Superintendent – Park City School District Newsroom

Ecker Hill Middle School Named National School to Watch

NEWS RELEASE

For additional information: lpearce@pcschools.us, Exec Admin Asst to BOE/Supt (435) 615-0225

PARK CITY, UT (June 27, 2022) – Ecker Hill Middle School has achieved its third re-designation as a National Schools To Watch.

What does it mean to be a School to Watch School? Schools to Watch seeks to recognize diverse, high-performing, growth-oriented middle grades schools to demonstrate what all middle grades schools are capable of achieving.

Schools to Watch Schools are schools that demonstrate:

Academic Excellence. High-performing schools with middle grades are academically excellent. They challenge all students to use their minds well.

Developmental Responsiveness. High-performing schools with middle grades are sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence.

Social Equity. High-performance schools with middle grades are socially equitable, democratic, and fair. They provide every student with high-quality teachers, resources, learning opportunities, and supports. They keep positive options open for all students.

Organizational Structures and Processes. High-performing schools with middle grades are learning organizations that establish norms, structures, and organizational arrangements to support and sustain their trajectory toward excellence.

A School to Watch School is a school that is conscientiously moving to meet fully the nationally endorsed criteria for high-performing middle schools, one that has made marked progress in meeting all of the criteria, including measurable gains in the academic achievement of all students over time.

In addition, Park City High School achieved secondary accreditation in 2021 and Treasure Mountain was recognized for its accreditation in 2022.

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

Para obtener información adicional: lpearce@pcschools.us, Asistente administrativo ejecutivo de BOE/Superintendente (435) 615-0225

Ecker Hill Nombrada Escuela Nacional Para Vigilar

PARK CITY, UT (27 de junio de 2022) – Ecker Hill Middle School ha logró su tercera redesignación como National Schools To Watch.

¿Qué significa ser una escuela para la Escuela para mirar? Escuela Nacional Para Vigilar busca reconocer escuelas de grados intermedios diversas, de alto rendimiento y orientadas al crecimiento para demostrar lo que todas las escuelas de grados intermedios son capaces de lograr.

Escuelas para observar Las escuelas son escuelas que demuestran:

Excelencia académica. Las escuelas de alto rendimiento con grados intermedios son académicamente excelentes. Retan a todos los estudiantes a usar bien sus mentes.

Capacidad de respuesta del desarrollo. Las escuelas de alto rendimiento con grados intermedios son sensibles a los desafíos de desarrollo únicos de la adolescencia temprana.

Igualdad Social. Las escuelas de alto rendimiento con grados intermedios son socialmente equitativas, democráticas y justas. Brindan a cada estudiante maestros, recursos, oportunidades de aprendizaje y apoyos de alta calidad. Mantienen opciones positivas abiertas para todos los estudiantes.

Estructuras y Procesos Organizacionales. Las escuelas de alto rendimiento con grados intermedios son organizaciones de aprendizaje que establecen normas, estructuras y arreglos organizacionales para apoyar y sostener su trayectoria hacia la excelencia.

Una escuela para observar es una escuela que se está moviendo concienzudamente para cumplir plenamente con los criterios aprobados a nivel nacional para las escuelas intermedias de alto rendimiento, una escuela que ha logrado un progreso notable en el cumplimiento de todos los criterios, incluidas las ganancias mensurables en el rendimiento académico de todos los estudiantes durante tiempo.

Además, Park City High School logró la acreditación secundaria en 2021 y Treasure Mountain fue reconocida por su acreditación en 2022.

PCSD Administrative Changes SY 22-23

NEWS RELEASE

For additional information: lpearce@pcschools.us, Exec Admin Asst to BOE/Supt (435) 615-0225

PCSD Administrative Changes SY 22-23

PARK CITY, UT (June 22, 2022) – Jack Welch once stated, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Park City School District is pleased to announce three administrative changes that will allow these leaders to have success in growing colleagues and students. In an organization, one leadership shift can create a domino effect, as is the case that facilitated these changes.

