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Community members take tours of Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The grand opening of the school marks the end of capital projects in the district, funded by a 2019 referendum.
Community members enter Sun Prairie West High School for the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Hundreds of community members gathered in the brand new school's commons for a ribbon cutting ceremony and to explore the new facilities.
Sun Prairie West Principal Jennifer Ploeger gives a welcome address with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in attendance as well as a large gathering of community members, students, faculty and staff at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Ploeger said she had to write her speech with a thesaurus on hand to find at least 13 different synonyms for the word "excitement", to avoid repetition.
Sun Prairie West senior Lily Breyer gives tours of the theater department at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Breyer stood in the school's "black box" theater, a smaller facility that seats 120, located next to the school's larger performing arts center that can seat up to 700. The "black box" theater is meant for smaller performances, practices or large group meetings.
Sun Prairie West juniors, from left, Olivia Norton, Aisha Kebbeh and Kyra Olson laugh with one another while touring the school in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The students explored one of many academic wings, known colloquially as "learning communities" in the brand new, three story school building.
Community members explore the competition gym at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The school also boasts two other gyms, including one for gymnastics complete with a foam pit, an exercise center and an eight-lane pool.
Community members tour the new Sun Prairie West High School during a Sunday open house. The school's opening marks the end of capital projects in the district funded by a 2019 referendum.
Ean Ackley, a junior at Sun Prairie West High School, stopped for a moment amid the excited din in the new school’s commons area to consider what it would be like to be among the building’s inaugural class.
“I was honestly kind of sad just because I was going to be leaving a lot of good friends who are going to the other school,” he said. “Now, once the new programs start and you see all of the new things that we’ve gotten ... this is going to be a fun two years.”
Ackley, a football player, said he’s excited about the new sports facilities and the new gear he and his teammates will get to break in, and the legacy they’ll be able to leave for future classes as the first team to play as the Sun Prairie West High Wolves.
Anglea Ackley, Ean’s parent, echoed her son.
“We live very close to here. We’ve watched it — we’ve seen the trucks, we’ve seen the construction — and to walk into it is just like, ‘Wow,’” she said.
On Sunday, the Sun Prairie School District hosted community members for a ribbon-cutting and self-guided tour of the new Sun Prairie West High School, the district’s third high school. Sun Prairie East, the district’s first comprehensive high school, and Prairie Phoenix Academy, the district’s alternative high school, underwent renovations prior to West’s opening.
Community members enter the new Sun Prairie West High School for Sunday's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Hundreds gathered in the school's commons for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to explore the new facilities.
The smell of lacquer on the new gymnasium floor and fresh paint on the walls in the performing arts center mingled in the air as hundreds of community members came out for the West High School open house Sunday. The building is the newest addition to the school district and the cap on four major construction projects funded by a 2019 referendum. Other referendum projects, which were completed prior to West’s open house, include renovations at Central Heights Middle School, Prairie Phoenix Academy and Sun Prairie East High School.
Jennifer Ploeger, principal of West High, was so excited to lead the students and staff into the new building that she had to work 12 synonyms for the feeling into the speech she prepared for Sunday’s ribbon cutting, to avoid sounding repetitive.
“After years of dreaming, planning and preparing, the excitement — nope, scratch that — the exhilaration in the building as we walked around and students took in the space was contagious,” she said. “Their eyes were wide and their minds were spinning with ideas, plans, dreams and visions that we will bring to life together as we co-create what it means to be a West Wolf and who we will be as an equity-centered high school.”
Sun Prairie West Principal Jennifer Ploeger gives a welcome address with Gov. Tony Evers in attendance. Ploeger said she had to write her speech with a thesaurus at hand to find at least 13 different synonyms for the word "excitement" to avoid repetition.
The school will welcome more than 120 staff members in the coming week and roughly 1,300 students on Sept. 6.
Scott Dinge, a special education teacher who will be starting his teaching career at West, said he’s relieved to join the district at the new building.
“I feel on the same page as everybody because everybody’s going through the same questions and learning the building and where things are,” he said.
Sun Prairie West senior Lily Breyer gives tours of the theater department. The school's "black box" theater, which seats 120 people, is located next to the school's larger performing arts center, which can seat up to 700.
Details in the new building — such as water fountains at a height accessible to people using wheelchairs and bathrooms with sinks designed for people with different abilities — as well as a focus on inclusion for special education students in regular education classrooms, have made him excited to join the Sun Prairie School District, Dinge said.
“It’s not like we’re segregated into our own little room and locked in a corner, we’re out and about,” he said.
Every academic wing of the school, referred to as “learning communities,” has its own multipurpose room that can be used by special education teachers and others to work on building skills with students at the beginning or end of the day.
Sun Prairie West juniors -- from left, Olivia Norton, Aisha Kebbeh and Kyra Olson -- laugh with one another while touring the school Sunday. The students explored one of many academic wings, known as "learning communities" in the new three-story school building.
The building also boasts a machine shop; classrooms for woods, metals, 3D art and media art; teaching kitchens; collaboration spaces; a library media center; a performing arts center that includes a scene shop and full fly backstage area as well as an orchestra pit; a music department with choir, orchestra, band and practice rooms; a small “black box” theater for smaller performances, practices or large meetings; a pool with eight lanes; a competition gym with three courts and seating for 2,100 spectators; a north gym with a fourth full court for physical education and competitions; a south gym for gymnastics complete with a jump pit filled with foam; and wrestling and fitness areas with turf, mats cardio machines and weights.
