The Salt Lake Tribune - District 91��Ƭistration

Where did 1,600 students go? Why Washington County schools enrolled 4.5% fewer students this year

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 14:55:26 +0000

Even though Washington County is one of Utah’s fastest growing communities, the population boom isn’t showing up in K12 classrooms.

Schools in Washington County have enrolled 1,610 fewer students this year compared to last year. That equals a 4.5% drop, one of the highest in the state.

Most of the drop, 1,100 students, is due to fewer students enrolling in the district’s online schools, called Utah Online 7-12 and Utah Online K8, which are available to anyone living in Utah.

Utah’s K12 schools see historic enrollment drop

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:22:34 +0000

The overall number of kids attending traditional and charter K12 schools in Utah has seen its biggest drop in a decade, new data shows.

There are 4,873 fewer children attending public school this fall than there were at the start of the 2023-24 school year, amounting to an historic 0.7% drop.

That figure accounts for both traditional and charter K12 school students, because charters in Utah are public, though most are run independently of traditional school districts.

Utah is paying to bulletproof school windows and doors

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 13:46:12 +0000

Bulletproof window film. Security cameras. Emergency alert systems.

No, this isn’t a prison shopping list — it’s a list of safety enhancements coming to certain Utah public schools.

The items and modifications are covered through School Safety and Support grant funding, allocated last year under HB61, which aimed to help schools finance critical security improvements, among other school safety initiatives.

The post Utah is paying to bulletproof school windows and doors appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

Utah schools now provide free period products. Two years later, here’s why students say it’s a success.

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 12:46:45 +0000

Two years after Utah lawmakers mandated that all public schools in the state provide students with free period products, students who use them are missing class less often and feeling more confident.

That’s according to a recent survey of Utah high schoolers conducted by The Period Project. Organizers behind the initiative, born out of Utah-based nonprofit The Policy Project, were instrumental in getting HB162 passed in 2022. Gov. Spencer Cox later expanded the requirement to include state buildings.

“The purpose of putting period products in schools was not to replace students’ main source of period products,” said Brooke Gledhill Wood, the Policy Project’s chief of staff, during a webinar last week about the survey, “but really to be there in times of emergency, or when they forgot products or started unexpectedly.”

The post Utah schools now provide free period products. Two years later, here’s why students say it’s a success. appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

Inside the last day of school ever for these closing Salt Lake City elementaries

Fri, 31 May 2024 13:46:54 +0000

Lais Martinez has had two sons attend Fairpark’s fated Mary W. Jackson Elementary School. For her kids, it was a place where they could be themselves and a school where the community was representative and inclusive of who they are.

“Our youngest is graduating this year, so he spent all his years here,” said Martinez, whose oldest is now a high school junior at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education. “The fact that teachers call you ‘mijo’, that means something for us — where it’s an extension of your home, where they’re invested in you.”

‘Mijo’ is a Spanish portmanteau of “mi hijo,” or “my son.” It’s a common way for parents, family members and other adults to endearingly refer to boys in their life.

The post Inside the last day of school ever for these closing Salt Lake City elementaries appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

Special education students in Utah’s largest district must switch schools—and parents are furious

Fri, 03 May 2024 12:57:53 +0000

Josh Smith’s voice trembled as he held his phone and read aloud a prewritten speech to Alpine school board leaders late on April 23. He identified himself as the father of his son Michael, who attends Orem Elementary and has moderate autism.

“Please, please don’t do this,” Smith said. “I kind of feel like you’re throwing my son away. You’re taking away his chance.”

Applause erupted. His plea seemed to resonate with dozens of other audience members who, like Smith, have children enrolled in the Alpine School District’s special education program.

The post Special education students in Utah’s largest district must switch schools—and parents are furious appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

Longtime Salt Lake City charter school will close unless it finds a new sponsor quickly

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:11:00 +0000

When Carolyn Martinez-Ross’s child started high school at Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts, they had one goal: to stay there for four years.

Her husband is an army veteran, she explained, which meant that her child had attended three elementary schools and two middle schools. At SPA, as the school is known, “we really thought we’d found the right place for them,” Martinez-Ross said.

The post Longtime Salt Lake City charter school will close unless it finds a new sponsor quickly appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

‘Kind of scary’: More Utah students feel unsafe in school restrooms, state data shows

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 13:11:19 +0000

At Jay’s high school, it can feel uncomfortable inside the school’s restrooms, they said.

Groups of students like to congregate there, the Sanpete County student said — sometimes to vape, sometimes just to hang out without teacher supervision.

“It’s not like there’s any cameras in there, so if something goes down, there’s not any records except for whatever people say,” said Jay, whose full name is known to The Salt Lake Tribune and whose parents confirmed their enrollment. “That’s kind of scary.”

The post ‘Kind of scary’: More Utah students feel unsafe in school restrooms, state data shows appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

First of its kind: Salt Lake City students can now get physical, mental health care at West High clinic

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 15:22:41 +0000

Students were already gathered outside West High School’s new medical clinic by about 8 a.m. on its first day of business last month.

Some looked to get a physical ahead of their upcoming soccer tryouts later that day. One asked for mental health support, which they hoped would help with their grades.

The clinic wasn’t fully stocked or equipped ahead of that soft opening, but as of its official ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon, it had already served 100 students, clinic medical director Dr. Christina Thuet said.

The post First of its kind: Salt Lake City students can now get physical, mental health care at West High clinic appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>

After staying neutral for a year, Utah’s largest teachers union opposes diverting money from education

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 12:53:06 +0000

Utah’s largest teachers union decided not to object last year as lawmakers took a major step toward removing a mandate in the state constitution that protects funding for children and students.

The Utah Education Association also did not protest or attempt to intervene during the 2024 Legislature.

But Thursday, UEA President Renée Pinkney announced the union’s board has now decided to oppose the change, declaring it “goes against our values and challenges what we stand for.”

The post After staying neutral for a year, Utah’s largest teachers union opposes diverting money from education appeared first on District 91��Ƭistration.

]]>