July 26, 2002

AMERICAN FORK -- A local Scout is seeking volunteers to help complete landscaping on the new American Heritage school .

Jeff Nielson is a student at the school. He organized the landscaping as an Eagle Scout project.

"I picked American Heritage because I started going there in kindergarten and this will be my last year," Nielson said.

"I wanted a project that had meaning to me and the people I go to school with. Since the school is brand new and just opening, I saw an opportunity to do a project for the school."

Construction on the school's new campus started in April. It is being built next to the Mt. Timpanogos LDS Temple at 720 N. Mt. Timpanogos Blvd. (1100 East) in American Fork.

"The majority of the project is laying sod," Nielson said. "There will be a little landscaping fabric to lay and wood chips to spread."

Nielson said volunteers should bring gloves, utility knives, brooms and rakes, if available.

"The landscaper would like to see at least 75 volunteers," Nielson said.

American Heritage School s Inc. is a nonprofit organization involved in elementary and secondary education.

It was founded in 1969 by H. Verlan Andersen; his wife, Shirley; and a group of parents who wanted the education of their children to be in harmony with high moral standards and religious beliefs.

Historically, the school has been based in Pleasant Grove and has operated from an old church building with approximately 9,000 square feet.

According to school information, the last year's enrollment totaled approximately 180 students.

The new facility has 85,000 square feet and will accommodate more than 400 students.

The landscaping work is scheduled for tonight from 6-9 p.m., and Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon.

Anyone interested in helping is welcome. For more information, call Nielson at 785-6024.

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April 13, 2002

School's Popularity Demanding More Space

AMERICAN FORK -- A school unlike any other is going up in American Fork, across from the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Not only is its neighbor unique, but the teachings within the school are unequaled.

American Heritage School has a Christian world view vs. just a secular academic view. The population of 201 students meet in a 100-year-old former LDS church in Pleasant Grove but have outgrown its walls plus a couple modular buildings.

Expected completion date for the new building is in September with an increased enrollment of 99 bringing the school's total to 300 students.

Maximum enrollment is set for 400. Kids travel from Wasatch and Salt Lake counties as well as Utah County to learn values as well as the ABCs and 123s.

Besides teaching the enrolled students, the board wants to share what it knows with an outreach program.

"We're adding the Family Education and Resource Center to fully utilize the building," Swim said. "We'll be serving home-school parents, primary and public school parents. We'll train teachers here, things that are not taught in colleges of education."

FERC will be housed on the upper level of the new school. John P. Covey was hired to direct the center.

"We see demand for the type of education provided here," said Covey, who has worked for FranklinCovey the past four years.

"We want to be more public. As people become aware, they can take what is being done here educationally and duplicate the kind of teaching and programs we're offering."

"Even in our humble school, people come from California, Oregon and Idaho and ask, 'How can we have an American Heritage School ?' " Swim said. "We'll be a demonstration school as it fits their area; people can drop some things if they aren't LDS, but they can still learn from what we are doing."

Covey said the school and FERC will be working hand in glove; he will teach the philosophy and then take people on a tour of the classrooms to see how it's carried out. Tutoring children outside of school hours will also be offered.

"We incorporate the religious philosophy within the subject," Covey said. "We relate the subjects back to the word of God and the Scriptures; we intermingle those with our studies of literature and math." For instance, in geography the children would learn "why" the earth was created as well as "how."

The Christian curriculum called FACE, or Foundation for American Christian Education from Virginia, is used at the

private school. "Being an LDS-based community we incorporate a lot of our beliefs," Covey said. "You don't have to be LDS to come here. Our goal is to educate children."

Coupled with FACE is the notebook system the students use to learn with the four Rs of reason, research, relate and record.

Swim invites the community to use the building as well. Conferences, lecture series, family reunions, athletic events, recitals, even community theater and wedding receptions are appropriate uses for the many offerings in the school.

"It's important to us that people don't think of us as exclusive or elitist," he said. "We just want the building used."

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April 13, 2002

New Building Designed with Future Goals in Mind

AMERICAN FORK -- Anything called American Heritage needs the look of colonial.

The school has colonial brick with coined corners and cornice work done in stucco to look like stone. Taking a tour of the school, Gaylord Swim points to eight main entrances to American Heritage School with words across the top to remind the children of character traits "we want them to develop."

The traits are charity, courage, faith, humility, industry, self-government, wisdom and virtue.

"We are developing hearts as well as minds," Swim said.

The school for kindergarten through eighth grades has 18 multifunctional classrooms size 28 feet by 30 feet. "We want maximum flexibility without trying to over design," Swim said. Grades five through eight have a maximum of 25 students per class; grades one through four have 20-22 and kindergarten has 12-15 for half days.

