Students in Wittmann start school year at area’s first high school campus

WITTMANN (AZFamily) — The school year started off differently for high school students in Wittman, a city northwest of Phoenix.

The first high school campus in the city officially opened its doors!

"It's been a journey to get to this point," said Dr. Kathryn Strevell, the school's principal.

She said Mountainside High School opened in 2020 , but it's just now getting its own campus. Strevell explained for the past four years, Mountainside High students have been learning from a renovated building and portable classrooms next to the Nadaburg Elementary School .

"It's a state-funded school, and so in that process, there are different steps and different benchmarks that we need to meet, especially with our enrollment," said Dr. Strevell.

She added that the pandemic also created supply chain issues, delaying the construction of the school. But now, four years later, 400 students from local high schools have a campus to call their own.

"I think it has been one of the most rewarding things. (It's) probably going to be the most rewarding piece of my entire career," said Dr. Strevell.

She said some students travel from cities like Wickenburg and Surprise and some unincorporated areas to attend school. Before Mountainside High School was founded, teens in Wittmann would have to attend Wickenburg High School or Willow Canyon High School in Surprise. Both of those schools are more than 20 minutes away.

"It's a great spot because it's so much closer. I honestly wish that when my sister was going to Willow Canyon that she could've gone to a school closer by," said Suekana Al Aqili, a senior at Mountainside.

Al Aqili said students were given a ballot at a school's library to choose the school's name, mascot, colors, sports and design.

"I just remember going in there, and I felt like I was voting for the next president because it was something so surreal, and I was like 'I'm going to make a difference,'" said Suekana.

Arizona's Family also talked with Ryan Henderson, who graduated from Mountainside earlier this year and is now attending Northern Arizona University.

Although Henderson didn't get to attend classes in the new building, she is happy other students will get the high school experience in a campus she helped design.

"Being able to be a part of it, I feel like I have some sort of connection, and a little part of myself kind of went into it," said Henderson.

Like Henderson and Al Aqili, students share a sense of pride, knowing they helped build the home of the Wolves.

"It's a very nice experience to actually get the high school experience that I thought I was going to get when I walked into my freshman year," said Al Aqili.

Mountainside is a state-of-the-art school with classrooms for STEM labs, art studios and more.

Dr. Strevell said they plan to add programs with local partners to embed themselves in the community and make students more marketable for colleges.