News Archives - American Preparatory Schools

Media Release 2023-24

July 23, 2023

For Immediate Release

National School Lunch Program

Salt Lake City, UT – American Preparatory Academy today announced their policy for free and reduced-price meals and free milk for children unable to pay the full price of meals served under the National School Lunch program. If the Local Education Authority (LEA) participates in the program, they will have a copy of the policy, which may be reviewed by any interested party. American Preparatory Academy will be distributing program information and accepting free and reduced-price applications after July 1st for the 2023-2024 school year.

The household size and income criteria used for determining eligibility this year is listed below. Children from households whose income is at or below the levels shown are eligible for free or reduced-price meals/free milk.

Children or households currently approved for Food Stamps (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Family Employment Program (FEP), or some Medicaid programs are eligible for free or reduced meal or milk benefits. There are two ways the household may qualify for free meals: 1) The LEAs will approve these children for free meals through the direct certification process and no application is required for free meal benefits or, 2) The household may contact the LEA and indicate the qualifying assistance program in which they participate.

Households will be notified by the LEA of their eligibility and children will be provided free meal benefits unless the household notifies the school that it chooses to decline benefits. All children in these households are eligible for free meal benefits and if any child(ren) was not listed on the eligibility notice, the household should contact the school to have benefits extended to that child(ren). If the child(ren) or household receives benefits under Assistance Programs or other source programs and is not notified by the school of their free meal benefits, the parent or guardian should contact their school.

Application forms or instructions to complete an online application form for those not directly certified have been sent home including a letter to parents or guardians. To apply for free or reduced-price meals or free milk, households should fill out the application and return it to their school or district office. The information provided on the application will be used for the purpose of determining eligibility and may be verified at any time during the school year by school or other program officials. Children’s names, eligibility status and other information provided on the paper application or obtained through direct certification may be disclosed to certain other Federal, State, or local agencies as authorized by the National School Lunch Act (NSLA).

For the school officials to determine eligibility, the household must provide the following information listed on the application: names of all household members; last four digits of the Social Security Number of the adult completing the application, or a statement that the person does not possess one; the income received by each household member with income frequency and income source noted; and the signature of an adult household member certifying that the information provided is correct.

Applications may be submitted at any time during the year to the school. If a household member becomes unemployed or if the household situation changes, the family should contact the school. Such changes may make the children of the household eligible for free or reduced-price meals or free milk.

Under the provisions of the free and reduced-price policy, a designated approving official at the LEA will review applications and determine eligibility. If a parent or guardian is dissatisfied with the ruling of the official, (s)he may wish to discuss the decision on an informal basis with the approving official. If the parent or guardian wishes to make a formal appeal, (s)he may make a request either orally or in writing to the LEA hearing official by contacting the local school food service supervisor for more information. The policy contains an outline of the hearing procedure.

Foster children who are legal wards of the court or state are eligible for free meal benefits. If a household has foster children and wishes to apply for meal benefits for such children, the household should complete the application.

When known to the LEA, households will be notified of any child’s eligibility for free meals if the individual child is Other Source Categorically Eligible because the child is categorized as: homeless, migrant or runaway as defined by law; or enrolled in an eligible Head Start, Even Start (pre-school and pre-kindergarten children) as defined by law.

The information provided by the household is confidential and will be used only for purposes of determining eligibility and verifying data, unless a wavier releasing the use of the information for other specific programs is signed by the parent or guardian. Families directly certified will receive a wavier release form for their signature with the notification letter. The household name and address will be given to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) unless “No” is checked on the back of the application.

Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC) may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Individuals should complete an application for free and reduced-price meals and return it to the school where the child is enrolled. The family will be notified of the child’s eligibility.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
email:
program.intake@usda.gov

The Income Eligibility Guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals and free milk are shown below. These guidelines are used by schools, institutions, and facilities participating in the National School Lunch Program (and UDSA Foods School Program), School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program and are effective from July 1 through June 30 every year. The Income Eligibility Guidelines are also located online at https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines.