Tracy Fike is joining Trailside Elementary, as she begins her 11th year within the Park City School District, as the next principal. She has served in various roles throughout the district from teacher to a school administrator, most recently as an assistant principal at Park City High School from 2019-2022. Prior to the high school, she served as an assistant principal at Ecker Hill Middle school and was interim principal at Parley’s Park Elementary in 2018. Mrs. Fike is a licensed elementary teacher who specialized in reading intervention while teaching at Ecker Hill and implemented the district’s first Makerspace at Parley’s Park while in the instructional technology coach role. Mrs. Fike holds two master’s degrees in instructional leadership and business administration along with a Bachelor of Arts. Her variety of experiences and roles within the Park City School District will bring a wealth of knowledge and relationships to the Trailside community. Mrs. Fike resides in Park City with her husband and two children and can often be found out on the trails with her dog or running her kids around to local activities.

Robert Beverly Edmiston Jr., better known as Mr. Ed has over 30 years of experience as a public educator. He requested the opportunity to be an inaugural associate principal at Park City High School to fill the vacancy of Mrs. Fike. Mr. Ed earned his English Literature and Teaching degrees from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, his adventurous path has provided a wide range of opportunities spanning from being a kindergarten teacher, to a high school teacher, to a high school assistant principal and an elementary principal. He is well known for his passionate leadership as the principal of McPolin Elementary School in Park City, Utah. When he is not at school giving high fives to students, while calling each one by their name, he can be found on a mountain attached to skis or a mountain bike.

Mr. Ed’s drive towards impacting student success was recognized in 1999-2000 when he was honored as the Summit County Teacher of the Year. He has also led instructional leadership professional development around the state for other administrators, which led to a published article in the March 2010 issue of Special Educator magazine. The article, titled If you Expect it, Inspect it! Observations from Principal Walk-Throughs stresses his belief in the importance of instructional leaders being present. Not only does he believe in modeling actions of a strong leader in his school, his bigger mission is to advocate for high-quality public education for all families and students regardless of their background, ethnicity, gender, or most importantly, income.

Angie Dufner recently completed her 24th year in education and is thrilled to be named the new principal for McPolin Elementary School. She started her career teaching in Chicago for 11 years and then she and her husband moved their three children to Park City Utah. Ms. Dufner began teaching in our district at Parley’s Park Elementary as a Dual Immersion Teacher. After 8 years, she went to McPolin Elementary and spent four years as a Title 1 Teacher, Interventionist and MTSS Coordinator. She briefly left Park City School District last year to be the Assistant Principal and Interim Principal of a Title 1 elementary school in the Salt Lake City District. She is excited to be returning to Park City as the Principal of McPolin Elementary. As an educator, former McPolin team member and resident of Park City she is very invested in continuing to make our district the top in the state. In her downtime she loves to trail run, read, and spend time hiking with her dogs.

Superintendent Gildea and the Board of Education are excited to welcome these three capable and experienced leaders in their new roles. We look forward to the many things they will accomplish and value their commitment to inspire and support all students equitably to achieve their academic and social potential

-###-

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

Para obtener información adicional: lpearce@pcschools.us, Asistente administrativo ejecutivo para BOE/Superintendente (435) 615-0225

Cambios administrativos de PCSD SY 22-23

PARK CITY, UT (22 de junio de 2022) – El Sr. Jack Welch dijo una vez: “Antes usted es un líder, el éxito se trata de crecer usted mismo. Cuando te conviertes en un líder, el éxito se trata de hacer crecer a los demás. El Distrito Escolar de Park City se complace en anunciar tres cambios administrativos que permitirán que estos líderes tengan éxito en el crecimiento de colegas y estudiantes. En una organización, un cambio de liderazgo puede crear un efecto dominó, como es el caso que facilitó estos cambios.

