line career tech offerings.
"I mean, we're standing in one of the facilities. So this is our welding shop. And so, our CTE wing, we have a whole wing that is just dedicated to CTE and some of this, this is the first cutting-edge stuff," Christensen said.
The campus will also house Oakridge School, a school designed for students with severe disabilities. One of the newest features will help students and staff throughout the day with restroom breaks.
"Lifting students out of wheelchairs, getting them onto changing tables, it's a lot of work," Christensen said. "We can just drop the system down and safely help our students. And it's safer for our adults as well."
Outside, there is a whole new dedicated area as well.
"We were able to pull up this garage door. There's about a 900 square foot little facility in there that will have nice flooring, and so our students can just be out of the classroom, experience a little bit different hat. It's almost like recess play time, and we are so excited for this space," Christensen said.
In grades 10 through 12, there are around 1,600 students.
If there are any nerves, Christensen said not to worry, as everyone will be new this year.
"Now, I'm just trying to figure out, navigate through the building," Christensen said.
He said the school did another full open house on Aug. 12, so teachers and students could get familiar with the lay of the land.