July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Eligibility Guidelines – Reduced Price Meals
Household Size	Annual	Monthly	Twice- Monthly	Bi-weekly	Weekly
1	26,973	2,248	1,124	1,038	519
2	36,482	3,041	1,521	1,404	702
3	45,991	3,833	1,917	1,769	885
4	55,500	4,625	2,313	2,135	1,068
5	65,009	5,418	2,709	2,501	1,251
6	74,518	6,210	3,105	2,867	1,434
7	84,027	7,003	3,502	3,232	1,616
8	93,536	7,795	3,898	3,598	1,799
9	103,045	8,588	4,295	3,964	1,982
For each additional family member add	9,509	793	397	366	183

Eligibility Guidelines – Free Meals
Household Size	Annual	Monthly	Twice- Monthly	Bi-weekly	Weekly
1	18,954	1,580	790	729	365
2	25,636	2,137	1,069	986	493
3	32,318	2,694	1,347	1,243	622
4	39,000	3,250	1,625	1,500	750
5	45,682	3,807	1,904	1,757	879
6	52,364	4,364	2,182	2,014	1,007
7	59,046	4,921	2,461	2,271	1,136
8	65,728	5,478	2,739	2,528	1,264
9	72,410	6,035	3,018	2,785	1,393
For each additional family member add	6,682	557	279	257	129

Seniors attend the Utah Supreme Court

February 10, 2023

APA students have incredible opportunities each year to observe legislative and judicial sessions. Today, our 12th-grade students from WV3 & D3 attended the Utah Supreme Court’s oral arguments. Each campus studied a case that was argued. The 11:00 am argument was historic for the state of Utah, as four of the five Justices were women.

#SUPREMECOURT #CHARTERSCHOOL @UAPCS

English – APA Fall 2020 Plan

July 21, 2020

American Preparatory Academy (APA) has engaged in a lengthy process of research, discussion, and collaboration with parents, staff members, and administrators regarding COVID19 and its impact on the schools opening this fall. We have considered thousands of parent comments and have solicited and received a great deal of input from teachers and staff members. Additionally, the Utah State Board of Education and staff, as well as the Governor’s office, have provided requirements and recommendations to schools that we have considered as we make our plan to open school.

American Prep leaders agree that the following principles will guide our plans and our actions:

Students need to be in school if it is at all possible. Issues of student academic loss, student mental health deterioration, and lack of supervision for students as parents return to work, are real and significant factors which support the need for students to be in school.
Students are not generally considered high-risk individuals for COVID19.
Staff members are at higher risk than our students, and all reasonable means by which we can protect our staff members should be implemented, including requiring mask or shield wearing of all individuals in our buildings.
There are many unknowns and constant change in the current circumstances. We will endeavor to study, consider, discuss and debate when making decisions that may have an impact on our staff members’ and students’ lives. We will support the best efforts of all stakeholders in this process, and we realize there may not be clear answers or strong evidence for or against a particular decision. We will act in good faith to support the decisions made and be willing to support when information changes and there is a need for adjustments to the plan.

Plan Goal: To maintain our mission of excellence in academics and character development, while simultaneously doing all we can to promote student, staff, and family health and safety.

This fall, APA will offer several options to parents. Each option is described below, first for elementary (grades K-6) and then for secondary (grades 7-12).

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS – FALL 2020

For students in grades K-6, APA will offer 2 options:

On-Campus Program
1. Students will attend school on the regular school calendar and schedule
2. Students and staff will wear masks and/or shields
3. The full APA academic program will be provided, including small-group classes, which provide for less people together for a significant portion of the day (2.5 hours)
4. Students will eat lunch in classrooms
5. No large-group assemblies will be held
6. Symptom checking will be conducted by families each morning
7. Symptom checking will be conducted randomly by staff each day
8. Desks or seats will be separated wherever possible
9. Transitionschedules will be altered to decrease the number of students in the hallway at any given time
10. Students will be taught the importance of mask wearing, social distancing, and keeping their hands to themselves and their own belongings
11. Increased hand washing and hand sanitizing will be encouraged, planned, and supervised
12. Increased sanitizing of desks, doorknobs, and other surfaces

Off-Campus Program
1. Students will not come to the campus for school
2. Students will be assigned to an Off-Campus Program Teacher
3. Students will need access to a computer, with internet access, for approximately 2-3 hours per day
4. Courses will include Reading, Mathematics, Science, History, and Literature Studies
5. Parents will need to come to the school prior to the beginning of the term to pick up the student materials they will need
6. Parents will need to assist young children with their schoolwork daily
7. When a student begins any term enrolled in the Off-Campus Program, they will remain in that program for the length of the term. Transfers to the on-campus program will be made at term-end
8. The Off-Campus Program is not the same Learning From Home (LFH) program we provided during the school shut-down last March-May. See FAQ for more information.

