High-tech charter, WSU join forces

The Northern Utah Academy for Math, Engineering and Science has consolidated its satellite sites and this fall joined four other charter high schools that operate on university campuses.

NUAMES combined its campuses in Kaysville and Roy and relocated to the Weber State University Davis campus in Layton this summer. Leaders say the move allowed the school to be more efficient by not having to duplicate resources at two locations.

"The key word here is synergy," said Bruce Davis, director of WSU Davis, who has been involved in the partnership since the earliest discussions. "We don't have to duplicate the infrastructure, parking, transportation, etc. for both schools."

Davis said NUAMES students attend school during the day and peak time for WSU Davis is in the evenings, so the two can share resources and infrastructure, which results in much higher utilization of the facility.

"It's a win-win situation for our students and for the taxpayers," Davis said

The charter high school, one of six high-tech charter high schools in the Utah, serves 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders and offers early college courses while still in high school.

All six schools have an emphasis on technology and engineering, enable students to earn an associate's degree by the time they graduate from high school and target at-risk high school students. They also open doors to state scholarships toward four-year degrees.

The high-tech charter schools, also called New Century High Schools, began as one of former Gov. Mike Leavitt's initiatives. The Legislature authorized six of the schools that have set up shop across Utah from Logan to Cedar City.

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