New School for the New School Year!

For a while now we have known that some changes needed to be made when it comes to our children's education. We have loved all of the years at Monticello Academy, but our views were changing on how best to educate the whole child and they seemed to be drifting apart from the way they do things there. So we started praying and looking and even thinking about homeschooling, and one day Papa Duck heard on the radio about a new charter school opening up at of all places one of my old hangouts as a kid (were talking 11-14 years old, haha) the 49th St. Galleria! We started looking into it and eventually decided it was going to be a better fit for Sonic. The younger grades were all full so we put Ruby and Squish on the waiting list but didn't expect much.

Then in June I got a call that a spot had opened up for both Squish and Ruby! Amazing! After much pondering and praying, we decided to take them out of enrollment at Monticello and have them all go here. To AISU-which stands for American International School of Utah.

It's a charter school that runs on a Montessori model and believes the child should lead the learning. There is a diverse student body with a high percentage of foreign exchange students and an excellent performing arts program. So far we have been extremely impressed with the staff and the ideas although because it is the first year and there have definitely been some bumps. But I am hopeful that each year it will get better and better and it certainly is nice to have all three kids going to the same school, especially since it goes through 12 grade! Sonic was especially reluctant to switch schools but Ruby and Squish were very excited. 

All three were most excited about NO uniforms!

It's a beautiful school with a blend of changes that they made and also so many things that they kept from the old structure. They do things so differently here-for example there are no desks in sight, only study cubicles, tables, and couch pods.

It is still surreal walking around in this place that was my playground as a kid. We're talking my 13 year old birthday party was held here! Too funny.

We loved that the school year started one week later than everyone else, the day after Memorial Day. It gave us a few more days to play. But soon enough, summer ended and the kids were going to school for the first day. Here they are:

Sonic, grade 8

Ruby, grade 5

Squish, Kindergarten

Here's to a great school year!