The school now known as Lomie Gray Heard Elementary School was constructed in 1953, allowing the school to move out of the barracks into a dedicated building. The architectural firm Zick & Sharp, prominent architects in the Las Vegas area between the 1940’s and 1980’s, were contracted to design the school in 1951. Their Mid-Century Modern design included 3 classroom buildings, an administration building, and a multipurpose building, which served as the gym, auditorium, and cafeteria. The wall design at the end of the classroom buildings is a subtle nod to contemporary aircraft wing tips. The new facilities’ first students entered the campus on September 8, 1953, for the 1953-1954 school year, with a capacity of 442 students and 15 teachers, grades K-8. As the base grew, so too did the school, increasing to 1,020 students and 34 teachers in 1960. To meet the increased demand, the school constructed two more classroom buildings in 1956 and continued to use the old barracks buildings. The school also began sending some students to a nearby school off-base to prevent overcrowding, which left 814 students at Nellis Elementary School in 1964. In 1967, renovations and additions were performed, creating classrooms with moving walls and building two more classroom buildings. Future additions included a new multipurpose room (the original was converted into a library) and another classroom building, and in 1990 a ‘Specialist Wing’ was also built. At peak, the school had over 1,200 students. At the turn of the millennium, the school had 766 students and 73 staff members.

The school has had multiple names over the years, starting with Air Base School in 1949, then later changed to Nellis Elementary School in the 1950’s. Other names included Nellis Air Force Base Dependents school and Nellis Air Force Base School. In 1971, when Ms. Lomie Gray Heard retired after 21 years as principal, the school changed its name again to honor her legacy. In 2016, the school was turned over to Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas (a public charter school) and was renamed as such. From 2016 to present, Coral Academy has operated the school on base.

Ms. Heard, born in 1906 in Carlsbad, New Mexico, was a career educator, beginning to teach around 1924, teaching in a few different New Mexico schools until 1942. From 1942 to 1944, she taught in Native American schools in Arizona and New Mexico, eventually moving to Las Vegas in 1944. Ms. Heard joined the Air Base School in 1949 and assumed principal’s duties in 1950 and served for 21 years, retiring in 1971. Even after retirement, Ms. Heard continued as a tutor when she moved to Arizona in 1978. To crown her educational achievement, Ms. Heard was inducted into the Education Hall of Fame at Western University, New Mexico on May 9, 1997. The Nevada State Museum also has a collection dedicated to her.

The elementary school was closed in 2019 when Coral Academy opened their new school campus on the other side of Nellis Air Force Base, adjacent to the newer family housing area. The old school then began being prepared for demolition to accommodate new construction to support the ever-growing mission on Nellis. The 12 buildings and school property, including the original construction and later additions, has been named the Lomie G. Heard Elementary School Historic District, and this website serves to commemorate the school’s mission of educating military children and capture the example of Mid-Century Modern design.