SECONDARY PROGRAMS – FALL 2020

For students in grades 7-12, APA will offer 3 options:

On-Campus Program
1. Students will attend on the regular school calendar. School hours may be adjusted slightly depending upon the campus.
2. For the beginning of the year, and for an undetermined length of time, the school schedule will change to a full-block schedule (A/B days), where on A days students have periods 1-4, and on B days students have periods 5-8. Please note: This is NOT an attendance schedule where students only attend on either A or B days. Students attend school every school day.
3. Students and staff will wear masks and/or shields
4. The full APA academic program will be provided
5. Extra-curricular activities will be provided as allowed by UHSAA rules and state guidance. Events will be live streamed as possible; spectators will be limited for most activities
6. Students will carry backpacks instead of using lockers, except as needed on a case-by-case basis
7. 3 lunch periods will be held to decrease the number of students at lunch together
8. No large-group assemblies will be held
9. Symptom checking will be conducted by families each morning
10. Symptom checking will be conducted by first-period teachers each day
11. Desks or seats will be separated as far as possible
12. There will be fewer transitions each day due to the block schedule
13. Hand sanitizing upon entry and exit of classes
14. Frequent hand washing encouraged
15. Frequent sanitizing of desks, doorknobs, and other surfaces

Off-Campus Live Stream Program—Grades 7-12
1. Students will not come to the campus
2. Students will be given a course schedule that will align with the on-campus schedule
3. School will be conducted on a full A/B block schedule, so students will have 4 classes per day, periods 1-4 one day and periods 5-8 the next day
4. Students will need a computer, internet access, printer, and supplies and should prepare to be “in school” for 6-7 hours per day
5. Students will log in to attend classes being conducted at the campus, according to their schedule, each day (live)
6. Parents will need to come to the campus to pick up materials for the term prior to the term beginning

Independent Study (IS)—BYU/Brain Honey—Grades 7-12
1. Student registers and enrolls in courses required for graduation
2. APA pays the student costs
3. Student remains enrolled at APA but does not come to campus
4. Student must remain enrolled in the IS program until they have completed their coursework, which is provided by semester. First return opportunity to campus would be January 2021.

American Preparatory Academy

Fall 2020 Plan FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions

Why do the students and staff members have to wear masks?

Answer: The Governor has mandated mask use in all Utah K-12 schools.

Will I be able to get my child excused from the mask-wearing requirement?

Answer: Due to our strong commitment to ensure we are doing absolutely everything possible to safeguard the health and lives of our staff members, APA’s goal is to have 100% compliance on mask wearing in our schools. We feel this is entirely achievable and is important to keep our staff safe. Parents who do not wish for their child to wear a mask to school, or who feel their child has an extenuating circumstance that would limit their ability to wear a mask, are encouraged to choose the Off-Campus Program so that our staff can be protected to the maximum extent possible.

We recognize there is significant diversity of opinions among our parents with regard to the effectiveness or advisability of mask wearing. We have spent many hours researching, discussing, and debating the issue of masks. Now that the Governor has mandated masks in schools, we feel it important to state that we intend to fully comply with his directive, regardless of the strong personal feelings of our parents and staff members who are opposed to mandated mask wearing.

We realize our position likely disappoints and even angers some of our parents. It may be helpful to know that some (maybe even “many”) of our administrators were hoping their children would not have to wear masks when they returned to school and don’t personally support mandated masks. We ALL wish we were not in a situation where mask wearing is necessary; however, we find ourselves with the choice of following the mandate and hopefully being able to open and remain open (due to low case counts), or not following the mandate and not being able to return to school or being shut down due to high case counts.

One thing we are unanimous about is our hope that we can be in school this fall with your children. Use of masks is a reality we have had to face, and we have decided to embrace it to increase our chances of having that hope realized.

We value the freedom we all enjoy to have opinions, and we respect that parents have theirs regarding the use of masks. We hope you will understand our position that if masks can help reduce TO ANY DEGREE the number of COVID19 infections that occur among our staff, we feel it is well worth the effort to set a standard of 100% mask wearing at our schools—because we are 100% committed to doing all we can to help keep our staff members safe and healthy.

Can my child wear a face shield instead of a mask?

Answer: Yes. Face shields are acceptable alternatives for masks, and we encourage their use. Teaching and learning will be facilitated by the use of face shields when possible so that mouths and expressions can be seen by teachers and students. However, multi-layer cloth masks provide greater protection than face shields, and shields are not safe on the playground so we encourage students who wish to use a shield during class to have a face mask to switch to during appropriate times during the day.

To further safeguard our staff members, we will be encouraging them to use BOTH a shield and face mask when they are assisting individual students, monitoring in the classroom, etc.

Can I enroll in the Off-Campus Program and then switch to the On-Campus Program?

Answer: Yes; however, enrollment switches will happen at the end of the school term.

