About Our School
The City Academy Advantage
City Academy is a public charter school open since 2000 and located in downtown Salt Lake City. We began with 60 students in 7th and 8th grades and then have added grade levels and students each year. Educators from the University of Utah's College of Education using research-based best practices for effective and equitable secondary education founded our school. We are an independent public high school chartered by the Utah State Office of Education with highly qualified teachers in every classroom, and small classes so that teachers can work more personally with each student.
City Academy is unique in providing a learning environment focused on students developing and demonstrating knowledge and competencies in academic areas as well as in personal citizenship. We know our graduates are prepared for college because they have accomplished challenging graduation requirements that include extended years of math and science, foreign language, and service learning. City Academy graduates will have submitted academic papers through Cambridge International Exams, completed community internships, and presented a comprehensive personal portfolio. Our advisory program helps create a very personalized and challenging learning community. Experience the difference at City Academy!Accreditation
City Academy was one of the first charter schools in Utah and is now well established. We are fully accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS). The NAAS has eight core standards for the accreditation of all high schools.
Teaching and Learning Standards
1. Mission, beliefs, and desired results for student learning
2. Curriculum
3. Instruction
4. Assessment
Support Standards
5. Leadership and organization
6. School services - Student support services - Guidance services - Health services - Library information services - Special education services - Family and community services
7. Facilities and finances
School Improvement Standard
8. Culture of continual improvement
Every 3 - 6 years a school wishing to be accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS) must undertake an extensive self-evaluation process. Schools are then approved for accreditation based on that evaluation and a related self improvement plan, as well as evaluation through a site visits from a state evaluation team. City Academy has been accredited since 2003, the first year possible for our new school. This is nice validation for all the excellent work being done at our school.City Academy has been accredited since 2003, the first year possible for our new school. This is nice validation for all the excellent work being done at our school.
Cambridge International Centre
City Academy is proud to have become a Cambridge International Centre. As such we are accredited to offer Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) courses, the first school in Utah to achieve this status. This accreditation is an important statement about the rigor and opportunities provided by the curriculum at City Academy. Our students are able to pursue challenging and stimulating courses and may receive certification through internationally recognized and prestigious examinations.
Cambridge International Examinations is the world's largest provider of international qualifications for high school students. Its courses are globally renowned for their high academic standards and also for being engaging, relevant and up to date. Newsweek magazine includes Cambridge International Advanced courses in its rankings of the top high schools in the United States.Why did City Academy choose to offer Cambridge International Exams?
- CIE provides courses geared specifically for ninth and tenth graders, which are excellent preparation for future study at the Advanced level. Students earn the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) for successfully completing these exams.
- Cambridge Advanced courses demand higher levels of analytical thinking and generally provide a better balance between breadth and depth of study than Advanced Placement courses.
- We see a happy marriage between CIE courses and City Academy's distinctive approaches to learning that include our longstanding commitment to investigative, active, community-centered learning.
The AICE Diploma
Students who pass six CIE advanced level examinations with at least one from each of the three groups - Mathematics and Sciences, Languages, and Arts and Humanities - will earn an Advanced International Certificate of Education Diploma from Cambridge. Advanced level exams passed are recognized for college credit (AICE) similarly to AP and IB exams.
Our Board of Trustees
Trustee Bios Sam Cullinane Parent Gary Daynes, Chair Associate Provost for Integrated Learning, Westminster College Larry Hintze Vice President, Zion's Bank Chris Mancini Attorney, Woodbury Corporation Erika Stevens Communications Specialist, Primary Children's Medical Center Nina Vought Parent
