Charter Application

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mountain Sunrise Academy (MSA) provides an innovative, holistic, student-centered, developmentally appropriate education to a community desiring a whole child educational option. Through the use of Waldorf methods, the school nourishes a child’s natural curiosity and passion for learning by respecting the unique developmental stages each child experiences. All facets of the school are structured around a comprehensive understanding of human development—an understanding that nurtures a community of self-awareness, respect and dignity.

APPLICANT GROUP’S ORIGIN

MSA was founded by a diverse group of individuals with varied first-hand experiences with Waldorf education.  Each founder came to MSA with a passion for the beauty, curriculum, methods, and successes of Waldorf education.  As parents of Waldorf students, students in Waldorf schools, former teachers and assistants in Waldorf schools, and individuals seeking training in Waldorf education, each has sought to create replicate the success of the Waldorf model and hoped to make this type of educational experience broadly available to students in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah in Utah.

MSA’s DEVELOPMENT

Slated to open in August of 2016, MSA will be the first Waldorf school in the state of Utah. MSA will be located in the Millcreek area of Salt Lake County and serve up to 469 students, with three kindergarten classes of approximately 17 students and two classes for each grade 1-8, with a maximum class size of 26. MSA will serve students of all income levels, cultural backgrounds and academic abilities. The centralized location in the Salt Lake Valley will draw students from the local community and the surrounding region.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Mountain Sunrise Academy is a K-8 public school choice that:

• Offers a rigorous, relevant, balanced, and memorable liberal arts education, structured around the Utah Core Curriculum.
• Nurtures the intellect, imagination, and emotional life of each child.
• Incorporates sustainable living practices, environmental stewardship and experiential learning through outdoor experiences, animal husbandry and gardening skills.
• Infuses academics with singing, painting, movement, drawing, recorder and flutes, strings, storytelling, foreign language, speech, handwork, and drama.
• Educates children’s hearts and kindles their imaginations.
• Inspires children to live engaged and successful lives, prepared to meet the demands of their world.
• Involves parents and families in a community of learning and self-development.MSA is a valuable option for families seeking whole child centered education where children learn reading and writing, mathematics, history, geography, and the sciences, while also learning to sing, play a musical instrument, draw, paint, model clay, carve and work with wood, act in plays, do handwork like knitting and sewing, speak a foreign language, think independently, and work harmoniously and respectfully with others. MSA fully delivers the content and competencies outlined in the Utah Common Core during the progression from K-8, but in addition to developing these skills, MSA uses Waldorf methods and curriculum to immerse children in the arts and an environment that nurtures their emerging capacities at each age.

MSA teachers use an experiential, arts-rich approach that engages students in intellectually stimulating academic activities, fine-motor activities, creative and imaginative activities, and larger movement and gross-motor activities in every lesson—“a head, heart, hands” philosophy. MSA teachers are trained in Waldorf methods and mentored in developing an engaging curriculum and pedagogical practices.  Teachers follow their students throughout the grades, building relationships and competencies together.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY

MSA has a collaborative model of governance with a Charter Council made up of community members that oversee the budget, operations, and mission of the school.  In addition, MSA has a Faculty Council that involves teachers in the process of leading the school.  Teachers at MSA assist in professional development activities, participate on school-based committees, can serve on the Charter Council, and are involved in giving their perspective on disciplinary matters.  Independent and dedicated teachers are the vital force of creative, quality teaching at MSA. 

MSA also involves parents in the school community through the Community Council.  Members of the Community Council serve on the Charter Council; they help plan school activities and festivals, and they oversee volunteers and fundraising at MSA.  Parents are welcome as active participants in their children’s education through parent education nights, conferences with teachers, open door days with the Executive Director, and a variety of programs designed to involve families. 

SUMMARY

MSA’s education model is a compelling public choice which incorporates research-based strategies that improve and enhance student achievement, cognition and social and emotional health. Based on the hundred-year-old Waldorf method, but wholly new to Utah, MSA provides an innovative and creative method for delivering the Utah Core to students in the Salt Lake Valley.

To view the entire Charter Application submitted to the Utah State Charter School Board, visit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8-8bZ6MOc2yMUZvQmVoZ2VMYTg/edit?usp=sharing