Welcome to the new PRHS!

Open design welcomes students back

Bright and shining, the new Pea Ridge High School reflects the newest advances in education while honoring the commitment to community.

Windows abound, both on inside as well as exterior walls, creating an open feeling throughout.

Entering the new building, visitors, students and teachers pass through a lobby area that has locked doors to the foyer providing additional security. A large stairwell is centered in the expanse surrounded by tables, booths and cafe tables inviting students to gather for lunch. Just outside is a large patio area offering outdoor dining space.

The 141,000-square feet building offers state-of-the art science lab, culinary classroom, art room, classrooms, choir room and band room as well as a gymnasium and auditorium. There is an elevator providing access to all between the two floors.

Open balcony areas upstairs will offer seating areas off the library for students to read or study.

There’s a student union area offering space to study.

The quad offers study stations for students studying classes online, similar to the iSchool offered when the Pea Ridge Manufacturing and Business Academy began.

A community clinic is located on the west end of the first floor and will be operated in conjunction with Community Clinic as well as offering a place for students in the health care sciences to study and work.

This week staff and teachers move into the new facility, preparing for the new school year.

The PRHS Open House will be virtual this year due to the global pandemic. Multiple videos and online instructions will be released on Wednesday, Aug. 19. This virtual document will be emailed to students and parents, and posted on the school’s Facebook page. Student schedules and other paper materials will be mailed home on Wednesday as well.

Curved glass walls outline an office space just inside the entrance.

The cafeteria space is immediately past the front entrance and has an outside dining area immediately behind it. There are cafe tables, booths and tables available.

The quad is a space for individual, online learning.

TIMES photographs by Annette Beard The new Pea Ridge High School — 141,000 square feet, two-storybuilding — will open to students Monday, Aug. 24 — 20 years after the last “new” high school, which will now house the Junior High with seventh through ninth grades. The new Pea Ridge High School at 1925 W. Pickens Road will offer classes for 10th through 12th grades.

Stairwells in the center and either end of the building provide access to the second floor.