3rd charter adds west-side option

A third charter school located on Salt Lake City's west side will be up and running next fall. And experts say more west-side charter schools could be on the way.

Located at former Northwest Middle School building in Rose Park, the Salt Lake Center for Science Education will serve grades six through nine and is the only school of its kind in the state.

In a unique partnership with the University of Utah, Larry Madden, director of the school, said graduate students will be a constant fixture in the school and will serve as mentors for the students.

"Some kids don't really know anything about college ... so having these mentors out at the school could help the kids see college as a real possibility for them," Madden said.

He said aside from building science minds, another aim of the school is offering school choice options in an area where alternatives are limited.

The Salt Lake Center for Science Education joins only two other charter schools, Dual Immersion Academy and Guadalupe Schools, that are located on Salt Lake City's west side.

Marlies Burns, state charter school director, said more charter schools are considering setting up shop on the west side for a number of reasons, including saturation.

In almost a decade charters have seen explosive growth, so much so that some areas are becoming saturated. So school leaders are looking for other areas where there is a need.

Moreover, legislators have capped charter growth at 5,000 students a year, making the task of getting a charter approved highly competitive.

Under the charter law, the state can give priority to schools that serve underserved and minority populations — the demographic of the west side.

The science center, which will open with 180 students and then grow to 240 the second year, will boast labs, outdoor classrooms, U. satellite labs and exhibits. It will also serve as a professional development center for science instruction.

"The school will be more than just a stand-alone charter school — but we will also use it as a center to develop things that we can transfer out to other schools in the district, using it as a lab to come up with ideas and programs that will impact teachers districtwide," Madden said.

Madden said the ideal student at the school will simply be interested in science, an area where there are shortages of students pursuing degrees in colleges.

And when they leave the school Madden said they will be strong critical, scientific thinkers.

"When they leave they will be be scientifically literate and should be able to work on pretty sophisticated projects and deeply integrate language arts and math skills into that," Madden said. "They will be good thinkers and able to ask good questions and then be able to set up some protocol and procedure to answer those questions."

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