Sixth graders are usually the ones preparing to enter a new building at the start of each school year, but this year, all incoming Wolf Springs Middle School students, teachers and staff are preparing for the same.
Construction on Blue Valley’s newest middle school, Wolf Springs, wrapped up this summer in time for the 2026-27 school year. The $68 million building marks the last 2023 bond project, completing $251 million of work across the district.
“It feels like it’s been a long time coming,” said Principal Courtney Domoney. “We’ve spent so much time really welcoming families. We’ve had building tours, we brought students in on tours. We’ve got eighth grade ambassadors now.
“I’m just ready to start school and for this to be a place for [students] to feel welcome, to be excited that this is their school,” she added, “and for our teachers to come together as a new staff.”
Starting in just a couple of weeks, about 350 students across sixth, seventh and eighth grades will flood the halls of Wolf Springs Middle just west of U.S. Highway 69 and north of 179th Street.
For many students, changing schools after sixth or seventh grade is scary. Even incoming Wolf Springs student Theo Draper said he was hesitant when he heard the news he’d be switching from Aubry Bend going into his last year of middle school, but once he knew his friends were joining him, the excitement started to build.
After touring the building, Theo said he’s looking forward to being in a new space.
“I really like the library,” Theo said. “It’s all open and all the shelves where the books will be are on wheels and everything like that. That way the librarian, if they want to move it, can just adjust it to fit [however they want].”
Fellow incoming Wolf Springs eighth grader Audrey Campbell shared in Theo’s excitement. Specifically, Audrey said, the pods where students have their core classes — one for each grade level — is something she’s looking forward to.
“It’s all here [in one central location] and then the only thing that would change is for electives, but there’s an elective hall, so it’s really easy to find,” Audrey said, adding that she’s particularly excited for the new Family and Consumer Sciences classroom.
When it came to designing the building, the district enlisted the help of its students. Chief Operations Officer Jake Slobodnik said the students offered perspectives that affected the building’s design.
“[Students] talked about, ‘We want people who arrive in a bus and in a car to arrive the same way,’ so we designed the building that way,” Slobodnik said. “I would have never thought about that, but they were thinking about ‘We want the same experience for everybody as they enter the building.’”
In the time since to prepare for the upcoming school year, Domoney worked with the district to hire staff and the architects to help set the foundation for what students see every time they walk through the front doors.
In the lunchroom, just to the right of the staircase after using the main entrance, people can read the Coyote Creed. For Domoney, the creed helps set the foundation for how everyone in the building should interact with each other and their surroundings.
“That creed stands for community, respect, encouragement, environment and dedication,” Domoney said. “So anything that happens, we want to make sure that we are growing skills in our students, teaching them how to work with each other and how to leave the school a better place when they’re done.”
Check out more photos of the new school below.
Read more: Blue Valley approves boundary changes with opening of Wolf Springs