Can I enroll in the On-Campus Program and then switch to the Off-Campus Program?

Answer: Yes. These enrollment switches can happen at any time the parents decide they would prefer to have their child in the Off-Campus Program.

Is the elementary Off-Campus Program (OCP) the same as the “Learning From Home” (LFH) program we participated in last spring?

Answer: No. In the Off-Campus Program, each elementary student will be enrolled in the “classroom” of an OCP teacher, who will ensure that the student’s reading and math lessons are loaded for the student to watch and complete each day at home, and who also will be available for questions from students or parents. In the OCP, Science and History packets and access to Science and History materials online will be given to the students to assist them in completing their unit packets. Literature will consist of independent reading assignments. Students will complete their homework, and parents will be given the answer keys to check the homework. Students will take tests for grades.

We appreciate the many parents who requested that we continue the LFH program we instituted last spring. We agree our teachers did a fantastic job of delivering a great education under the circumstances. Our analysis of the program resulted in clear findings that the LFH program is unsustainable for many reasons, including the fact that teachers were required to work excessive hours to make the program successful. Many parents also reported that the program was too intense and time consuming for their children.

What happens if there is a case of COVID19 among a student or staff member at the school?

Answer: With the current rates of transmission in Utah, and with 5500 students and 750 staff members at APA, we anticipate this will happen, and we have a plan in place for when it does. Parents will be notified of any positive cases at the school. The case will be reported to the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), and the UDOH will advise the school with regard to any required closures—for example, of a class or a campus.

Why does the secondary plan say “at the beginning of the year and for an undetermined period of time” there will be a block schedule?

Answer: Running a “temporary” block schedule at the beginning of the year provides us with several advantages:

It gives teachers time to figure out the logistics related to “live from home” classes they will be streaming.
Teachers can establish and refine procedures for sanitizing classrooms, using the saved transition time for training students on those procedures.
The first week or two of school will be very informative on a campus, district, and state level. We will quickly see how the Utah Department of Health handles cases of COVID in a school setting whether the case be a student or teacher, how outbreaks are handled, how common cases become, and if we have to close classes or campuses.

We anticipate carefully re-evaluating the block schedule, and we are open to going back to the full schedule if and when it is advisable.

Why would the block schedule be temporary? Why would secondary school staff want to go back to a “regular” schedule (modified block) as soon as possible?

Answer: APA teachers are committed to the modified block because our data shows that we are able to accomplish significantly more academic work on a modified block schedule. Student attention spans are limited—especially for 7^th and 8^th graders—and a 90-minute class is not as effective as a 48-minute class.

In our discussions, teachers overwhelmingly expressed they would prefer to teach on the modified block schedule, but they understood the need to perhaps go to a block schedule temporarily for safety reasons, and they are supportive of that.

Although it may seem to be the case that spending time with only 90-120 students a day in 4-block classes as opposed to 210 students each day in the modified block schedule would be safer for staff members, considering that the teachers will be spending time with those other students within the next 24 hours helps us see that perhaps it isn’t a foregone conclusion that a block schedule is appreciably “safer”. We will continue to monitor the block schedule situation and make changes as they become appropriate.

Life of a Pirate @ Draper 2

August 19, 2016

Back To School!

August 23, 2015

Dear Parents and Students,

We are so excited to be at the beginning of another amazing year at American Prep! We have been busy preparing our school to ensure a wonderful experience for your student(s) this year.

You will recall that at the end of last year, parents were invited to fill out a Parent Survey. We had a 3rd party collate all of those responses, and we spent significant time this summer reviewing our parent feedback. We have made several substantive changes as a result of your feedback. Thank you for your willingness to share your ideas and thoughts!

