After finding success in Arizona, California and Nevada, ThrivePoint Academy is bringing its community-based charter school model to Utah. The school will open its doors for the 2025-26 school year, with enrollment starting in July. 

William Evans is the acting director at ThrivePoint Academy of Utah, located at 1589 W. 9000 South in West Jordan. Evans said the school’s program is life-changing for students in grades 7-12 who might struggle with mainstream school.

“Our mission is to provide educational opportunities to underserved kids,” he said. “We’re targeting students who are at risk of dropping out. They’re feeling like they’re stuck and so we use this as a way to get them into programs where they can then see how it fits in with their future.”

Students take two six-week classes at a time and instructors create a learning plan that matches the student’s goals. The two-class model has been used with success at the school’s other locations by allowing students to better focus on classwork, especially those who struggle with a heavy class load.

Sometimes, students will come to ThrivePoint to take specific courses that will get them caught up if they’ve fallen behind at their regular school. The academy’s instructors also build community interaction opportunities so students can learn from professionals in different industries. 

“When our students enroll, we’ll do a survey with them of what their interests are, what their chosen profession is, what they want to do when they grow up, or whatever their goals are,” Evans said. “Then we try to connect them with as many people in that same field. That means we work with getting them apprenticeships or internships or job-related training. We’re engaging them in the community and we’re also engaging as much of the community with the school as possible.”

ThrivePoint Academy hosts events during the year to bring business leaders and students together. Whether it’s a course by the Better Business Bureau about how to avoid being scammed online or career-focused field trips, Evans said the students regularly interact with community leaders. 

Although the tuition-free school has a brick-and-mortar location in West Jordan, it also has a hybrid option where students access their classes online. If kids go more than a day without logging into the program, instructors reach out to parents to suggest they bring their student in to make sure they’re not falling behind or struggling. 

“The student can also reach out to the teacher themselves if they don’t understand something,” Evans said. “We love to have them come in and we’ll work with them. Our center is open from seven in the morning until seven at night.”

ThrivePoint Academy started operating in Arizona and California more than 20 years ago and has received high ratings for its programs and success. It wants to provide a quality education for students from any background, with any abilities or experiences, so they can become productive members of society.

“Our students are succeeding and they’re getting to graduation,” Evans said. “Students who are at risk of dropping out do well in our program because of the flexibility. And then, students at the other end, students who are high-excelling do well because our flexibility allows them to go at their own pace and to focus on that one class.”

To learn more, or for enrollment information, visit ThrivePointUtah.com. λ