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TOOELE — As students prepare for the new school year, Tooele County School District leaders are hard at work reflecting on what went well last year while building something new.
Jeff Zaleski, principal at Twenty Wells Elementary, said last school year, the district tested out all-day kindergarten, which proved to be a success, even though teachers and students had to get used to being in school longer than they were used to.
"The time with kindergartners definitely helped us, but even more so with the intentional use of that time," Zaleski said.
Assessments done at the school year's beginning, middle, and end showed student progress. He said it should only go up from here.
"We anticipate the same growth that we got last year to be just as good if not better this year," Zaleski said.
The school district is also growing, as a new high school is being built and hopes to open in April 2025.
"This is a project that's been five or six years in the making," said Matt Parker, head principal of Deseret Peak High School.
Parker said Desert Peak will differ from the others in that teachers will not have assigned classrooms but offices they will work out of.
"They're gonna be roaming. They might not be in the same spot throughout the day," he said.
Students will also notice they can see more of what is going on around them with new classrooms equipped with glass looking toward the hallway.
"The intention behind it is if I need to send kids out to the flexible space to learn — me as a teacher — I could still have eyes on it," Parker said.
With a brand-new school also comes brand-new athletic programs and CTE programs.
"They get really excited and the new brand that's now gonna be in Tooele County. We like seeing the golden eagle," Parker said.
Parker said they expect ninth, 10th, and 11th graders to come through the doors, which are tentatively set to open on April 1, 2025. Desert Peak will be the fourth high school in the district.
