The front entrance of the new Eagle Mountain High School on Bonds Ranch Road. The $271 million campus opens Monday.
Chris Torres
ctorres@star-telegram.com
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Eagle Mountain High School will welcome its first group of students to school Monday, marking the start of the school’s inaugural year.
The Star-Telegram visited the campus Friday ahead of its opening and got a look inside the $271 million campus at 3451 Bonds Ranch Road.
Approved by Eagle Mountain-Saginaw voters as part of a $524.7 million bond package in 2017, the school’s enrollment will start at just under 900 students and eventually expand to 2,600.
Principal Ron Gatlin has been involved with the project from the very beginning.
He was hired in March 2023, and since then, he said he’s been “counting beakers and chairs”: he picked the furniture, the school colors, designed the mascot and even wrote the school’s alma mater and fight song.
The massive school could easily be mistaken for a college campus, and it has many of the same amenities, too: large lecture halls, a vast fine arts complex and even a coffee shop.
The athletic facilities include a stadium, a fieldhouse with an indoor practice field that can be used for football, baseball and soccer practices and a fully-equipped weight room.
The inside of Knight Stadium at Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Basketball, gymnastics, dance and cheer also have their dedicated gymnasiums.
Designed with ecological concerns in mind, the school was built around the topography of the land it sits on, district spokesperson Matthew LeBlanc said.
The campus also runs on geothermal energy: over 4,000 wells, each over 300 feet deep, pump water from a large pond on the campus to heat and cool classrooms, Gatlin said.
The indoor practice field for the athletics department of the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Classrooms are built to accommodate a range of career and technical education classes like floral design, cooking and agriculture, and include large, well-equipped science labs for STEM classes.
The weight room of the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
LeBlanc said that every time he comes to visit the school, he’s still finding new surprises around every corner.
Even the food, Gatlin said, is made to impress.
“Our cafeteria manager tells me every time we have chicken wings and pizza,” Gatlin said.
The gymnastics team room at the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The basketball gym at the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The view from the highest row at the Performing Arts Center at the new Eagle Mountain High School on Bonds Ranch Road. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Inside the large lecture hall at the new Eagle Mountain High School on Bonds Ranch Road in Fort Worth. This is one of three lecture halls on campus and has material built on the walls meant for noise cancellation. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The main courtyard at the new Eagle Mountain High School on Bonds Ranch Road. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The cafeteria at the new Eagle Mountain High School on Bonds Ranch Road. The school opens Monday. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Inside a large lecture hall at the new Eagle Mountain High School. This is one of three lecture halls on campus and has material built on the walls meant for noise cancellation. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The library at Eagle Mountain High School overlooks the campus’ main courtyard. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
One of the three lecture halls at the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The main courtyard at the new Eagle Mountain High School on Bonds Ranch Road. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The courtyard view from the second floor overlooking the entrance to Knight Stadium on the campus of Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The library at the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The inside of an art classroom at the new Eagle Mountain High School. The windows on both sides of the classroom allow for more natural light. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The dance team gymnasium at the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The inside of Knight Stadium at Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The inside of Knight Field of the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The entrance to Knight Stadium at Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Collaboration spaces in between classrooms allow students to work together on projects and presentations. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
A Spanish classroom at the new Eagle Mountain High School. This classroom is the common model for most courses at the school. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
The inside of a chemistry lab room at the new Eagle Mountain High School. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
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Lillie Davidson is a breaking news reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from TCU in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, is fluent in Spanish, and can complete a crossword in five minutes.