Science, art and music rooms along with a library with a full flank of windows complement the school. If the rooms don't have windows, a skylight is planned. Each main hallway also has natural light coming through a skylight. Hallway windows give a great view of Mt. Timpanogos Temple which Swim feels is "an important reminder."

A computer lab for older kids and adults is available. The central hallway with four halls coming off it could house a Christmas tree in December or Swim's dream is to have a replica of the Liberty Bell placed there.

Above and beyond the elementary and junior high classrooms, a sloping classroom with hookups for laptop computers is available and seats 70. "It would mainly be used for adult training," Swim said of the lecture hall.

An auditorium seats 300 with flexibility for community events and school programs. The school's eighth-graders could stage its yearly Shakespeare play in this area. A foyer to the auditorium at the front of the building could be used to register for events.

Basketball or two volleyball games at once can be played in the full-size gym with cushioned wood floor. "We won't use it for competitive sports but summer athletic camps or programs can be held here," he said. "The community can use it as long as they adhere to our standards."

Eventually bleachers will be installed for use during cultural events in the gym, he said. Then the gym would seat 1,000. The stage has no fancy lighting, he points out, but 12 skylights brighten the multipurpose room.

A warming kitchen can be used to cater food for large events. The lunchroom seats 400 with tables that fold up and can be stored.

Administration offices, faculty prep room and conference rooms complete the lower level.

The Family Education Resource Center is housed upstairs. "The market tells us people are looking for resources and a hub to pick up things," Swim said.

A large room plus offices, meeting rooms, board room and adult research library complete the upstairs. At the front of the upper level is an area perfect for wedding receptions with a view of the temple, Swim suggested.

He calls the building aesthetically pleasing and added, "In this setting it's nicer than it needs to be, but we wanted to be complementary to the temple."

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May 1, 2002

Fred Roberts, the 6-foot-10-inch former BYU basketball player, has been named principal of American Heritage School in Pleasant Grove.

Roberts was a forward for the Cougars from 1978-82. He retired from professional basketball in 1997 after playing in San Antonio, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Milwaukee.

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March 18, 2002

Offering Educational Options

The Daily Herald

When Peggy and Gabriel Maciel sent their first of four children to private school, there was no problem with coming up with the tuition.

Now with two children in the school and one more to enter next year, money for tuition isn't as easy to come by.

But their needs are being met with the help of Children First Utah, a scholarship program designed to assist families with private-school tuition.

The foundation offers half-tuition scholarships, up to $1,600 a year, to help parents provide the education they desire for their children.

When Roberto, the oldest of the four Maciel children, was approaching school age, they could afford the tuition with an annual bonus from work.

They sent him to American Heritage School in American Fork because it had a curriculum the parents agreed with and would teach things Roberto wanted to learn.

"I wanted to learn about Jesus," Roberto said.

American Heritage School has a Christian-based curriculum.

"It's not that the public schools are bad, however, we feel very strongly that there are some things that were once part of the public school system that are not now. One of which is prayer," Gabriel said.

"It's nice to send your children to school knowing that they are getting exactly what you are teaching them at home," he said.

When their second child, Jacoby, was old enough, they sent her to the same school. Peggy was working there at that time and the family received reduced tuition.

Now, Gabriel has returned to school full time and is working full time and Peggy has quit her job to stay at home with the children.

"I've already graduated from college before, but I realized that my career that I am in right now does not offer as good of a future as we would like," Gabriel said.

"So I wanted them to learn that by sacrificing and doing your very best and getting a proper education that they can reap of the benefit and serve their community and their nation, as well as being able to provide for their family," he said.

The Maciels have made sacrifices over the years in order to have the money needed for tuition for two children in private school. Corbin, who is 5, will start kindergarten next year.

Sending him to a different school isn't an option, they said, and another application will be sent in for the Children First Utah scholarship.

"Money was not as big of an issue as curriculum," Gabriel said. "But without the scholarship, at this point, there's really no way we would be able to afford it. Absolutely not."

The scholarship program started up last year and has been growing, offering 220 half-tuition scholarships to families throughout Utah. All the funds come from private donors and fund-raisers.

"What we're trying to do is help children," said David Knight, secretary and founding board member for Children First Utah. "If we can get in there early, we can help change their education and Utah."

Gabriel and Peggy said they feel strongly about their children's future, and this scholarship has been a tool in raising their children in a way they see fit.

"This scholarship has been an incredible help so that our children can continue in the kind of education that we feel is important and will open doors for their future," Gabriel said.

Peggy said they hope to return the favor someday.

"Our goal is when Gabriel is out of school and we are financially set ... to give back to the fund," Peggy said.

For more information about the scholarship and how to apply for it, go to www.childrenfirstutah.org .