Tracy Fike se unirá a Trailside Elementary, ya que comienza su undécimo año dentro del Distrito Escolar de Park City, como la próxima directora. Se ha desempeñado en varios roles en todo el distrito, desde maestra hasta administradora escolar, más recientemente como subdirectora en Park City High School de 2019-2022. Antes de la escuela secundaria, se desempeñó como subdirectora en la escuela secundaria Ecker Hill y fue directora interina en la escuela primaria Parley’s Park en 2018. La Sra. Fike es una maestra de primaria con licencia que se especializó en intervención de lectura mientras enseñaba en Ecker Hill e implementó el programa del distrito. primer Makerspace en Parley’s Park mientras desempeñaba el papel de entrenador de tecnología educativa. La Sra. Fike tiene dos maestrías en liderazgo educativo y administración de empresas junto con una licenciatura en artes. Su variedad de experiencias y roles dentro del Distrito Escolar de Park City traerá una gran cantidad de conocimientos y relaciones a la comunidad de Trailside. La Sra. Fike vive en Park City con su esposo y sus dos hijos y, a menudo, se la puede encontrar en los senderos con su perro o llevando a sus hijos a las actividades locales.

Robert Beverly Edmiston Jr., mejor conocido como Mr. Ed, tiene más de 30 años de experiencia como educador público. Solicitó la oportunidad de ser director asociado inaugural en la Escuela Secundaria Park City para llenar la vacante de la Sra. Fike. El Sr. Ed obtuvo sus títulos en Literatura Inglesa y Enseñanza de la Universidad de Mansfield en Pensilvania, su camino aventurero le ha brindado una amplia gama de oportunidades que van desde ser maestro de jardín de infantes, maestro de escuela secundaria, asistente de director de escuela secundaria y director de escuela primaria. Es bien conocido por su liderazgo apasionado como director de la Escuela Primaria McPolin en Park City, Utah. Cuando no está en la escuela chocando los cinco con los alumnos, mientras llama a cada uno por su nombre, se le puede encontrar en una montaña atado a unos esquís oa una bicicleta de montaña.

El impulso del Sr. Ed para impactar el éxito de los estudiantes fue reconocido en 1999-2000 cuando fue honrado como el Maestro del Año del Condado de Summit. También ha dirigido el desarrollo profesional de liderazgo instructivo en todo el estado para otros administradores, lo que llevó a la publicación de un artículo en la edición de marzo de 2010 de la revista Special Educator. El artículo, titulado ¡Si lo espera, inspecciónelo! Observaciones de Principal Walk-Throughs, enfatiza su creencia en la importancia de que los líderes educativos estén presentes. No solo cree en modelar las acciones de un líder fuerte en su escuela, su misión más grande es abogar por una educación pública de alta calidad para todas las familias y estudiantes, independientemente de su origen, etnia, género o, lo que es más importante, sus ingresos.

Angie Dufner completó recientemente su vigésimo cuarto año en educación y está encantada de ser nombrada nueva directora de la Escuela Primaria McPolin. Comenzó su carrera docente en Chicago durante 11 años y luego ella y su esposo se mudaron con sus tres hijos a Park City, Utah. La Sra. Dufner comenzó a enseñar en nuestro distrito en Parley’s Park Elementary como maestra de doble inmersión. Después de 8 años, fue a la escuela primaria McPolin y pasó cuatro años como maestra de Título 1, intervencionista y coordinadora de MTSS. Dejó brevemente el distrito escolar de Park City el año pasado para ser subdirectora y directora interina de una escuela primaria de Título 1 en el distrito de Salt Lake City. Está emocionada de regresar a Park City como directora de la escuela primaria McPolin. Como educadora, ex miembro del equipo de McPolin y residente de Park City, está muy interesada en continuar haciendo que nuestro distrito sea el mejor del estado. En su tiempo libre, le encanta correr, leer y pasar el tiempo caminando con sus perros.

La superintendente Gildea y la Junta de Educación se complacen en dar la bienvenida a estos tres líderes capaces y experimentados en sus nuevos roles. Esperamos con ansias las muchas cosas que lograrán y valoramos su compromiso de inspirar y apoyar a todos los estudiantes de manera equitativa para alcanzar su potencial académico y social

Incident of Racist Language

To Our Park City School District Community,

A safe and healthy learning environment is an essential characteristic of effective schools, and every day at Park City Schools we seek to provide a safe and respectful learning and working environment for every student and employee.

When an incident of racist language, hate speech or negative messaging occurs, this action goes against everything for which our schools stand; it is completely contrary to our core values, vision and goals as a learning organization. It is hurtful to all.

