Great Hearts Breaks Ground on New Academy in Apache Junction

Great Hearts celebrated along with leaders and families of Apache Junction at the groundbreaking ceremony of the charter network’s 25th academy in Arizona. When Great Hearts Blossom Rock opens in 2027 to K-5 scholars in the master-planned community of Blossom Rock, it will be the first Great Hearts academy in Pinal County.

It was standing room only under the large event tent, as city officials, the builders and developers involved in the project, and Great Hearts leaders were introduced. Behind them stood massive construction equipment on the excavated land, providing a larger-than-life backdrop and representation of the impressive scale of the project.

Great Hearts Co-Founder Dan Scoggin opened the ceremony by thanking Brookfield Residential, the developer who donated the land for the new academy. “What a blessing to us. And we hope we can be a blessing to your community, to the many children and families that are moving here. Thank you for this opportunity. This is a partnership for the future. All these wonderful homes, they’re going to be here for decades and decades. And this classical academy that is going to form hearts and minds for Truth, Goodness, and Beauty for years and years to come,” he remarked.

Scoggin also thanked Carhuff and Cueva Architects, who are designing the academy to match the beauty of the surrounding community and its classical look; GCON, the contractor for the project; and Chermack Consulting Group, who will provide direct project management.

Standing in front of the towering Superstition Mountains in the distance behind him, Scoggin shared what he learned about the origins of the name, Blossom Rock. “It’s actually a mining term. Miners used to look for veins of copper, and gold, and silver inside a rock. And that was a sign that they should mine there. That was called the Blossom Rock,” he explained.

Scoggin continued, “It’s actually a technical term. But it made me think as a classical educator… Augustine, a thinker that lived 1,600 years ago, the Bishop of Hippo, used this term about the Truth, that the Truth is ever ancient and ever new. The Truth is as durable as those Superstition Mountains. It doesn’t go away. It’s objective. It’s real. It calls us all to it, the Beauty of it, the lasting nature of it. But for each generation, every child must find the Truth again, must seek it with their heart and find it and hold it, which is fresh and new for every generation. And that’s the work of Great Hearts here at Blossom Rock. This fresh new campus, studying things as durable as the Superstition Mountains. That durability, ever ancient and ever new. And Blossom Rock fits that too, ever ancient and ever new.”

Mayor Chip Wilson welcomed the academy to the community that he has been a part of for more than 35 years. “We are proud to welcome Great Hearts Blossom Rock as they break ground on their first campus here in Pinal County. We’re just across the county line, so even more proud that they chose the city of Apache Junction to be their new home,” he said. “We are excited to see the new campus become part of our community and part of the future of Apache Junction… We look forward to seeing the impact this school will have in the future of our community. And I want to say a special welcome from the administration of Apache Junction.”

Before the shovels pierced the ground, founding Headmaster Conal Tanner greeted the attendees. “It’s a momentous occasion. We’re, in a few minutes, not just going to turn the first little bits of soil to start being able to pour a foundation for a building. We’re pouring the foundation for the young men and women… We’re pouring a foundation for them to have the childhood that they deserve, for them to have the formation grounded in timeless principles and the best that’s ever been thought and read. We’re pouring a foundation for them to be able to thrive over here in just over a year.”

Tanner also noted what a milestone this campus is for Great Hearts. It is not only the first Arizona campus outside of Maricopa County, but when it opens in 2027, it will be the 25th Arizona academy opening on the 25th year anniversary of Great Hearts. Something to be celebrated for sure.

Led my Great Hearts Arizona Superintendent Brandon Crowe, leaders from Great Hearts and partners ceremoniously “turned dirt” for a photo op, followed by a special treat for the many children in attendance as they received a Great Hearts Blossom Rock “hardhat” and pint-sized shovel to break ground as well.

The event was followed by music, free food from venders, face painting, and balloon animals with representatives who were available to answer questions about the new development, and enrollment information for the new school, which already has a growing interest list ahead of its opening in the fall of 2027. Learn more at https://blossomrock.greatheartsamerica.org.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.