Parents will get the opportunity to participate in a lottery to enroll their children in the Weber State University Charter Academy March 1.
Located in the David O. McKay Education Building, the Academy opened in 2013 as, “The first charter academy in Utah to be authorized by an institution of higher education,” according to their website.
Each year, there are 44 seats available for children, 22 in a morning session and 22 in the afternoon. To decide which children will be given the limited spots in the class, the Charter Academy will hold a Lottery on March 1 at 6 p.m. in the McKay Education Building Moench Room. Camie Bearden, the Academy’s principal, says that the reason they chose to use they lottery system is because most charter schools in America choose to determine enrollment that way.
Parents who wish to register their child must submit a lottery application form available online at the Academy’s website before open enrollment ends on Feb 28. The lottery will be held in conjunction with a children’s art festival that will start at 6:30. The art festival will feature the work of students from the Academy and the Melba S. Lehner Children’s School. Both the festival and lottery are free and open to the public.
Bearden says she strongly believes parents should take advantage of the lottery.
“Our kindergarten is very hands-on, small-group and play based,” she said. “It’s not all just sitting down and working at their seats.”
Bearden also says the kindergarten is unique in the fact that they have all the resources the college can offer and are able to take the children on field trips across campus.