Call to Action

“It seems now more than ever that schooling can and should be designed to support young people of all identities and backgrounds as they self-actualize, realize their full potential and participate in a democratic society… [and that] schools today must focus relentlessly on the social-emotional, academic, and healthy identity development of every child” (PELP Note on Racial Equity in Schools, 2020).

We work to support students and staff who have been affected by incidents, and we want to assure every student and employee that we are committed to safety and well-being.

Any incident such as racist messaging is additional evidence of the pressing need in our schools, our community and our nation to find ways to talk constructively and respectfully about diversity, religion and race.

I am encouraged by the efforts of our staff and students to lean into challenging conversations about race by creating a task force to further research, review and generate action plans that halt intolerant speech or behavior in its tracks; share how they are personally impacted by racism; and contribute to our work to provide schools that are safe, supportive, engaged, challenged and healthy – and where every student feels a sense of belonging.

I am appreciative of the offer of assistance that many of you have extended. Your input has informed the short term actions we’ve identified so far and will continue to shape our long term work, too.

We are committed to ensuring schools where racism is not tolerated and is not ignored. This is significant work, and we have valuable assets available to support it: student voice and active student leaders; and effective relationships between school staff and students.

Respectfully,

Dr. Jill Gildea, Superintendent

Park City School District

NEWS RELEASE

For additional information, contact: communication@pcschools.us Or Lorie Pearce, Exec Asst to BOE/Supt at (435) 645-5600 ext. 1425

Friday, July 30, 2021

Park City School District announced this week that wearing facemasks will be encouraged for all vaccinated and non-vaccinated students and all staff returning to school in the coming weeks, but in alignment with HB1007, masks will not be required for in – person attendance. CDC did release information this week recommending that all attendees within K12 schools, vaccinated or not, continue wearing masks as one preventative measure to reduce the transmission of COVID and more specifically the more transmissible Delta variant.

“At this time, we are maintaining the mitigation strategies that helped us to keep schools open in 2020/2021,” said Mike Tanner, Chief Operations Officer. “In the event your child experiences a fever, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, loss of taste or smell, it is important to keep your child at home for the duration of their illness and adhere to the UDOH/SCHD guidelines for safe return to school.”

If your child is exhibiting any of the symptoms, including those listed on the CDC’s website for the COVID-19 variants, it is important to remain at home until symptoms resolve and/or to seek guidance from your medical provider.

School buses are another area where facemasks may be worn during the daily travel to and from school. Schools will be encouraging mask use for those who are and are not vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of illness, in accordance with CDC guidance, but will be focused on “teaching and learning and building relationships with students and families,” officials said.

Covid mitigations will continue within the schools including a more aggressive fresh air circulation schedule, additional sanitizing of frequently touched surfaces, handwashing breaks, and voluntary COVID-19 screening testing will be in place to identify cases and outbreaks. In addition, classrooms will return to routine class sizes, which are enviable, and full days of instruction. Half-Day Fridays will be in place across all schools in Park City School District for the 21/22 School Year. Mondays will be full days of instruction across all grade levels.

Remote learning will only be offered when students may be in quarantine due to COVID exposure. We anticipate additional information related to mitigation protocol as we approach the start of school.

Students will return to school on Thursday, August 19, 2021 with a regular school day. Friday, August 20, 2021 will be the Friday half-day schedule.

Thank you for your partnership and support as we work together to navigate this return to a “new normal” by prioritizing the health, safety, and well-being of our students, our staff, our families and our community.

@parkcityschools

Information Regarding Use of Welcoming Schools Program and Threatened Litigation / Informacion sobre el uso del programa de dievenida en las esquelas y la amenaza de litigio

As some in our community know, Park City School District has recently received a demand letter from Solon Law and the Pacific Justice Institute regarding the use of the Welcoming Schools program at Trailside Elementary School. This professional learning program provides educators with information on how to address bullying situations or exclusionary behaviors with our students.

While the District’s attorneys will be substantively responding to that communication in due course, we want to inform the community regarding our perspective on the issues and attempt to correct some of the misinformation that appears to be floating around in the community.

First and foremost, the mission of Park City School District is to inspire and support ALL students EQUITABLY to achieve their academic and social potential. All Park City schools are working toward creating an inclusive environment for all families. Positive school culture is essential in welcoming all students and families to participate and feel a sense of belonging within the schools.

