Ground Broken On Gulf Shores High School

Gulf Shores City Schools recently broke ground on a $131-million high school, AL.com reports. The event marks the beginning of a 2-year construction schedule. The 287,000-ft² school is part of a 10-year master plan adopted in 2021. Mockups show a modern school akin to a college campus with facilities designed to encourage collaboration. There are to be 28 regular classrooms, 11 collaborative classrooms, five science laboratories, two art studios, and choir and band rooms. An athletics center will house two gymnasiums, tiered meeting rooms, athletic training rooms, an athletic performance center and a covered practice pavilion. A “flex suite” will accommodate groups of varying sizes, and a “sandbar” in the main hallway will serve as a focal point for academic and social interaction. The school will be able to accommodate 1,000 students, and there is opportunity for expansion. Once it opens for the 2026-2027 academic year, middle school students (grades 6-8) will move into the existing high school, and the existing middle school, next to the elementary school, will allow the overcrowded elementary school to expand.