LINDON — With its Great Books curriculum, Socratic seminar and "Wintierm," the founding board of the Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy hopes students will be "a cut above the rest."
The board of the charter high school, slated to open in the fall, met with parents and teenagers Thursday night to discuss the school, introduce faculty and announce the building's location.
Maeser Prep will educate students in grades 9-12 at 531 N. State, in about 16,000 square feet of a former bowling alley that's being refurbished by Lindon Nursery.
The school will rent the space from the nursery at $15,000 a month for the next two to three years, when a new building will be constructed, said Steve Whitehouse, the school's chief financial officer.
Maeser Prep will be home to the Lions, and the school's blue, gold and red crest will be sported on the uniform blazer and polo shirt.
"We really are trying to be better," said Robert Baker, the school's chief administrative officer. "We're trying to be a cut above the rest."
Board members hope the school will open with 175 students; 156 are currently enrolled. It will eventually grow to about 300 students.
The school board recruited teachers from other schools and career fairs. The board checked references, talked with university faculty about the teacher candidates and visited ratemyprofessors.com for students' opinions of them, board member Robyn Openshaw-Pay said.
Students will learn from the so-called Great Books curriculum. The curriculum, which is popular at other charter schools, was introduced at the University of Chicago in the late 1940s and reveals the history of Western thought through the reading of classical works from Plutarch to Dostoevsky.
The Socratic seminar will combine English and history each day for two hours. Students will learn through exploring questions posed at the beginning of each class.
Wintierm will be a three-week break during winter when classes are suspended but students are expected to learn through independent study, travel or on-campus courses.
Robyn Armstrong is considering attending the high school. She'll be in the 10th grade next year.
"I like that they will have Saxon math," said Armstrong, who learns Saxon math at her current charter school, Lincoln Academy.
For more information, visit www.maeserprep.org.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com