The Weilenmann School of Discovery, a tuition-free K-8 public charter school in Park City, will start a new program this fall designed to help students balance academics and other high-level commitments like athletics and the arts.
Principal Elizabeth Phillips said the program is called PEAK, which stands for performance, engagement, access and knowledge.
PEAK reimagines the school day. In the morning, students will focus on core academics like math, science and English. Students will spend their afternoons attending partnership programs with the Utah Olympic Park, Park City Ski and Snowboard, Ballet West and more.
“We're surrounded by top-class training facilities, and so we've always accommodated the athlete's schedule as needed, and now we're just seeing this surge of athletes and high-level performance that we really wanted to cater to them,” Phillips said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” March 26.
She said PEAK was inspired by conversations with the Winter Sports School — another public charter school in Park City where classes run from April through November — and with Park City Ski and Snowboard.
Winter Sports School already caters to local winter sports athletes in high school, and Weilenmann’s PEAK will be the first program focused on supporting athletes in grades four through eight.
Phillips said the programs bring balance to young athletes' lives.
“Bringing the time for them to monopolize their academics and their training and still freeing up the afternoon/evening time for them to be kids and be with their families and attend birthday parties or do their homework,” she said.
Phillips said the best part is Weilenmann will transport the kids to their programs to ease the burden for working parents.
Weilenmann already provides transportation to the school for families in Park City, Kamas, Heber City, and Salt Lake City.
Phillips said the school is hoping to expand the PEAK program to support musicians, kids interested in rodeo and any other extracurriculars they need time for.
