Summerlin’s 25th school scheduled to open for 2010-2011 academic year

More than 20,000 students will soon make their way to one of Summerlin's 24 schools for the 2009-2010 school year. Summerlin offers 11 public and 13 private schools. Summerlin's 12th public school, West Career & Technical Academy, is scheduled to open in 2010, bringing the community's school count to 25.

"In addition to quantity, we have quality when it comes to schools," said Kevin Orrock, top division executive for The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin. "Summerlin's public and private schools continue to rank among Southern Nevada's top performing in terms of academics, athletics and extracurricular involvement."

West CTA is a magnet high school that will add to the existing educational opportunities in Summerlin through college track curricula specializing in green sciences. A preliminary list of programs includes bio-technology with an emphasis on microbiology, nursing/physical therapy, business/health management, environmental studies/natural resources, information technology and civil/environmental engineering.

In addition to the standard high school curricula, West CTA will partner with Nevada Cancer Institute, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and other local hospitals as well as the state university system to promote science education.

Located on 42 acres in Summerlin Centre West near West Charleston Boulevard and Desert Foothills Drive, West CTA has a capacity of 1,350 students.

While the school is not slated to be LEED Certified, the school is being built to feature the sustainable elements typical of LEED facilities. These include more than 200 geothermal wells used to control the school's temperatures, a water-conserving HVAC system and the use of natural lighting via windows and skylights in most of the classrooms.

In addition to reducing energy use and costs, the school's sustainable features will be incorporated in the curricula in certain programs, such as civil and environmental engineering and environmental sciences and natural resources.

"West CTA shares two passions with Summerlin's developers -- education and environmental conservation," Orrock said. "It's a perfect fit for our growing community."

A complete list of Summerlin schools or other informaton about Summerlin is available by visiting summerlin.com or by calling 888-898-5015.