Excelsior Academy receives 1,380 intent-to-enroll forms — twice school’s capacity

Tooele County’s first charter school doesn’t have a building yet, but it has one compelling factor in its favor already: proven public demand.

According to Heidi McCabe, vice chair of Excelsior Academy’s board of trustees, 1,380 children have applied to enroll in the school — more than double its state-mandated capacity of 648.

“Tooele doesn’t have a lot of options outside the school district,” Ann Gubler, chair of the school’s board of trustees, said. “But I was very happy [with the response], especially with the older grades. A lot of charter schools have a hard time selling their upper grades, especially because people aren’t willing to commit to one year. When I tell other charter schools how full our seventh and eighth grades are, they’re shocked.”

The intent-to-enroll period ended Feb. 20. Selection for students was done by a lottery Tuesday. Results of the lottery have been posted on the school’s Web site at www.excelsior-academy.org. Registered users who log on with their user ID and password, are notified of either acceptance or their number on a waiting list.

“If a student, for some reason or other, decides not to come, or if they move, then they send us a letter declining acceptance or don’t send registration back by April 30,” Gubler said, adding that those forfeited slots will be given to people on the waiting list.

The 1,380 applicants is equivalent to roughly 10 percent of the entire enrollment of the 24 schools in the Tooele County School District, according to enrollment figures released by the district last September.

Tooele County School District Superintendent Terry Linares said the response to the charter school causes the district to reflect on education in the district.

Gubler believes one reason for such widespread interest in the school, particularly in the higher grades, is director Ernie Nix, who has a strong middle-school background. She also said a few slots remain open for eighth grade.

Groundbreaking for the school was held Jan. 31 at a site on the southwest corner of SR-36 and Erda Way. Gubler said construction began Monday. Building updates, in the form of photos, will be posted each Friday on the school’s Web site.

Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com