Academics

STEM  -   Humanities  -   Advanced Placement   -   Service Learning  -  Assessment   

Educational Support Services  -  Guidance  -  Advisory

Broad Engaging Curriculum

At City Academy, each student is an important member of a dynamic learning community.  Our school is a place for those who want to learn and grow, and who have goals for college and beyond.  City Academy offers a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum from foundational courses through rigorous advanced college-level study in the Cambridge International Examinations program.  Across the curriculum, learning is authentic, investigate and rigorous.  We are committed to maintaining a focus on academic progress and challenging learning for each student, in each course, and throughout each school year. To that end, each of our classes are taught by highly qualified, caring teachers in a demanding grade-level appropriate manner that leads to learning progress for each student.  Please click here to see a list of course descriptions.  
 
We know that students in grades 7-12 are still forming many of their passions and discovering their expertise. At City Academy we do not over emphasize any one area but rather, we offer a rigorous curriculum across the subject areas including the arts, engineering and the sciences, history and literature with strong programs in mock trial, advanced mathematics, theater, and service learning. We give emphasis to good writing, good planning, and good citizenship as integral parts of all learning experiences.

STEM Education          [back to top]

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are cornerstones of life, progress, and business today.  At City Academy we know learning in the STEM fields is a critical part of each student's education that supports living and working in the 21st century. 

We are pleased to establish Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering courses for junior and senior high school students.  Our engineering curriculum began in 2012-13 with the PLTW Principles of Engineering course for high school students.  We will be adding an engineering lab and the courses Introduction to Engineering Design for 8th-10th grade students, and Digital Electronics for 10th-12th grade students in 2013-14.  These engineering courses compliment our long-standing commitment to science education.  Each of our science courses from 7th through 12th grades is taught as a laboratory science and includes appropriate related field study.  In addition to courses in biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics, we offer elective courses such as paleontology, astronomy, ornithology, stream ecology, environmental management, and a science research class for students preparing independent research projects in the STEM fields.

Mathematics is important at City Academy both as a foundation for other learning as well as for its own pursuit.  We embrace the new Utah Core Curriculum of integrated mathematics courses because they require critical thinking, problem solving, and more substantial connected mathematical understanding.  Fluency with the knowledge and skills in the new mathematics core curriculum will prepare young people well for success in college and careers in STEM fields.  Students take our mathematics courses from Math 7 through the second year of advanced placement college-level mathematics as they are ready to take each course, rather than defined by grade level.

Humanities Education          [back to top]

At City Academy we are focused on critical reading and academic writing across the curriculum.  English language arts, world languages, geography and history courses are designed to build robust literacy skills as well as develop understanding of the depth of knowledge and human experience represented in study of the humanities.  The City Academy curriculum meets standards of the Utah Core Curriculum in English language arts and social studies and goes beyond those requirements offering pre-advanced level courses in each subject area, and two years of college-level courses in each of literature and history.

Advanced Placement Program         [back to top]

Cambridge International Examinations internationally recognized Advanced-level courses ("A levels") are offered at City Academy for Advanced Placement. This globally esteemed college-level curriculum provides rich material for authentic investigation and study, and excellent opportunity to combine study in breadth and depth. Our Cambridge Advanced-level courses foster a characteristic passion and engagement in our students as we carefully and successfully prepare them for the rigors of their college education.  Furthermore, City Academy's distinctive curriculum includes Cambridge Pre-Advanced level courses to provide our students from 9th grade onwards with an outstanding preparation for Advanced-level study.

Student Service Learning          [back to top]

100% of City Academy students participate in service learning as a part of their graduation requirements. Service learning is much, much more than volunteering; it is another means of accomplishing depth and breadth of learning. Service learning combines service tasks with structured learning opportunities that link the task to the acquisition and comprehension of knowledge, ideas, values, and skills, as well as to self-reflection and self-discovery.

Students at City Academy have opportunities to participate in school sponsored service learning in at least four different ways. First, each student is a member of a service learning committee that provides service for the school community while providing students the opportunity to learn about the area of service they are providing, for example library or green school committees.  Further, each year there are several whole school service learning activities where the student body learns more about a particular community need and then acts to help resolve it.
Each student also has academic service learning opportunities that arise in classes across the curriculum when a controversy or issue emerges from the course of study. Students learn about a multifaceted concern and are then asked to develop a solution or resolution to the issue based on their study. Students perform a service when they communicate their solutions to those in the larger community directly dealing with the issue, or when they take action themselves on the issue.

Additionally, 10th through 12th grade students are involved in academic service learning internship placements of their choosing in non-profit, social services, or government organizations in the community. Students learn about the causes and issues of the organization within which they are serving. The student intern then helps the organization implement some of the interventions they have helped develop.

