Two new Phoenix-area high school’s performing arts centers are 23,000 square feet, seat 500, cost $315 per square foot, and are designed with a specific use in mind; however, that’s where similarities end. Canyon View High School in Waddell, Ariz., is home to a first-of-its-kind theater dubbed the accelerator, a space that advances the art of teaching and learning at the high school level and beyond. The Performing Arts Center at Combs High School in San Tan Valley, Ariz., is designed as a jewel box with the proportions and finishes of a little opera house.

Read the full article to learn how each theater serves the unique needs of its students, staff, and community.