Merit College Preparatory Academy (MCPA) is a public chartered

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

serving grades 7–12 in Springville,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, United States. It opened in 2008.

Facilities

The school building is a

ADA Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tu ...

-compliant facility on approximately . It has classrooms, foreign language labs, a student store, art, dance, and music rooms, a kitchen and cafeteria, a separate gymnasium, and both indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Education

Merit Academy uses university-style learning and assessment. The curriculum follows the state core content with some additions. Core subjects are taught by a licensed teacher with two assistants. Core classrooms accommodate 45 students and can be divided into three smaller classrooms of 15 students when required, with a 15:1 student-teacher ratio.

Instructional Focus Tracks

Instructional Focus Tracks (IFTs), starting in the 10th grade, provide specialist teaching. Students can take 6.5 credits, of the total 27 credits they need to graduate, as an intensive focused study in the following areas: * Concurrent Enrollment (College Credit) * Business * Science & Engineering * Science & Math * Computers & Technology * English & Humanities * Foreign Languages * Fine Arts * General Studies * Individualized Focus Students taking courses in the Business IFT, for example, will start and run their own businesses either online or at the student store, under the direction of Merit's business IFT faculty and volunteer professionals from the community. A student in the Computers & Technology IFT might build a service robot in the Robotics course, or work on a website development team that produces a site for a real company. A student in the Fine Arts IFT might create a composition or short play staged and performed in the theater.

References

External links

{{authority control Public high schools in Utah Public middle schools in Utah Charter schools in Utah Schools in Utah County, Utah 2008 establishments in Utah Buildings and structures in Springville, Utah