Building 'academies' — Learning communities aim to give students a better education

The up-and-coming revamped Granite High School is looking to create "academies" — an educational reform concept heavily supported by the U.S. Department of Education that some school bosses say transforms the way teachers and students approach the public school experience.

Utah high schools in Jordan, Davis, Ogden and Granite districts are setting up such reform efforts with the help of a federal grant, according to the education department. And some of them — Ogden and East high schools, for instance — have steadily nurtured the idea to involve universities, create internships and churn out skilled students they hope are better prepared for the future, be it in the workforce or college.

It's taken them years to do it.

That said, it appears Granite High stands in the shadow of a giant task: Making the reforms fly in just six months.

The school's new principal, Robert McDaniel, who has implemented several reforms at his former school, Granite Park Middle School, says he's not looking to turn a miracle. Rather, he sees the new Granite High being phased in.

"The term I like is, think big, move slow," McDaniel said.

"(This is the) initial phase. I'm still trying to convince kids this is where they want to be," he said. "We know how academies work. We just have to fight the battle of having enough time to get them to work . . . so hopefully, there's a long-term commitment from those who make the decisions."

The Granite Board of Education voted to revamp Granite High School in late November, at the same time it voted to close east-side Meadow Moor and Canyon Rim elementaries and alter school boundaries districtwide to balance student enrollments.

Though a district/parent committee suggested closing Granite High, the board, following intense lobbying from the South Salt Lake community and City Council, voted to turn it into a sort of magnet-school and umbrella institution. Next fall, it will include alternative school Central High — though students will stay in their own school. The Young Parents program will move from its own building near Hunter High to Granite, which also will include performing arts and careers academies and a newcomers program for immigrants to get on their feet, educationally, linguistically and culturally.

The Granite High proposal constitutes a radical change, and details have been parceled out along the way, leaving some uneasy about Granite's future. Some students and community members have accused the board of setting Granite up to fail so it will have to close, while others urge patience.