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School of Dreams Academy to open with 125 students on Tuesday

There's truth to the name.

The time has finally come for Valencia County's first and only charter school. The School of Dreams Academy has made 125 dreams come true as newly enrolled students anxiously await their first day of school this Tuesday.

"The biggest excitement will be to work with kids and put a human element to the dream," School of Dreams Academy Principal David Yates said.

"This is something new and something we believe in that will have a positive impact to not just the school but we see ourselves as pioneers and making a different model of education...opening up new opportunities for people."

With a capped enrollment of 125 students, six teachers, one full-time security guard, a part-time nurse and full-time administrative assistant, the school year is fully staffed and ready to go.

Yates said two of his teaching staff of six worked with him when he was principal of Manzano Vista Middle School last year.

Each teacher, Yates said, is a specialist in a particular focus-area of SODA and is highly qualified in the subjects they will be teaching.

"I feel very positive about them," he said. "The way (the staff) fit together was critical but these people – they collaborated and stood out way, way above the rest."

Because SODA is a fine arts academy, special emphasis will be placed on digital media and visual arts and the school's permanent home will have all the equipment necessary to allow students to incorporate the digital arts in their everyday learning experiences, even with subjects, Yates said, that are not typically seen as "artsy," like science and history.

Students may be required to create science projects or history presentations using digital and visual arts equipment, and students will be taught how to incorporate music, images and video to enhance their projects.

SODA's digital lab will be 100 percent state-of-the art MAC based with only the most sophisticated digital equipment.

In addition to SODA being largely computer and digitally focused, the school will also focus on community service with students taught how best they can serve their own town and county.

Yates said students may have service projects each semester that require research and volunteer time.

This could be as simple as creating Christmas cards for elderly folks in a nursing home or cleaning up certain areas of the community. Along with immersing themselves in the community and helping with community needs, students may be able to document their volunteer projects through video or photography to continue to grow in the digital arts field.

Although students and staff will not begin the school year in the school's permanent building, SODA's permanent home, located in Los Lunas, is well on its way to being complete by the time the second semester comes around.

For now, the students will have classes at the University of New Mexico Valencia Campus until the building is completely move-in ready, even though the move-in day is a little ways off, Yates said.

He added that when students walk into the School of Dreams Academy for the first time it will be well worth the wait.