They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that saying certainly applies to Walnut Grove High, the new school which opened this year in the aptly named town of Prosper (near Dallas). Recently, it went viral online for its over the top amenities and striking modern aesthetic. Already considered by some to be “the most luxurious school in the world,” inside and out it resembles a first class resort. So what is it, exactly, that makes Walnut Grove High so special, and what can its extravagance tell us about the current state of education in America?
Credit: @emily_clevland on TikTok
The moment you lay eyes on this school, you’ll understand why it turned so many heads. Its exterior looks like an updated version of the white house. A set of wide stone stairs guides students to several doors set in between soaring arched windows and towering columns. The entrance is grand, with “Front porch entries topped with pediments [that] lead into a modern interior incorporating a two story volume with natural light,” according to the Walnut Grove High School website. It’s all topped off with a Classical Revival style low-pitched gable roof.
The campus includes two main buildings: one for academic use that is 530,000 square feet, and one for multipurpose use, boasting 75,000 square feet. There is also a 1,000 seat auditorium, a whopping 62 classrooms and 14 science labs accompanied by computer rooms and prep spaces, and an impressive list of bonus CTE (career and technical education) spaces where fashion, culinary arts, journalism, eSports, engineering, robotics, interior design, and more are taught. Walnut Grove additionally offers programs in art, dance/drill, choir, band, orchestra, cheer, and theater.
But it doesn’t stop there. There are outdoor facilities for tennis, band, track, and baseball, as well as a football stadium, indoor football field, gym, and indoor arena that seats 2,200 spectators.
Credit: @emily_clevland on TikTok
A tour of the school posted by Walnut Grove student @emily_cleveland on TikTok has amassed three million views and 545.3K likes. In the three minute video, they show off the impressive array of amenities including an extensive library, a courtyard, a “floating room”, a “light room”, and nooks where students can take a quick nap. When it’s time for lunch, there’s no need to settle for the standard public school meal. Emily’s tour shows off a cafe, a chef’s kitchen, and a food court style cafeteria with a Pizza Hut, Sonic, Jimmy John’s, and more.
The most surprising detail about this school isn’t the food court, or the stadium, or even the floating room. It’s that Walnut Grove is a public school. More specifically, it’s part of the Prosper Independent School District. The website Niche, which grades districts across the country in categories like teachers and college prep, gives Prosper ISD an A+. While this might come as a shock to those of us who are used to underfunded, crumbling public schools, it’s not all that hard to understand once you consider that much of the funding for public education comes from local property taxes. This explains the startling difference between public schools in wealthy neighborhoods and those in lower income areas.
Credit: @pogr.gg on TikTok
Amidst the glamor of Walnut Grove, it’s easy to forget that the reality of education in America is a far cry from that in Prosper, Texas. In fact, many people believe that we are in the middle of an education crisis. The Pandemic may have been the last straw, and now, kids and teachers alike are feeling burnt out, and mental health issues are worryingly common. In conservative states, educators are quitting in droves because their meager salaries simply can’t withstand book bans, the criminalization of critical race theory, and the dehumanization LGBTQIA+ students. And, of course, there’s the sickening idea that every day, by simply going to school, your life is in danger.
Could the opening of Walnut Grove provide a glimmer of hope in these dismal times? Not really. Incredibly luxurious schools exist in every part of the country, and more pop up every year. They offer the possibility of escape from the bleak American education system, but only for a select few. They have food courts and floating rooms, while others are struggling to keep the lights on. The opulence of these schools represents wasted money that could be spent on rebuilding this flawed system. Walnut Grove is what every student deserves. But for this dream to ever become reality, a lot is going to have to change.