Students in the Mesa Unified School District, the state’s largest, will begin their new school year on Monday. Doors will open at two new schools, including the Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies at the corner of Power and Brown roads.
The school will open with grades four through eight and add ninth grade in 2008-09. It will use a rigorous and advanced curriculum and will even offer Mandarin Chinese language instruction. Students will learn by asking and answering questions about classroom topics and by completing research projects.
The district is also opening the Health Science High School, at 1727 W. Main St., for students in grades nine through 12. The school is a partnership between the district and the East Valley Institute of Technology, and is housed at the East Valley Academy. Students will earn high school diplomas while focusing on classes and clinical experience in the health care field.
Even schools that have been around for years will see some changes this fall. Powell Junior High School has implemented a new uniform dress code, making it the first junior high in the district to use one.
Also new this year, district officials say that free, full-day kindergarten will be available to all interested families.
