RECENT DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT THE NEW PROSPER HIGH SCHOOL

Coleman Street heads north out of tiny Prosper past porches and hayfields until it passes a column-studded brick edifice that seems to span the horizon.

Welcome to the modern American high school, Texas style. Prosper High School is a $113.5 million, 590,000-square-foot behemoth, complete with a medical tech lab, a restaurant-worthy kitchen, a greenhouse, a broadcast studio and, of course, an indoor football practice facility. All this in a still-sleepy town of just 7,000 people.

The school opened last week at half its capacity, but district officials say it will soon fill up as families push north from crowded suburbs like Frisco and McKinney.

So like some of the area's new schools, it's a symbol of growth's march, but also a community's search for identity and even Texas pride.

"This is more than bricks and mortar," said Drew Watkins, Prosper ISD's superintendent. "This is a community facility. This is what the community wanted. And when they say best, they mean best, not just pretty good."

This school doesn't have a gym. It has three. One is an arena. The auditorium seats nearly 1,000 people and will be the town's only theater.

Every classroom has four computers and an interactive white board that teachers use to project and manipulate images from their computers. Flat-screen televisions flash announcements throughout the day.

And while some districts create separate centers for career-focused programs, Prosper has fit them all in one building. And it has added a garage for auto mechanics in its wing dedicated to career and technical education.

The building already adorned with "State Champions," thanks to the football team, houses the indoor multipurpose field and a weight room that rivals private gyms.

The lecture hall and airy hallways give the school a collegiate feel, which Watkins said is intentional.

"Most of our parents are college educated and want their kids to have that experience," he said. "We want them to have a competitive edge, to think beyond Collin County – nationally and internationally."

There is a competitive edge as well for big, new schools when it comes to attracting good teachers.

Watkins said, "Teachers want to teach in a place like this."

CONTACT TIFFANY SHARKEY AND TONYA PEEK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROSPER ISD AND HOMES AVAILABLE IN THE PROSPER ISD 214-356-4472.