{"id":1362,"date":"2026-05-29T19:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362"},"modified":"2026-05-29T19:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:38:11","slug":"a-village-builds-a-school-how-community-support-is-transforming-biltmore-preparatory-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362","title":{"rendered":"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

PHOENIX \u2014 Walk the campus of Biltmore Preparatory Academy in central Phoenix today and you’ll find construction fencing going up, a demolition crew at work, and an administration buzzing with a decade’s worth of planning finally coming to life. By the time students return in August, they’ll be sharing their campus with a building site and watching their new school rise from where the fields used to be.<\/p>\n

Read more Southwest updates policy plus-sized travelers months after tightening it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

It is, by any measure, a long time coming.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“The Biltmore campus was originally built in 1954,” said Ben Parker, director of bond construction for the Creighton School District. “Most of the buildings on that campus are 70 years old. We’ve been doing a great job keeping them up to date and functional, but at some point it’s time to start over.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

That time has arrived.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

None of this would be happening without voters. The rebuild is funded through bond money approved by the community, a fact that both Parker and Creighton Superintendent Jay Mann return to repeatedly and with clear gratitude.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“We wouldn’t be able to build new campuses without bond money that our voters support,” Parker said simply.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

For Mann, that support carries real weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“We have a very supportive governing board, without whom none of this would be possible, and an amazingly supportive community,” he said. “There’s that old saying: it takes a village to raise a child. One of the reasons I really love being superintendent here in Creighton is I feel like the village is always around me.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

That trust comes with responsibility. Mann acknowledges that rising construction costs since the pandemic have forced the district to be creative, reallocating roughly 10% of their bond flexibility back into the Biltmore project to keep the vision intact.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“Our community and our taxpayers have entrusted us with this money,” he said. “We need to be very responsible with those dollars.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

In a way, he adds, the budget pressure has been clarifying. “I always look at budgetary challenges as kind of a blessing, because it causes us to make sure we’re being as frugal and efficient as we possibly can, which we always should be doing with taxpayer dollars.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

In a Valley where school closures have become a familiar headline, it’s worth asking: why rebuild at all?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Mann doesn’t hesitate. The old campus sits on irrigated land, and decades of water exposure have taken a toll on the original limestone block construction. The inefficient building envelope means air conditioning costs more than it should. You can only patch so much.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“It’s like, you can only take your 1974 Pinto and put so many different new parts into it before you’re like, maybe I need a new car,” Mann said. “We put so much money into just trying to keep the school functioning. It’s far more cost effective at this point to build something new.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

There’s also the bigger picture. Like many Phoenix-area districts, Creighton is dealing with declining enrollment, the result of families moving to the far East and West Valley and lower birth rates over time. That makes Biltmore’s draw as a destination school more important, not less.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“We want to create a destination that’s a reason not only for families to join us, but for them to continue to love the school their children attend,” Mann said. “If we have a school that’s continuing to crumble on us, that’s a reason for families not to join us.”<\/p>\n

Read more Take a sneak peek at the brand new Phoenix Fire Station 74 in Ahwatukee ahead of its grand opening<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Biltmore Preparatory Academy is the third in a series of rebuilds the Creighton district has undertaken over the last decade, following the Creighton Academy and Larry C. Kennedy School. And like those projects, the design process here was built around something unusual: letting students have a real say.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“To see the vision that kids have for what their learning environment could be like is just so rewarding and so amazing,” Mann said. “It ultimately makes for a better school, because you’re asking the people who are going to learn in it what’s going to serve them best.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

At the Creighton Academy, students asked for indoor slides and got them. At Larry C. Kennedy, with its focus on outdoor learning and sustainability, they got a giant treehouse in the center of the building that doubles as a classroom.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

At Biltmore Preparatory Academy, home to the district’s first and flagship dual-language immersion program, students and community members shaped a design that honors the school’s cultural identity.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“We really looked at Latin American culture,” Parker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Central to that is a large open courtyard, a design element borrowed from the plazas and patios of Spanish-speaking countries. A sweeping learning stair cascades down into the space, functioning as amphitheater seating for morning assemblies. Intentional shade keeps the area livable in the Phoenix heat, while most classrooms open directly to the outdoors.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Nestled underneath that staircase is one of the project’s most inventive features: a learning cave.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“It gives a fun place, sheltered from the sun and the elements, where kids can still be outside and be in a space where they can learn,” Mann said. “And we got a two-for-one by tucking it under an existing structure, we kept the cost down.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The new campus is designed to work for teachers, too. In a state where educator retention is a persistent challenge, Mann sees the rebuild as part of the solution.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“Where does a teacher spend a good percentage of the nine months we’re in school?” he asks. “They’re in there with their students. Being in a pleasant, functional, comfortable space is going to make it a more desirable workspace. And having a space that’s more conducive to learning is going to make them more fulfilled as a teacher, because it’s going to make their job easier.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

He describes a kind of flywheel effect: better spaces attract teachers, better teachers support students, stronger student outcomes bring more families in. And at Biltmore, where the community ties run especially deep, that flywheel has been spinning for a long time \u2014 many teachers have sent their own children to the school.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The plan is for students to attend class on campus while the new building goes up around them, watching it rise, taking tours, being part of the process. If all goes well, the new building wraps up next summer, with students moving in for the following school year.<\/p>\n

Read more The American Red Cross needs blood donations urgently as supply drops<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Walk the campus of Biltmore Preparatory Academy in central Phoenix today and you’ll find construction fencing going up, a demolition crew at work, and an administration buzzing with a decade’s worth of planning finally coming to life. By the time students return in August, they’ll be sharing their campus with a building site […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-impact"],"yoast_head":"\nA Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy - Scottsdale Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy - Scottsdale Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PHOENIX \u2014 Walk the campus of Biltmore Preparatory Academy in central Phoenix today and you’ll find construction fencing going up, a demolition crew at work, and an administration buzzing with a decade’s worth of planning finally coming to life. By the time students return in August, they’ll be sharing their campus with a building site […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Scottsdale Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T19:38:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42958d6a44564ad0a4456d34386abf96\"},\"headline\":\"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T19:38:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362\"},\"wordCount\":1130,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education Impact\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362\",\"name\":\"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy - Scottsdale Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T19:38:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42958d6a44564ad0a4456d34386abf96\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg\",\"width\":1140,\"height\":641},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?p=1362#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Scottsdale Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42958d6a44564ad0a4456d34386abf96\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy - Scottsdale Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy - Scottsdale Moving Hub","og_description":"PHOENIX \u2014 Walk the campus of Biltmore Preparatory Academy in central Phoenix today and you’ll find construction fencing going up, a demolition crew at work, and an administration buzzing with a decade’s worth of planning finally coming to life. By the time students return in August, they’ll be sharing their campus with a building site […]","og_url":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362","og_site_name":"Scottsdale Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-05-29T19:38:11+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42958d6a44564ad0a4456d34386abf96"},"headline":"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy","datePublished":"2026-05-29T19:38:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362"},"wordCount":1130,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg","articleSection":["Education Impact"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362","url":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362","name":"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy - Scottsdale Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-29T19:38:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42958d6a44564ad0a4456d34386abf96"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/41252bbad68500fe7f4ad9f2f6e6832e.jpg","width":1140,"height":641},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?p=1362#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Village Builds a School: How community support is transforming Biltmore Preparatory Academy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/","name":"Scottsdale Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42958d6a44564ad0a4456d34386abf96","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdalemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}