*May 15 Hill Top News reports Shaarika Kaul and Samantha Mitchell share on-sight video coverage of Walnut Grove’s construction update. The video package aired on the May 15th episode of Hill Top News.

*Nov. 28 Breaking News: The selection window will close today if you are a senior involved in going to Walnut Grove HS. If you do not choose today and you are in the zone for going to WGHS, then the choice will set on default. There will be an informational meeting on Nov. 30 for parents and students who would like to go to the new high school. More details that were posted by Rock Hill High School are below.

*Nov.18: Terry Mouton is announced as RHHS principal.

*Oct. 21: Toth announced as WGHS principal.

With great excitement and anticipation, the Prosper ISD Board of Trustees and the district administration announce Walnut Grove High School (WGHS) will open to grades 9-12 in Fall 2023.

In response to the overcrowding at Prosper High School, the new campus will propose a two-story 530,000 square-foot academic building and a 75,000 square foot Multi-Purpose building. This space will be filled with fine arts, athletics, CTE spaces, library/media and food service common areas. There will be a 1,000-seat auditorium in the fine arts hall. A 2,200-seat arena for future athletic events is also held at Walnut Grove.

“Walnut Grove, because of the land, is just one long rectangle, so you will be able to stand at the arena door and see the auditorium door,” Deputy Superintendent Dr. Greg Bradley said, “It’s a really long hallway, third of a mile long.”

Architecture
A new monumental element added to Walnut Grove is the Forum space. Students and educators will be allowed to come together to host events located outside of the back cafeteria doorways. More information about the architecture of this design can be found here.

“We put a flat space on the wall where you can project movies, you can have a concert out there, and it’s a unique opportunity when we were laying out the building,” Dr. Bradley said.

The athletic facility will be near the high school’s arena wing. There is no need to cross a street or a parking lot to get there, and will have a small promenade for safety. All athletic fields will be the same aside from the baseball field.

“Walnut Grove is based after the baseball park in St. Louis that the Cardinals play at, so its baseball field is going to resemble that,” Dr. Bradley said.

Curriculums
According to Prosper’s CTE director, Brett Hankey, Walnut Grove will feature three new programs: construction, interior design and print production. Details on the courses are still in development and will be released before course selections start.

Print shops will be a part of the graphic design pathway.

“[The print shop] will have a large format printer and two where you can do stickers, raps, posters, and banners,” Hankey said. “We will also have a large scale press, like a copier, so you can do booklets.”

Construction, interior design and architecture will be in the same lab space.

On top of that, the culinary arts program will emphasize a greater aspect of baking. It will contain the same restaurant kitchen as Rock Hill (RH) and Prosper High School (PHS).

“The other thing that may be a little different in the culinary of Walnut Grove is going to be a similar setup, but focusing more on the pastry side of it,” Hankey said.

Hiring Staff
A challenge when opening a new school is hiring staff members. The new principal will be announced on Oct. 21. The new athletic coaches and fine arts directors will be announced in January. Staff members will be announced in May of 2023.

“As a general rule, as we open a new school, we try to have the staff at the new school be about 40 to 50 percent of Prosper ISD current staff,” said Dr. Bradley, “So I believe the staff at Walnut Grove to be 20 to 25 percent will come from Rock Hill, and about the same percentage will come from PHS as well.”

Zoning
Rising seniors can choose between PHS and Walnut Grove in late November and December. Current sophomores, freshman and eighth graders will be required to attend their zoned schools.

“At this point, based on what the board said last night, I do believe that if we don’t have a lot of incoming seniors wanting to attend Walnut Grove, the upcoming juniors will still not be allowed to have a choice,” Bradley said.

The Future of Prosper ISD
Besides Walnut Grove, many other construction projects in Prosper ISD are currently in place.

Projected to open in 2023, the Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School will be positioned on the East side of the district in Westridge. Located on the Northeast side of the district in Lilyana development will be Lilyana Elementary School.

Another elementary school named Dan Christie Elementary will be established on the northwest side of the district in the neighborhood of Sutton Fields.

“High school four, we hope, will open in August 2025, over in the Windsong Ranch and Artesia area. That will relieve the overcrowding at PHS,” Bradley said. “It won’t affect Rock Hill or Walnut Grove in any way shape or form, but high school five will most likely open in August of 2027, and that one will be on the East side of the district. It’s off of Bloomdale road or County Rd. 123.”

According to Dr. Bradley’s minutes in the Monday board meeting, zoning areas changed due to several parent complaints.

“One of the reasons why we didn’t rezone [Bloomdale and County Road 123] is that if we have done so then it is likely that a family who attends Baker Elementary and Hays Middle School would at one point be zoned to PHS, then Rock Hill, then Walnut Grove, then the high school number five,” Dr. Bradley said.

Decisions for zoning are planned so families do not change campuses every few years.

“In 2030, I believe we will have six high schools in Prosper ISD and I believe the zoning we picked for Walnut Grove will look exactly the same as it does today,” Dr. Bradley said.

Walnut Grove High School will be located at 3500 E. First St., Prosper, Texas 75078.