High school student to occupy Innovation Campus
Innovation Campus will see a younger classroom audience beginning Fall 2006.
Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the state of Utah will host six college-based high schools each receiving $500,000 as seed funding. One of those six schools will located at Innovation Campus, said Dean of the College of Education Carol Strong.
The Cache Valley facility will offer more opportunities to students because of its location, Strong said. The availability of resources at the Innovation Campus will aid the students in hands-on experiences, she said.
“It should be a wonderful opportunity for both entities,” Strong said.
USU President Kermit L. Hall said in a press conference that Innovation Campus has plegded land for the new school. Director of Innovation Campus Michael Brooks said it is an opportunity to bring the high school students to closer involvement with the business environment.
“Obviously, we’re very happy to work with various groups involved,” Brooks said.
However, this high school is not for every student, Strong said. The students need to apply to the school and will be chosen through a lottery to increase the diversity within the school, Strong said.
“This school is not just for the best or the brightest,” she said.
There are efforts to recruit underrepresented groups to apply for the lottery, Strong said.
The curriculum will primarily focus on mathematics, engineering and science. There is support from the Utah State University English department for help developing reading, writing and research curriculums for the school.
The school will be intentionally constructed to support a small student body of no more than 300 students, Strong said. Smaller class sizes create better learning environments for students and are supported by the Gates Foundation, Strong said.
However, there is no funding for building the school, Strong said. Regardless of a building or not, students are scheduled to attend school in Fall 2006. However, the partners of the charter school – USU, Cache County School District, Innovation Campus and valley businesses – are searching for donations.
Students of the charter school will accumulate college credit through their studies that can be directly applied to their specified major, Strong said, resulting in about $7,500 savings for every year completed at the Early College High School.
“Students who take this route may feel more empowered,” Strong said.
The charter school also benefits the community with the savings it creates for student tuition.
“There’s an economic benefit to communities and families if [college is] completed sooner,” she said.
However, some students may feel a shorter university experience may have negative effects, Strong said.
“This is not a school for every student,” she said.
The students who attend the charter school have a career direction in either the mathematics, science or technology field that directs them to the right curriculum for early college preparation, Strong said.
Because of the location of the school, the majority of students will come from the Cache Valley and Logan districts, Strong said. However, there may be a few students from Rich and Box Elder counties.
As of now, the school does not have a name, Strong said.
“We don’t know what we’re going to call it,” she said.
The Gates Foundation has donated $2.3 billion to education, with a large percentage directed to high school education, Strong said.
-kcashton@cc.usu.edu