Tavian Crawford, a sophomore at West High and basketball player, said he’s excited and happy to be a part of the new school.
Kenny Mosley, Tavian’s stepfather, joked that when he saw the new facilities, he was a little envious.
“I graduated in ’94 and we didn’t have facilities like this,” he said. “The technology and the enhancements that it has is just unmatched. I’ve never seen a school like this, from the gyms to the learning environments, the ‘communities,’ the open classroom doors that slide.”
The new building, Mosely said, mirrors real-life work environments, with areas and classrooms set up to encourage collaboration among students.
“It’s set up perfectly for real-life application once these kids graduate from here and go on to the real world,” he said.
Community members explore the competition gym at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house Sunday. The school also boasts two other gyms, including one for gymnastics complete with a foam pit, an exercise center and an eight-lane pool.
Community members take tours of Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The grand opening of the school marks the end of capital projects in the district, funded by a 2019 referendum.
Community members enter Sun Prairie West High School for the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Hundreds of community members gathered in the brand new school's commons for a ribbon cutting ceremony and to explore the new facilities.
Sun Prairie West Principal Jennifer Ploeger gives a welcome address with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in attendance as well as a large gathering of community members, students, faculty and staff at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Ploeger said she had to write her speech with a thesaurus on hand to find at least 13 different synonyms for the word "excitement", to avoid repetition.
Sun Prairie West senior Lily Breyer gives tours of the theater department at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Breyer stood in the school's "black box" theater, a smaller facility that seats 120, located next to the school's larger performing arts center that can seat up to 700. The "black box" theater is meant for smaller performances, practices or large group meetings.
Sun Prairie West juniors, from left, Olivia Norton, Aisha Kebbeh and Kyra Olson laugh with one another while touring the school in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The students explored one of many academic wings, known colloquially as "learning communities" in the brand new, three story school building.
Community members explore the competition gym at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The school also boasts two other gyms, including one for gymnastics complete with a foam pit, an exercise center and an eight-lane pool.
Biology and ecology teacher Nick Watkins sets up his classroom at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Community members enter Sun Prairie West High School for the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Liz Kilsdonk, left, and her husband Frank explore a reading nook in the library at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
A general view of the courtyard at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Community members explore a math classroom at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Community members explore the auditorium at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Community members explore the black box theater at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
“I graduated in ’94 and we didn’t have facilities like this. The technology and the enhancements that it has is just unmatched. I’ve never seen a school like this, from the gyms to the learning environments, the 'communities,' the open classroom doors that slide.”
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Elizabeth Beyer is a digital producer for the Wisconsin State Journal. She joined the team in 2019 and was formerly a data, video and audio reporter at the La Crosse Tribune.
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Community members take tours of Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The grand opening of the school marks the end of capital projects in the district, funded by a 2019 referendum.
Community members enter Sun Prairie West High School for the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Hundreds of community members gathered in the brand new school's commons for a ribbon cutting ceremony and to explore the new facilities.
Sun Prairie West Principal Jennifer Ploeger gives a welcome address with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in attendance as well as a large gathering of community members, students, faculty and staff at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Ploeger said she had to write her speech with a thesaurus on hand to find at least 13 different synonyms for the word "excitement", to avoid repetition.
Sun Prairie West senior Lily Breyer gives tours of the theater department at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Breyer stood in the school's "black box" theater, a smaller facility that seats 120, located next to the school's larger performing arts center that can seat up to 700. The "black box" theater is meant for smaller performances, practices or large group meetings.
Sun Prairie West juniors, from left, Olivia Norton, Aisha Kebbeh and Kyra Olson laugh with one another while touring the school in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The students explored one of many academic wings, known colloquially as "learning communities" in the brand new, three story school building.
Community members explore the competition gym at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. The school also boasts two other gyms, including one for gymnastics complete with a foam pit, an exercise center and an eight-lane pool.
Community members tour the new Sun Prairie West High School during a Sunday open house. The school's opening marks the end of capital projects in the district funded by a 2019 referendum.
Community members enter the new Sun Prairie West High School for Sunday's open house in Sun Prairie, Sunday. Hundreds gathered in the school's commons for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to explore the new facilities.
Sun Prairie West Principal Jennifer Ploeger gives a welcome address with Gov. Tony Evers in attendance. Ploeger said she had to write her speech with a thesaurus at hand to find at least 13 different synonyms for the word "excitement" to avoid repetition.
Sun Prairie West senior Lily Breyer gives tours of the theater department. The school's "black box" theater, which seats 120 people, is located next to the school's larger performing arts center, which can seat up to 700.
Sun Prairie West juniors -- from left, Olivia Norton, Aisha Kebbeh and Kyra Olson -- laugh with one another while touring the school Sunday. The students explored one of many academic wings, known as "learning communities" in the new three-story school building.
Community members explore the competition gym at Sun Prairie West High School during the school's open house Sunday. The school also boasts two other gyms, including one for gymnastics complete with a foam pit, an exercise center and an eight-lane pool.
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