Eclipse Building To House Aviation Charter School

Feb. 09--A new aeronautics-focused charter school, set to open its doors in the fall, will be located on the far West Side in a building once owned by Eclipse Aviation, its founder announced this week.

The school will be called the Southwest Aeronautics, Mathematics & Science Academy, or SAMS Academy. The school is the brainchild of Scott Glasrud, who founded the popular Southwest Learning Centers. Southwest Learning Centers is actually three schools in one building -- an elementary, middle, and high school -- with a focus on technology and online learning. The schools have a waiting list of about 4,000 families, and Glasrud said he has faced demand from West Side parents who want a similar school closer to home.

Charters are publicly funded, privately run schools that must accept students through random lottery.

SAMS will serve about 220 students in grades 7-12. Unlike Southwest Learning Centers, which offers aviation as an extracurricular activity, Glasrud said aviation will be infused throughout the curriculum at SAMS. For example, students might learn to calculate wind speed in their math courses.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, state Economic Development Secretary-designate John Barela and other dignitaries were on hand Tuesday at a ceremony unveiling the new location. Both spoke about the importance of math and science education in creating a strong economy.

"To have students educated in avionics can really mean a lot to us," Berry said. "It can give us a pipeline to excellence."

Barela emphasized global competition, saying today's students will have to compete globally for jobs.

"China covets the types of jobs being created by this school," Barela said. "There is fierce competition out there."

The school facility is the former home of Eclipse Aviation, and it is now owned by the city of Albuquerque. SAMS has a 15-year lease from the city, and since the building is cityowned, the school is in compliance with a state law that all charter schools must be in publicly owned buildings by 2015.

If you go

WHAT: Open house regarding SAMS Academy

WHERE: Southwest Learning Centers at Candelaria and Morris NE

WHEN: March 1 at 6 p.m.

ONLINE: www. samsacademy.com

Copyright 2012 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.