American Preparatory Academy was founded in 2003 when a group of like-minded parents got together to start a school for their kids. The parents’ focus was to ensure that all children could be taught at their level successfully. Twenty years later, American Prep has six schools serving more than 5,000 students, and now it’s landed on Utah’s Top Workplaces for 2022.
American Prep is a public charter school created on the classical education model, a long-standing tradition in education that emphasizes the seeking of truth, goodness, beauty, the study of great books, Latin, and the liberal arts—think time-tested literature, mathematics, history and physical sciences. When the first school opened in Draper, American Prep had full enrollment and within five years, it amassed 10,000 children on its waiting list.
(American Prep. Academy) | Twenty years later, American Prep has six schools serving more than 5,000 students, and now it’s landed on Utah’s Top Workplaces for 2022.
The school’s program is exceptional for refugees and non-English speakers, but is also great for students coming from a homeschool background. These groups typically come into public school a little nervous because they aren’t accustomed to regimented homework and intense study, and they’re able to jump right in within a few weeks because the program is fun and interesting, and there is sufficient support on the teachers’ and the students’ side, so students can thrive.
Carolyn Sharette is the founder and executive director of American Prep. When she opened the first Draper campus, her three youngest children attended the school. She says the vision was to address the needs of the kids across the entire spectrum of academic ability. It wasn’t a focus on special needs or ESL kids, or kids from other countries. “It was for all kids. We have so many bright kids today who are being left behind, who are not functioning at their full potential because they don’t have the coursework that challenges them,” says Sharette.
A lot of American Prep’s focus is on acceleration. Not only does the school have 12 AP classes at its high school in Draper, it was ranked in U.S. News & World Report in 2020 and 2021 as the #1 High School in Utah for college readiness, and in 2020 APA ranked #3 in the Top Best High Schools in Utah, among other honors and achievements. Their program focuses on academic proficiency, character development, and college preparation, but the school also embodies American ideals of equality, liberty, diversity, inclusion, and unity.
American Prep’s two pillars: character and civic education
The key characteristics that set American Prep apart from other Utah schools are its focus on character and civic education, which are meant to invite everyone from any background from any part of the world to attend the school and develop an in-depth understanding of America—the founding documents, our legislative processes, how to become involved and engaged essentially, in our government—that’s American Prep Academy, which means,
“Preparing people to succeed in America, American culture, American government, American business, and American education,” says Sharette.
(American Prep. Academy) | American Prep’s two pillars: character and civic education.
Due to this philosophy, American Prep has attracted students from all over the world, so they have a higher diversity rate than most schools in Utah. To help more of these families, the second campus was opened in West Valley City at the height of the resettlement program for refugees in Salt Lake City.
“At that time, we were seeing a lot of Somali and Burmese refugees relocating here, and so in 2009, we opened our second school, which is the same model, but we named it American Preparatory Academy, the School for New Americans,” explained Sharette.
Unique to American Prep, it places students at their precise instructional level in reading, spelling and math. For example, if your third grader is reading at sixth-grade level, your child will be taught at a sixth-grade level. If your child is an ESL student who just came to the country and your child has never spoken English before, American Prep will have a course that will match your child’s needs.
“If a child has been in a camp for 10 years, they may have never been to school, and yet a traditional public school will put them in eighth grade in junior high. We’ll put them in eighth grade too, but we’ll make their schedules such that they are getting the instruction they need at their level, in an accelerated fashion so they can zip through more than one grade level per year in the skills areas,” says Sharette.
Many of the minority families who approach Sharette express their desire for their children to know how to operate in America, so they can be successful at the highest levels of government, business and education—one of the reasons why students at American Prep learn about American culture.
“The American Dream for them is that their kids will be able to excel, and we are committed to preparing them,” says Sharette. American Prep does that by teaching students Western etiquette as it applies to business and government protocols, social settings such as dinners, and by 11th grade, students reach out to legislators, attend interim committee meetings, follow a bill, and prepare to ask smart questions about the bill. “Parents love that we’re not just talking about it, we’re doing it. We’re taking the kids places,” says Sharette.
American Prep voted as one of Utah’s Top Workplaces
(American Preparatory Academy) | American Prep strives to support its employees in their personal and career development.
American Prep strives to support its employees in their personal and career development. As a women-owned business with a high rate of women employees (over 75%), American Prep focuses on meeting their needs. For example, American Prep has provided a pathway to administrative licensing and master’s degrees for 25 of its employees in the past five years.
American Prep’s biggest strength when it comes to employees is its focus on supporting staff. “To provide each elementary school teacher a full-time paraeducator is a huge support to the teacher. It communicates our respect for the importance of the teacher’s role,” says Sharette. Adding, “Our school also provides subsidized child care on four of our school sites that is about half the cost of traditional daycare in the region, and allows our teachers to bring their families to work with them. Having their babies close by is a precious gift for a working parent.”
Another way American Prep shows support for its staff is by providing extensive training and professional development classes. This past summer, American Prep delivered a week-long training offering 390 classes. The teachers could select the classes that would improve their craft and professionalism—many of which were taught by colleagues who were paid to demonstrate and share their expertise in those areas.
At the end of each school year, American Prep meets with every major department or grade level so they can present their successes and failures, what they think can improve, and what their recommendations are for the upcoming year. “This process helps the staff understand how important they are to this whole process, and it helps us maintain our institutional knowledge year to year,” says Sharette.
American Prep also supports their staff by making efforts to enhance campus security. For instance, the school is working toward a single point of entry to each campus requiring guests to be buzzed in after school hours begin.
The school sponsors staff to attend a two or four-day state-of-the-art concealed-carry training program. To further enhance campus safety, this year the school purchased a new phone-based app where any teacher can initiate a lockdown alert for any applicable emergency, and identify locations of concern for administration and local authorities. Teachers and families appreciate these safety protocols.
American Prep Academy teaches students from kindergarten through twelfth grade; it has six schools in Draper, West Valley City, and Salem. As American Prep celebrates its 20th anniversary, it was voted as one of Utah’s Top Workplaces 2022, an outstanding achievement! To learn more about enrollment or careers, click here.