A building addition has been approved and financed and will house new art space, choir space, and additional classroom space at West Valley 2. Construction should begin in October and be completed by February or so. We are very excited for these additions to our school!
The Draper 1 playground is undergoing a “facelift”. The basketball court will be refinished, and four new pieces of playground equipment are on their way for installation. We anticipate this being completed by the end of September.
The Draper 1 parking lot is being refinished, a new carpool drop-off/pick-up area has been created in the back of the school, and a new west parking lot is going in! This is VERY exciting and will greatly improve our traffic flow!
The Draper 2 facility has undergone some changes this summer! We have done some remodeling upstairs to create more classroom space for our additional students in our high school.
We are still seeking to have access to 11950 South in Draper so that we can have a smoother carpool process, and so that we can move forward on seeking to build a high school. Legal proceedings have begun to gain that access, though the wheels of justice turn ever-so-slowly. Thank you for your patience.
The soccer field has been financed and approvals and permits are in process!
We have had a lot of feedback regarding Reading University (RU). As a result, Reading University has been altered in several ways. We now will allow students to choose one book per term that is “off-list”. Also, students may count books read to them in all grades (with some stipulations for secondary students). We are also working to increase the books on the RU list (we’d love some volunteer parent readers!). RU lists are easily found on our new website, under each campus site.
Our Utah campuses allow Friday Casual Uniform Day – due to parent requests students may wear navy polos on Fridays and forego the ties. Staff also may wear collared shirts on Fridays without ties.
Homework loads – we have done quite a bit of reading, listening and consulting on this topic. We received a WIDE RANGE of parental input on this topic, from parents who feel their children could do more, to parents who feel their children are over-loaded. So we feel it is important to increase the opportunity parents have to report homework loads to the school staff so that we can adjust as needed based on real homework-load data. We have developed ways to record homework completion times on learning plans (elementary) and in planners (secondary). We have also asked secondary teachers to list how long they anticipate a homework assignment should take, along with the assignment itself, so students can begin to align their efforts to the expectation, and so parents and students can let teachers know if their estimates are inaccurate. We will continue to report back to parents on this topic as the year progresses.
Our Vegas 1 facility (Oakey) has been improved with portable facilities. Our students will now receive instruction in air conditioned units instead of tents outside! The bathrooms at Vegas 1 have also been renovated
Our Vegas 2 facility will be our most efficient building yet! Over the years as we receive feedback and observational data from our day-to-day processes, we have been able to build more and more efficient buildings that provide a better and better atmosphere for our students and staff.

Parents – it is our aim to make our school the best possible experience for your student(s)! Thank you for providing feedback and ideas to assist us in our efforts!

APA – Las Vegas Update

February 23, 2015

American Preparatory Academy – Las Vegas is on track to start at their new campus this fall.

It will be located in the south-western area of Las Vegas near Durango and Sunset

The actual site is in the UNLV Harry Reid Research and Technology park. Currently it is a lonely building in this park and only mild growth is planned in the area.

The foundation is in and the walls are being built, brick by brick. Even though the financing on the building was just recently secured, Boyd Martin Construction was able to begin work on the building early in the year thanks to generous investors who were willing to take on extra risk so that our building would be ready for our students this Fall.

American Prep Expansion Projects

January 1, 2015

Draper High School

Due to our difficulties in securing access to our Draper school via the public road of 11950 S., the Draper High School construction has been postponed; however, Draper 2 will still include 11th grade in the 2015-2016 school year. We encourage interested parents to monitor this website for news items related to this issue. When American Prep shows up on the Draper City Council’s agenda, we will post notice of it in our “Latest News” section of the website.

West Valley 2 Expansion

This summer we hope to expand the western end of the West Valley 2 campus by approximately 6 classrooms. This part of the building has always been in the plans to provide a more comfortable learning environment for our students and staff, but we have lacked the financing to do so. We hope to secure this financing by the end of this school year. This expansion will not provide room for additional enrollment at the campus, but it will allow us to run our complete array of award-winning programs at full capacity.

Las Vegas

Currently, American Prep – Las Vegas is renting a facility in the western part of the city. This facility has the capacity of only 400 students. This is a temporary facility that we secured when we were not able to get permits for a new construction in time to start this school year. The new campus will be conveniently located off of 215 at the corner of Durango and Patrick in the southwest corner of the city. This campus will hold nearly 1,000 K-10 students in the 2015-2016 school year, and will expand to a 1,350 student K-12 in the following years. We are very excited about this and some of our parents joined us for our groundbreaking ceremony held on December 19th. Click here for more information on that event. For future updates and more details on the Las Vegas campus (current and future), visit the APA-LV homepage by clicking here.

Las Vegas Ground Breaking

January 1, 2015

Four years ago, parents in Las Vegas approached Carolyn Sharette. They wanted to replicate the American Preparatory Academy in their home state. They formed a committee and worked hard to get a charter application approved. Once approved, they began searching for land in southwest Las Vegas. Once land was found at the UNLV Research and Technology Park on Sunset and Durango, financing had to be secured. Once financing was secured, building permits had to be approved. Now that the building permits have been approved and construction contracts have been signed, American Prep – Las Vegas was able to commence the project with an official groundbreaking. On Friday, December 19th at 4pm, we had very successful ground breaking ceremony at our new location. It was well attended by members of The Board, the County Commissioner, State Senator, numerous State Assemblyman, President of the SPCSA, as well as many parents and students. Saronidono A huge thank you to all that helped as well as to all the families that came out to support us.