Lunch is for learning at DaVinci

OGDEN — Teachers at DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts, an Ogden charter school, have chosen to give up their lunches to spend more time mingling with and advising students.

The school, set to open this fall, released its 2004-05 plans, which break with tradition on several fronts.

Students will follow a rotating A-B schedule to divide up eight class periods, each lasting an hour and fifteen minutes.

However, students will have a full hour for lunch. And rather than eating in a traditional cafeteria, they will have a "working lunch," boardroom style, while mingling with their teachers and advisers. Faculty will spend these sessions advising, coaching and tutoring students individually and in small groups in a semi-casual setting.

"Our teachers came up with the idea to give up their own lunches in order to help the students with their learning," said DaVinci's principal Mark Allen. "Their commitment speaks for itself."

During the first few weeks of school, students will have the opportunity to pick a mentor teacher in a field of their interest or someone with whom they feel they can develop a relationship.

During lunch each of the teachers' students will meet in their classroom for one hour of one-on-one counseling, character development and lunch. Teachers will forfeit "down time that a lot of teachers need," said Allen.

Fridays also will be unique. Instead, of scheduling regular class, students will be immersed into a single subject for a half-day of labs, projects, seminars and field trips. Classes will be rotated to give students two Fridays dedicated to each of their subjects every semester.

DaVinci will start the school year early to begin with a full week of classes rather than a half week to start, which means they can end earlier in the spring. "We want to jump right in on Monday and hit the ground running," said Allen. The first day of school is Aug. 23.

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