Meredith Leonard, Chairman of the Board with the Alpine Education Foundation, called into SVI Radio’s Weekday Wakeup on Thursday, October 30 with an update on the charter school coming to Alpine. Wyoming Classical Academy is on schedule to hold their first classes in Alpine in the fall of 2026.

(0:00) Joining me live over the phone right now this morning is Meredith Leonard. Meredith is the (0:04) chairman of the board with the Alpine Education Foundation and of course the charter school on (0:08) the way towards Alpine. Groundbreaking was held last week.

Meredith, good morning. How are you today? (0:15) Good morning, Duke. I’m great.

Thank you so much for having me. (0:18) Absolutely. Appreciate your time and obviously an exciting time for the community of Alpine (0:22) and this Education Foundation.

Let’s go to the groundbreaking that was held last week. (0:26) That had to be a real special moment. The years and years and years that it has taken to get to (0:33) this point where you know there’s actually going to be a school on the way.

What was that moment (0:37) like for you and the community of Alpine? It was a lot of fun. We had a huge turnout (0:45) which was fantastic. We kind of threw it together last minute because I will be honest with you, (0:51) Dave Jenkins was way ahead of us and he had actually already broken ground so it was fun (0:56) to see all of the equipment on site and see all of the children that this school will soon serve (1:02) and meet supporters that we hadn’t met yet.

Absolutely. So again, the initial construction (1:10) process underway. What happens between now and the fall of 2026 for everything to be ready (1:18) for that first day of school? Well, construction is well underway.

We are getting utilities in (1:25) place which will be great because it will allow us to have the modulars up and operational (1:31) through the winter. So we’re hoping to be able to use the modulars for parent information nights (1:37) and allow them to come in and tour the modulars and see that they’re well equipped and ready to (1:44) go as classrooms. We will also be kicking off our formal enrollment here in the next couple of weeks (1:51) so we encourage parents to connect with us via Facebook or through our website.

(1:55) They’re also welcome to email me directly at info at alpineeducation.foundation. We’re happy to (2:01) answer any questions and then we will have monthly events coming up that we’ll be sure to keep (2:07) everyone posted on. Excellent. Fantastic.

Now, of course, Wyoming Classical Academy. Tell us about (2:13) them and why that felt like the good fit for Alpine. (2:18) Yes.

So many of you know that we were originally pursuing a partnership with a school out of Utah. (2:25) However, there was an opportunity for us to partner with the Wyoming Classical Academy (2:31) and after further exploration, we just decided that it made the most sense. We still got the (2:36) beautiful classical education that we are excited to get the word out about, but we also have a (2:44) state partnership which is fantastic and then with that comes a lot of really great partnerships with (2:51) other entities including Academica who will act as our operational partner and then we are currently (2:57) working to apply to become a Hillsdale curriculum school and we’re hoping to receive that approval (3:04) next month which will be fantastic because they really bring a wealth of knowledge to the (3:10) classical curriculum and then we’ll also have a nationwide network with the Hillsdale partnership.

(3:17) Meredith Leonard with the Alpine Education Foundation joining us this morning on the (3:21) weekday wake up. Now, Meredith, you mentioned construction process underway and the temporary (3:27) buildings. Long term in the coming years, what will the permanent structure, when does (3:35) construction on that begin and what will that process look like? That is such a good question.

(3:42) The truth is we’re not entirely sure. We have a five-year lease with the town of Alpine. (3:48) We’re hoping that once the school is up and operational and full that we can make the case (3:54) for a longer term lease and then we’ll start raising money to build a permanent school which (4:01) you know is really one of the reasons that I got involved.

I think a beautiful classical permanent (4:05) school in Alpine will really help to set the standard in terms of development and growth for (4:12) the town. I know you know development is always on everyone’s mind and I think that if we can get (4:18) a great classical school built then it’s really going to set the standard for quality development (4:24) and really help engage the community and build a beautiful town. Meredith, I also wanted to ask (4:32) if you could, this is a charter school not a private school, right? And sometimes we hear (4:38) those as sentiments and they’re really not.

They’re very, very different. So walk us through (4:43) what the the charter school process is like and what makes it unique. Yes, so a charter school (4:51) is a tuition-free public school.

We will receive money from the state the same way that a local (5:00) public school receives money. We do have to meet all of the standards that are set by the state. (5:06) Through the classical education we obviously would always work to achieve those standards but (5:14) then exceed those standards.

And it’s really just an opportunity to provide choice for parents (5:20) depending on you know their school structure or obviously Alpine being the location. It just (5:27) allows parents to make the best choice for their child and their family. And so they don’t (5:33) necessarily have to be tied to a local school based on jurisdiction or based on location.

(5:39) They have a choice of what works best for their families. Meredith Lenner, chairman of the board (5:45) with the Alpine Education Foundation joining us live this morning on the weekday wake up. Now (5:49) remind us this is for K-8 initially, correct? It is actually K-6 to start.

That’s based on (5:58) recommendation of Wyoming Classical Academy. That is actually how they started. So their campuses (6:04) in Mills, they’re in their third year and they just opened their brand new beautiful school (6:09) and they have around 370 kids enrolled.

So they’re really setting the precedent for us and setting (6:16) the standard and that is where we hope to be in the next few years. Absolutely. What other help (6:24) do you need from the community, from parents really that really want to continue to see this (6:30) succeed? Is there any other support that you need to keep this ball rolling? Of course there’s always (6:37) the component of financial support.

Unlike local you know typical schools, we do not receive any (6:44) state funding to get up and out of the ground. So everything, all the money that we have raised and (6:50) all the progress that we have made financially has been primarily grassroots. So we’re continuing (6:55) in that effort to fundraise.

The other thing that parents can do to help is express interest in the (7:02) school when the enrollment opens. Of course if you’re 100% set on the school, enroll your kids. (7:09) We would love to have a full school year one.

But the other thing that parents can really do is to (7:15) reach out. If you have questions or considerations or needs or specifics that can help us make this (7:23) school a better choice for you, reach out. We’re happy to have those discussions.

We’re happy to (7:28) have those conversations. We want to know how we can help and we want to know how we can make this (7:33) a really fantastic school for the community. Meredith you mentioned that they can reach out (7:37) directly to you, the website.

Give us the website URL and how people can go and find that and find (7:42) all the contact details. Yes the URL is alpine.yoclassical.org and they can also find us (7:53) on Facebook. Our Facebook handle is the Alpine Charter School.

Perfect. So again Meredith Leonard, (8:01) Alpine Education Foundation, exciting time for a school coming to Alpine with the charter school. (8:05) Anything we missed Meredith that you would like to mention today? I think ultimately Duke we are (8:10) just so excited.

Obviously this has been decades in the making. It’s hard to kind of as you’re (8:16) moving through the process to take a deep breath and understand all that has gone into it. So (8:22) more than anything we just want to say thank you to everyone who has been there to support us.

(8:27) Thank you to all the parents, to the donors, to the community. We are so excited with our progress (8:33) and we’re so excited for the future. That’s Meredith Leonard, Alpine Education Foundation.

(8:37) It’s all part of the weekday wake up this morning on the SBI Radio Network.