Most middle schoolers aren’t thinking about college applications yet, but a handful are working on applications to Hall County’s Da Vinci Academy.

More than 100 parents attended several information meetings last week to learn more about how their fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders could land a spot at the arts, science and technology academy next school year. The last parent meeting will take place at 6 tonight at the Da Vinci Academy located at 3215 Poplar Springs Road.

The Da Vinci Academy operates as an arm of South Hall Middle School and opened in August with 120 sixth- and seventh-graders. The program that features project-based learning and an integrated curriculum will extend through eighth grade next school year.

The program will add 75 to 80 new sixth-graders, 10 more seventh-graders and 15 more eighth-graders in August, said Hall County schools’ assistant director of teaching and learning, Sally Krisel.

Da Vinci Academy is open to all rising middle-schoolers in Hall County who can find their own transportation to school if they do not live in the South Hall Middle zone. Accepted students’ parents must commit at least 20 hours of annual volunteer service at the school. The application requires Criterion-Referenced Competency Test scores, teacher recommendation letters, parent responses and short student essays.

Krisel said the program is not just for students who have been identified as gifted, but also is open to students who are independent, motivated, creative and well-behaved.

“This is for youngsters who love to learn,” she said.

Mai Shedd has a son in the fifth-grade at the World Language Academy. She attended a parent meeting last week to learn whether the academy might be a good fit for her son, who loves technology and science.

“For me, the World Language Academy opened my eyes because it wasn’t a typical school setting and the kids have been achieving so much there,” she said. “I can’t imagine my kid in a typical school setting anymore. ... I think more parents are going to want this opportunity for their children.”

Shedd said she hopes her son, Hayden, is accepted though there is not yet a clear pathway for Da Vinci students after they complete eighth-grade.

“Even if it were just three years, that’s three years he can work on different aspects of science and those are things that a regular school couldn’t offer,” she said.

Krisel said Johnson High School is developing an International Baccalaureate charter program that could be an outlet for students after Da Vinci.

Interested parents should contant Krisel by e-mail. Applications for Da Vinci Academy are due by Jan. 11. Parents of selected children will be notified by late February, Krisel said.

Interest in the Da Vinci Academy has been overwhelming, she said, but the school likely will cap enrollment within the next two years at 240 students, 80 in each grade, to keep learning personalized.

The special program combines hands-on learning with efficient administration and could serve as a template for new programs, however.

“We want this to be a catalyst for other ideas,” she said.