Published: September 23, 2007 10:13 pm         

Academy head gives school high grade for direction

Though just one month into the 2007-2008 school year, Dr. Jill Hopkins, head of Mountain State University Academy, says she is excited about and pleased with the direction in which the young school is headed.

Hopkins says the school, which opened its doors in 2003, has 86 students enrolled, up from 54 in 2006.

Included in those students, she said, are three international students.

“It’s the first time we’ve had international students,” Hopkins said. “All the students are really enjoying it and I think it’s a really wonderful thing for the academy to have them here.”

Although Hopkins says the growth is important, she says the addition of fifth and sixth grade classes is what excites her the most.

In the past, the school has offered only a high school education, but parental interest and a desire to help better prepare younger students for an intense high school curriculum prompted the expansion.

Because the school boasts a 15-1 student-to-teacher ratio, Hopkins says relationships between the instructors and students are able to flourish.

“Our teachers are excellent and are committed to and believe in the mission of the Academy, inspiring students and building confidence and an interest in learning,” she said.

Tina Bolyard, mother of fifth-grader Kelsey Williams, says she has been encouraged by the results of the first month.

“We couldn’t be happier,” she said, adding the smaller classroom size is similar to home-schooling, but with better resources.

Hopkins points to the school’s honor code and safety as additional advantages for Academy students.

Those were key factors, Lewisburg resident Richard Durham said, in transferring his son Jonathan, a ninth-grader, to the school.

“In the public school system there was just a lot of fighting and cursing and there’s none of that here,” he said. “They’re (students) here to learn and the teachers aren’t spending their time disciplining. They’re teaching.

“It’s been a good experience so far.”

Although the curriculum at the Academy is, in some ways, similar to that in a public school, with the basic subject offerings, students are also subjected to different teachings, including lessons in forensic science, taught by university faculty.

Karen Hunt, mother of Eden Stack, a sixth-grader at the Academy, said the curriculum is intense but is taught in such a way that students are not overwhelmed.

“She (Eden) loves it,” Hunt said. “She’s had fun.”

So has fifth-grader Jorrin Rundle.

“It’s challenging, yet fun and educational,” he said. “It’s great.”

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