From Deseret News archives:
Charter school a touchstone for community
The DIA is the dream of six women who wanted to create a school where children could acquire the knowledge and values needed to thrive in today's flat world. It is an example of how change takes place — it starts with individuals who have a dream, the passion and the perseverance to make it happen.
It all began two years ago after researching the best methods for students to develop their innate intellectual capacity. Not unlike how learning music increases cognitive skills, the women found that children who learn both content and literacy in two different languages are able to acquire a broader knowledge base, advanced critical-thinking and flexibility needed to become life-long learners — skills needed in today's ever-changing and global community.
The mothers also wanted a school that would become a place where children could learn, practice and internalize the values they thought critical to becoming a part of a neighborhood and global community. They searched for a neighborhood where a school could become a living laboratory, where students could experience the value of sharing and giving to their community. They found just the neighborhood that would fulfill that goal on the west side of Salt Lake: a neighborhood where the enrollment of students would bring different languages and where they could learn by being immersed in dual languages.
The founders, later joined by others, wanted DIA to become a touchstone for the neighborhood — where parents, teachers, students and residents have ownership. Their hopes of having DIA galvanize the community are far exceeding those expectations. Selecting and remodeling some old, rundown buildings in Glendale Plaza has quickly mobilized the residents in joining in the revitalization of their neighborhood. Neighbors, store owners, youths and Boy Scouts have lent their support in the renewal effort to bring new energy and improve the economy and safety for the neighborhood.
The charter school movement may not be the ultimate solution; however, it offers citizens the opportunity to experiment with different ways of delivering education that will prepare students for the global economy. When citizens realize that public institutions belong to them, as do the problems and the solutions, the change process begins. That's the way our nation's founders meant our government to work. The launching of the DIA is the result of what can be accomplished when citizens stop talking and take the destiny of their families and communities in to their own hands.
