Mountainside High School

Mountainside High School: A Long-Awaited Vision Brought to Life

Mountainside High School stands as a testament to perseverance, collaboration, and innovation. Spanning 80 acres, the state-of-the-art campus features a 43,000-square-foot classroom building that houses administration, health offices, conference rooms, and a media/library. A 25,000-square-foot gymnasium includes locker rooms, a weight room, and a dedicated sports medicine training room. Outside, multi-purpose athletic fields support baseball, softball, soccer, football, and more, ensuring students have access to well-rounded recreational opportunities.

A School Years in the Making

For over a decade, Nadaburg was the only Unified School District in Arizona without its own traditional high school. In 2019, Mountainside High School opened in a temporary space shared with Nadaburg Middle School. By August 2020, the school finally moved into its permanent home, a milestone that was years in the making. The road to completion wasn’t easy—failed bond attempts and a prolonged land search posed challenges, requiring creative problem-solving and community collaboration to bring the project to life.

A Vision for the Future

From the beginning, the district’s goal was clear: to design a high school that not only prepared students for college but also provided career pathways, internships, and opportunities for success in a rural community. The new facility embraces this vision with innovative, high-tech STEM labs, computer spaces, and flexible multi-instructional classrooms. The campus layout thoughtfully separates academic areas from physical education and arts spaces, with a covered outdoor eating area featuring an open-air cafeteria, tiered seating, and a stage for assemblies and presentations.

A Collaborative Approach to Design

When the district’s bond measure failed to pass, the design team had to reimagine the project, streamlining the original vision while maintaining its core mission. Through creative problem-solving and partnerships with community stakeholders, the school moved forward with an efficient and cost-effective plan. Built using the Design-Build method, the process fostered seamless collaboration between designers and builders, ensuring faster completion, cost savings, and high-quality results.

A Space That Reflects Its Community

Mountainside High School’s design balances simplicity, function, and school spirit. Energy-efficient LED lighting highlights a neutral gray color palette, serving as a backdrop for the vibrant presence of students, staff, and faculty. The school’s colors—white and Columbia blue—add accents of pride throughout the campus. Most importantly, students played a role in shaping their school, and now, they take pride in having a space to call their own.

Mountainside High School is more than just a building—it’s a symbol of dedication, innovation, and opportunity. The community’s efforts have created a lasting impact, providing students with the education, experiences, and future they deserve.