New high-tech charter school seeks students for enrollment

Now that it has a home, a principal and approval from the University of Utah and two local school districts, the state's first high-tech high school is looking for students.

The Academy for Math, Engineering and Science is looking for about 250 students to attend the new school, which is set to open this fall and which will be housed at Cottonwood High School.

"The more diverse our applicant pool is, the more diverse our student body will be," academy principal Al Church said.

The academy, which receives support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is the first of six state-sponsored charter schools and is part of Gov. Mike Leavitt's New Century High School initiative. Granite and Salt Lake City school districts, as well as the University of Utah, are partners in the school and have given a green light to the project.

The Utah State Board of Education is expected to give its approval this spring, Church said.

The four-year high school is taking applications to fill the ninth and 10th grades for the 2003-2004 school year. Over the next two years the school will add ninth-graders for a total enrollment of no more than 500 students.

Church said students from all backgrounds are invited to apply.

"This is not just for traditionally identified gifted kids," he said.

Applications are due March 31 and are available at www.ames-slc.org or by calling 588-6490. Although enrollment is open to all Utah high school students, priority is given to students in Granite and Salt Lake City districts.

Charter schools are free, public schools that offer school choice and flexibility.

Parents and students interested in the high-tech school can attend one of a series of community open houses beginning Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Centro de la Familia de Utah. Additional open houses are Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Northwest Middle School; March 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Cottonwood High School; and March 11 at 6:30 p.m. at John F. Kennedy Junior High School.

Additional state charter schools are expected to be established in Salt Lake City, Logan, Ogden, Cedar City and Utah County.

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