Great Hearts Announces New Campus in Scottsdale

  Leading Valley charter network to build new K-5 campus and Prep sports complex

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—September 28, 2017—Great Hearts Academies has announced plans to purchase a 9.8-acre site for a new K-5 campus and sports complex in Scottsdale adjacent to Scottsdale Preparatory Academy. The campus will serve as a new home to Archway Scottsdale and an athletic field and amenities for Scottsdale Prep. Once complete, this will be a contiguous 16-acre facility serving the entire Great Hearts Scottsdale community. Phase 1 of the new campus will be open for the 2018-2019 school year.

“We are truly excited to take advantage of this opportunity to provide our students and families in Archway and Prep a co-located site, while creating more capacity to serve those students on our waitlist,” said Wade Dyke, CEO of Great Hearts. “Building this new campus and sports complex fulfills the vision of what we have wanted for our Scottsdale community for many years. We look forward to the first phase of the complex opening in August 2018.”

The new Archway campus will serve students in grades K-5 and will add another 500 seats for students at full capacity. It will include upgraded classrooms, labs, library, art studios, music and drama rooms and a full-size gymnasium, in addition to other amenities.

The site will also offer Scottsdale Prep space for a long-awaited football and soccer field.  Great Hearts had been working with the City of Scottsdale on a possible partnership that would complete a planned park in DC Ranch to accommodate its athletic field needs. However, Great Hearts will now be redirecting previous plans for their sports field to this new site.

Mayor of Scottsdale, W.J. “Jim” Lane, said, “I applaud the various community groups and Great Hearts for working together to find such a terrific solution.”

Scottsdale Councilwoman Virginia Korte echoed the mayor’s comments, stating, “I also am grateful for Great Hearts looking at all the potential opportunities for their field facility in the City and finding the best way forward for the community as a whole.”

Erik Twist, Great Hearts Chief Innovation Officer and Sr. VP of Advocacy expressed his gratitude for both the DC Ranch Community Council as well as City Staff and Council members. “This option benefits all parties involved. It is better for DC Ranch and better for the Great Hearts Scottsdale community,” said Twist. “We are grateful for the continued support of DC Ranch Community Council Executive Director Chris Irish, Councilwomen Milhaven and Korte, and a whole host of City staff who worked tirelessly with us to find the best way forward for all stakeholders.”

With the additional capacity, Great Hearts Archway Scottsdale will welcome additional students in the 2018/2019 school year. The enrollment period for the 2018/2019 school year is from November 13^th through December 11^th, 2017. For more information about enrolling, please visit the Great Hearts enrollment web page.

About Great Hearts Academies:
Great Hearts is a non-profit network of public charter schools dedicated to improving education nationwide through classical preparatory K-12 academies. As the largest provider of classical education campuses in the country, Great Hearts academies serve more than 15,000 students at 28 tuition-free public schools in greater Phoenix, Ariz. and San Antonio and Irving, Tex., with waitlists that typically exceed enrollment.  Great Hearts provides a robust liberal arts curriculum incorporating advanced math and science, a focus on the arts and foreign language, and a range of extra-curricular activities and athletics. Learn more at www.greatheartsamerica.org.

Contact:
Bill Odell
Director of Communications, Great Hearts
bodell@greatheartsaz.org
(602) 889-5034