Elementary No.9 named Sunset Hill Elementary School

By Jacob Sturm
[email protected]

Official action to name Mustang Public Schools latest site has officially passed through the
Board of Education.

Mustang Elementary No. 9, a project that has been in the works since the bond was passed by
Mustang voters this past year, will take the name Sunset Hill Elementary School following
unanimous approval from Board members at the MPS Board of Education meeting Oct. 14.
Public discussion on the decision was had at the meeting as well. Charles Bradley, MPS
Superintendent, led the discussion.

“The process of naming a school has two factors to it that the board would like to see,” Bradley
said. “There is a geographical location representation, and some sort of historical significance.
And so, with this one, I know we were up there for the breaking of ground (earlier this year)
and I was up there after some of the initial work was done, you can’t just stand there and look
to the west and not be awed by the sunset, the views that are going to be from that elevation.
So, that is the geographical.”

“… Now the Hill, way back when Mustang was formed as a school district, there were actually in
this area eight other school districts that made up this area,” Bradley said. “One of them was
Pleasant Hill, and they all consolidated underneath Mustang to become Mustang Public
Schools, the entire 72-square-miles. Well, in that area that makes up where Elementary No. 9 is
going to be or is at, Pleasant Hill was in that area as well. In fact, there’s a street just to the
Southeast that still has its name Pleasant Hill. So, that’s kind of a nod toward the history.”

Assistant Superintendent Stacy Edwards provided a timeline as to what can be expected as the
open date nears.

Edwards said a group of administrators have been having meetings about Elementary No. 9 for
several months. She said the plan is to post the position for Head Principal for the school in
November.

December will be the anticipated month for a selection for that position, while January will
have the Assistant Principals and Counselor positions posted by MPS. Those hirings, according
to the provided timeline Edwards shared with Board Members, will happen in February.

Boundary realignment will also be finalized in January, and it is anticipated MPS will be ready to
go public with the realignment at that time.

March will start the process of staffing the school with teachers and support staff. April and
May will have the staffing finalized and have final construction finishing touches completed so
they can open in time for August of 2025.