Jill Hopkins, head of the Academy at MSU, met with parents Friday to discuss the success of the new middle school and overall input about how the school is performing in terms of their children’s needs.

The Academy became available to students in Raleigh County and surrounding areas in 2002 after parents requested a new option for their children’s education be put in place. The school’s enrollment as of the 2007-2008 school year was 102 students in grades six through 12.

The Academy offers small classroom sizes, with a teacher/student ratio of no higher than 15:1, and one-on-one student/ teacher interaction. And because the Academy is located on MSU’s campus, resources that would normally not be available to public school students are there for the enrichment of the children’s minds. Resources such as culinary arts and study in forensics have been introduced to the students of the Academy.

The curriculum found at the Academy includes science, math, social studies, English with a focus on reading, and electives such as health, physical education, Spanish, arts and music. The students are also able to use the MSU campus resources such as the university’s library, media centers, advanced technology center and cultural activities.

At the high school level students can also participate in general education college level classes offered at MSU starting during their sophomore year summer with permission from the dean of the Academy. Junior and senior students in the high school must enroll in at least one college class per semester during the school year.

Recently, the Academy announced the school is trying to expand to cover grades kindergarten through 12th. Currently, the school is seeking students for the fall in grades kindergarten through fifth.

When asked why the school wants to expand, Hopkins answered, “The school was created from parent interest and because parents wanted a different option for their children’s middle school education.” The new school costs were supported through the university and opened last year.

Hopkins added, “The Academy is different from other area schools because the mission of the school is different and it’s the only independent private school in the county. Also, the university provides resources that are not available to other area schools.”

Parents praised the school for their children’s academic success, personal attention paid to each student’s educational needs, and their children’s newfound wish to go to school all the time and wake up every morning excited to learn and excel at school.

The parents of students at the Academy also believe the one-on-one attention and personal friendship their children foster with the teachers enabled their children to gain self-confidence and realize their academic potential they could not have attained in public schools.

Parents also believe the investment they made in their children’s education was well worth the tuition expense. The tuition cost may be higher than at other area schools, but in the end, the education a child receives at the Academy is priceless, according to the students’ parents.

For more information about the Academy at MSU, call Jill Hopkins at 304-929-1740 or go to the Academy’s Web site at http://academy.mountainstate.edu.