Staff planning for
Feb. 17 opening day
February 2006
Toby Swisher
 Sitting
in the corner of Randall Hinton’s office at Royal Peak Academy, the
former St. Scholastica campus, two large cardboard boxes sit filled
with four school uniforms, ready for the school’s first students.
Bound in the school’s welcome booklet between pages of the school’s
contact information and profile, a calender for February through
December shows different events for Royal Peak Academy boys and
girls, and even a parent weekend as soon as May 5.
For the staff at Royal Peak Academy, the block for February 17
stands out most for them on that calender. In italicized blue
writing, Tentative Opening for Royal Peak Academy fills the tiny
calender square.
Royal Peak Academy hopes to welcome their first students, or
possibly just student, in less than a week.
They will welcome their first student if their computers are shipped
and set up by the opening date.
“We are waiting for our classroom setup. Our computers are not here
yet and we are just waiting on that,” Hinton said.
 Since
the school was purchased in November by Octwell, LLC, maintenance
crews have furnished the building with 44 beds, desks, chairs and
cafeteria tables.
Construction was completed on the classrooms two weeks ago and the
school passed both fire and health inspections and is already
licensed with the state of Colorado.
School officials also have plans to build a 20 foot high fountain at
the main entrance of the school and get the pond and river on the
campus flowing again.
Brian Lemmons, another staff member at Royal Peak Academy, was on a
plane Wednesday traveling to visit with marketing firms throughout
the United States to advertise the school in magazines and on the
internet in an attempt to get more kids and parents interested in
the school.
“We will take one kid to start, then student by student,” Hinton
said.
The school will have dorm students who reside there and day
students, just as the St. Scholastica did.
The school will be coed and welcome students from 7th through 12th
grade.
Students will not be court- ordered
students or any sort of offenders, Hinton said.
Royal Peak Academy is to benefit students who have not succeeded
with the framework of the public education system, the welcome
booklet explains.
The school will have courses in science, history, language arts,
mathematics physical education, and a long list of other electives.
In addition to earning credit to graduate high school, students will
be able to earn undergraduate college level course credits.
“The school is academic 100 percent, with no religious
affiliations,” Hinton added.
Classes will be composed of two squads and there will be 10 kids per
squad. Squads are developed to help organize and focus the students.
“Squads make it easier for the students to come in and get
adjusted,” Hinton said.
Rather than a student having to meet and fit in with 200 new
students, he or she only has to fit in with the 10 students in his
or her squad at first.
Within the squads, the staff at Royal Peak Academy will utilize
positive peer culture and equipment for group living. This program
teaches if there is a problem with the squad, such as fighting,
stealing or misleading, how to work through the problems.
“This helps each squad member to become the best people possible,”
Hinton said.
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