This time next year, a much younger group of teens will be making the trek up the hill to further its education.
The Coast Mountain Academy (CMA) is slated to open its doors next September on the campus of Quest University and school founder Geoff Park is excited to see the academy coming to fruition.
"Basically we're counting down the days and really looking forward to opening up next September," he said. "We also have some very encouraging progress in regards to hiring our head of school. Once he or she is hired, we will be hosting a large information session to discuss how registration works and many other details in the months to come."
Park said the school has targeted a lead candidate and is in negotiations with the individual. He said he hopes to announce the hiring within the next two weeks and that the school has already received dozens of resumés from interested teachers from across the globe.
He said the community feedback from interested parents has been highly positive.
"We've had overwhelming support from locals and I think people are really excited to have our school as an option for education in the Sea to Sky Corridor," he said.
The school was originally planned to open this fall, but Park said the date was pushed back a year to find the right head of school.
"We set a soft goal of opening in September 2012, but only if we were able to find the perfect head of school within that timeframe," he said. "The fact that we wanted to push back shows that we are uncompromising in setting ourselves up for success, because it's hugely dependant on having the right head of school."
CMA will offer classes for Grades 8 to 10 in its first year of operation and plans to add Grades 11 and 12 in subsequent years. Park said the school is aiming for 15 to 20 students with a maximum of 20 in each class. The first year will see about five faculty members hired, with the potential to increase to seven or eight depending on need.
The school will be located on a top floor of the academic building at Quest and will have a private entrance. CMA students will also have access to many of Quest's facilities.
For more information on the school, visit www.coastmountainacademy.ca.