Assessment          [back to top]

City Academy provides a learning environment focused on developing and demonstrating knowledge and competencies. Students earn credit through demonstrating academic standards-based levels of competency. These levels are designated as Initial, Reaching, Solid, and Expanded. The four levels of competency from Initial to Expanded do not compare in any way with traditional letter grades of A, B, C, D, F. City Academy levels of competency indicate students' demonstrated understandings, knowledge, skills, and abilities in a particular area at a particular time. City Academy does not rank its students.  A GPA equivalency is computed quarterly for each student to provide information for traditional questions of "good" student or "honor roll" student for purposes of insurance discounts, community perks, and college admissions. For more specific information about our competency-based assessment system please refer to the Parent and Student Policy Handbook.

Educational Support Services (ESS)          [back to top]

Educational Support Services (ESS) Department encompasses a variety of special support services at City Academy.  ESS provides the following:

• Diagnostic screening assessments in reading, writing and math for all students in grades 8 and 9.
• Diagnostic assessments for students who are speakers of other languages.
• Identification of and placement for students needing Coordinated Early Intervening Services.
• Monitoring of students who have been identified as at-risk.
• Academic assessment and diagnostic testing to identify needs of students who demonstrate significant difficulty in class after implementing interventions.
• Services for students with disabilities who require Individual Educational Plans (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). City Academy IDEA Policies and Procedures are posted at http://my.uen.org/48778
• Services for students with disabilities who require Section 504 plans under the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA)
• English as a Second Language (ESL) Services for students who qualify.
• Functional Behavioral Analysis and Behavioral Intervention Plan development and implementation for students with behavioral issues.
• Support for teachers in implementing accommodations for students on IEP, 504, and ESL plans, including in-services and trainings, class observations by ESS personnel, and in-class support by co-teachers for IEP students.

Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship
“School districts and charter schools are required by Utah law, 53A1a-704(10), to inform parents of students with IEPs enrolled in public  schools, of the availability of a scholarship to attend a private  school through the Carson Smith Scholarship Program”. The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship provides tuition assistance for eligible special needs students enrolled in eligible private schools.
Student Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the scholarship, the student must meet a set of requirement including that the student was enrolled in a Utah public school in the current school year, has a current IEP during the school year, and has been admitted to an eligible private school. Prospective applicants may view detailed program information at the following website:

www.schools.utah.gov.sars/Quick-Links/Carson-Smith-Scholarship.aspx

Comprehensive Guidance           [back to top]

We recognize that successful young people must be not only knowledgeable when they graduate from school, but also emotionally and physically healthy, civically engaged, responsible, and caring. We believe every child deserves an education that fully prepares him or her for college, work, and citizenship. The role of the City Academy comprehensive guidance program is to support development of the "whole student" as they attend our school.

Counseling  

Our counseling program helps students develop both academically and socially and guides them through becoming competent in skills and knowledge that will result in their life-long success. Our Program is designed to focus on the personal, educational, and career needs of every student. Our desire is to help every student leave City Academy with more than a DIPLOMA . . . We'll help you leave with a portfolio of competencies!

The Advisory Program         [back to top]

Students are organized into grade-level advisories and typically remain with the same advisory group over time.
An advisory is a small, caring, supportive community within the school led by teacher advisor.  Advisory work focuses on academics as well as personal qualities and civics. Advisories are an integral component of our larger plan for learning. They are not "add-ons" or "one more thing to do" in a busy day.

The advisor's primary responsibility is to maintain an overview of the student's academic progress and to provide a day-to-day level of support to the student towards making appropriate progress. Advisors do not replace the school counselor, but do provide an initial level of counseling support. Advisors also provide each student and their parents with a first line of contact and an advocate in the school setting. The role of the advisor is vital in ensuring that no student "slips through the cracks" whether in terms of academic or social/emotional need.

Additionally, advisories are the smallest units of our civic structure, which connect to town and village meetings and student government. They are a forum for students to express and discuss ideas, concerns and wishes and to develop, through participation, their understanding of representative democracy. The experiences and processes of advisory should help advisor and advisees develop as stakeholders and citizens of our school community.

College and Career Ready Resources          [back to top]

Use the links below to access numerous resources available for preparing your student for college and their future.

Next Step U Next StepU helps high school junior and senior students plan for their next steps in planning for college, careers and life.

Utah Futures Career Information System Occupations & Jobs, Education & Training, Career Assessments, Resources

Step Up to Higher Education You want the best for your children. You most likely talk to them about everything from sports to what's for dinner, so why not make college part of the conversation? The earlier you start, the more prepared your child will be to take that next step up to higher education.

El Grito De La Prosperidad - In English and Spanish The initiative Shout for Prosperity will helps Latino families prosper in the US education system.

Your Words Today - In English and Spanish As a parent, you may be surprised to know that college for your child can be achievable and affordable. But you need to prepare now. This website will walk you through the steps to get your child into a college that's right for him or her. Being proactive today will help your child earn a college degree tomorrow.

Postsecondary Access for Latino Middle-grades Students( PALMS) PALMS focuses on the middle grades, which serve youth ages 10 to 14, because it is during this time that students make choices and develop the knowledge and skills that can take them through high school and beyond. For students who are the first in their families to attend college, early planning and preparation is especially important.

Federal Student Aid Federal Student Aid makes it easier to get money for higher education.