Carlos Hernandez, a kindergarten student at Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley, with teacher Colleen Colarusso.

CUMBERLAND — Monday marked the first day of classes for a new kind of regional public school in Rhode Island — the mayoral academy — and the first day for Constance Giblin, one of eight kindergarten teachers at the new school, Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley.

Located in the former Our Lady of Fatima School building in Valley Falls, Democracy Prep promises to be different from most public schools in key ways: more class time; uniforms; a new model for teaching; and the expectation that every student will attend college.

The 76 kindergartners from Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln and Pawtucket who arrived on Monday were addressed as “scholars,” and were told they were members of the class of 2026 — the year they would graduate from a four-year college or university.

The school also expects a lot from its teachers — long school days, three weeks of training each summer, and a 190-day school year, 10 days more than state law requires. But those demands did not seem to dissuade applicants.

More than 500 candidates applied for 8 teaching spots this summer, said Jeremy Chiappetta, head of school.

“I was excited to have the opportunity to teach at a school with the same mission, that all our students will go to college,” said Giblin, 28, a native of North Providence and a 2002 graduate of the University of Rhode Island. Monday morning she entertained her class of 19 students as she read No, David!, a book about a naughty boy who gets caught misbehaving in a variety of silly ways.

“What was most exciting for me today was to see our students come in as nervous and excited kindergartners,” Giblin said at the end of the day, “and then see them leave, knowing they are on their way to college already.”

More than half of the students at the mayoral academy qualify for free or reduced lunch. Some of the students come from homes where English is not the first language. A few students have learning or physical disabilities. All the students were selected by a lottery earlier this summer.

The mayoral academy is “unapologetically college prep, which means every student is on a college path,” said Seth Andrew, who serves as superintendent for the school and three other Democracy Prep schools Andrew founded in New York City. Andrew says he will spend two days a week at the Blackstone Valley school, helping develop special-education programs and guiding professional development for teachers. The school will pay Andrew 10 percent of its operational budget, or about $84,000 a year, to help Chiappetta with those functions as well as human resources and teacher recruiting, say school officials.

“We have a rigorous school culture that is safe and respectful,” Andrew said. “The best thing about [the school] is that it’s all about choice. Parents can choose and students can choose.”

Like the state’s 12 other public charter schools, the mayoral academy is paid for by taxpayers, but is free from many of the rules and restrictions that govern regular public schools. Democracy Prep students are in class from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parents are required to sign daily notes from teachers about their child’s progress.

The school is overseen by a board that consists of the municipal leaders of the four participating communities, chaired by Cumberland Mayor Daniel J. McKee, who developed the plan.

The mayoral academy intends to grow by a grade a year until it is a K-4 elementary school. McKee also wants to open a middle school in the fall of 2010, starting with a fifth grade. Eventually, school officials want to add a high school.

Giblin shares her yellow-and-blue classroom with “lead teacher” Joy Souza, another URI alumna. Souza, a veteran kindergarten teacher twice nominated as teacher of the year in Exeter-West Greenwich, will mentor Giblin, who was hired as a “teaching fellow.” Giblin will work with Souza for two years, learning her craft from a more experienced colleague.

While Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley must pay for both teachers, the investment is worth it, says Chiappetta, who earns $100,000 a year as the school’s principal.

“We researched the best practices across the country,” he said, and found a team approach worked best. “You want a range of diverse experience, and you want real talent and you want dedication. It’s an educational opportunity for our scholars to have a second adult in the classroom, but it’s also a pipeline for developing talented teachers.”

The veteran teachers are paid between $42,000 and $65,000 a year, plus benefits, depending on their years of experience. The school averaged the four sending communities’ salaries and added 10 percent, said Michael Magee, chief executive officer of Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, an umbrella organization that started Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley and hopes to open other mayoral academies throughout the state. The organization helps support the school and is paying $60,000 a year to rent the school building.

Teaching fellows, such as Giblin, earn $30,000 a year plus benefits. Both lead teachers and fellows can receive a bonus of up to 10 percent of their salary, based on exemplary performance, Magee said.

The school has also hired part-time physical education, art and music teachers.

Unlike the state’s charter schools, mayoral academies do not have to pay teachers a prevailing wage, contribute to the state teacher retirement system or offer teachers tenure protection — changes opposed by the state’s two teacher unions. Similar to 9 of the 12 charter schools, the mayoral academy has no teachers’ union.

These freedoms allow the academies greater control over school budgets, culture and personnel, and enable them to attract top teaching talent, say school officials.

Giblin says she feels lucky.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how our students grow into scholars and begin their journey to college,” she said. “What I like is that we are clearly stating high expectations for our students.”

jjordan@projo.com