The District as a whole is also working to comply with applicable Utah statutes and Utah State Board of Education administrative rules regarding bullying policies and staff training. Specifically, Rule 277-613-1 requires school districts to “develop, update, and implement bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, retaliation, and abusive conduct policies at the school district and school level.” Similarly, R277-613-4 requires school districts to provide training that includes information on various types of bullying, including “bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, and retaliation based upon the students’ or employees’ actual or perceived characteristics, including race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other physical or mental attributes or conformance or failure to conform with stereotypes.”

It is our belief that the use of the Welcoming Schools program for professional development is consistent with this mandate. Trailside Elementary teachers are being trained this year in a way that prepares them to have the appropriate tools to provide a safe, optimal and equitable learning environment for their students. So far this year, teachers have received 3 hours of professional development training using the Welcoming Schools program. That training was delivered by Holly Bell, Equity and Advocacy Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education. The professional development module was entitled “Embracing Family Diversity” and the goal is to equip educators with the tools to be able to answer questions from students and families about the importance of welcoming all families in our diverse school community. Written training materials provided to our staff in connection with that module are available for review.

We would be in grave violation of our duties as public educators and school leaders if we did not strive to prepare our teachers to teach not only the academic portion of the curriculum, but also to address and support the social and emotional growth and development of our diverse student body while at school. In choosing to send your child to Park City School District, you should expect nothing less of us. The Welcoming Schools program is only one small piece of this huge responsibility that we share with parents.

When questions started to be raised about the program, and even before the receipt of the demand letter at issue, we committed to looking at the implementation of the program to see if we could assuage the concerns that have been brought to our attention. While we do not believe that the program teaches sex education in any way that violates state law or otherwise violates the rights of members of our community, we will further examine this issue moving forward.

Even though the arguments set forth in the demand letter may be extremely emotional to many members of our community on both sides of the issue, we hope and expect that patrons and other community members will model the values we try to instill in our students: respect, honesty, and integrity in their communications. We also want to remind the community that pursuant to the same state law and District policy that requires us to implement anti-bullying policies and training, our employees may not be subjected to, and we will not tolerate, “abusive conduct”, meaning verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct that a reasonable person would determine is intended to cause intimidation, humiliation or unwarranted distress.

Finally, we hope that our community will appreciate that the primary obligation of our teachers is to focus on their important work within the classroom. This means that community members who wish to make their opinions known regarding these issues should address their concerns not to classroom teachers or individual school counselors and administrators, but to the Superintendent and elected members of the Board of Education. Ultimately, the Board of Education, in consultation with the Superintendent, Cabinet, and legal counsel, will decide on the appropriate response to the demands that have been made. Thank you for reading and for your continued involvement in the education of our community’s most precious resource, our children.

Como algunas personas de nuestra comunidad conocen, el Distrito Escolar de Park City ha recibido recientemente una carta de demanda de las oficinas de Solon Law y del Pacific Justice Institute con respecto al uso del programa Escolar de Bienvenida en la Escuela Elemental Trailside. Este programa de aprendizaje profesional proporciona a los educadores información sobre cómo abordar situaciones de acoso escolar o comportamientos excluyentes con nuestros estudiantes.

Si bien los abogados del Distrito responderán sustancialmente a esa comunicación a su debido tiempo, queremos informar a la comunidad sobre nuestra perspectiva sobre los problemas e intentar corregir parte de la información errónea que parece estar girando en la comunidad.

Primero y lo más importante, la misión del Distrito Escolar de Park City es inspirar y apoyar a TODOS los estudiantes de manera EQUITATIVA para que alcancen su potencial académico y social. Todas las escuelas de Park City están trabajando para crear un ambiente inclusivo para todas las familias. Una cultura escolar positiva es esencial para dar la bienvenida a todos los estudiantes y familias y que estos participen y tengan un sentido de pertenencia en las escuelas.

El Distrito en su conjunto esta también trabajando para cumplir con los estatutos de Utah que son aplicables y las reglas administrativas de la Junta de Educación del Estado de Utah con respecto a las políticas de intimidación y la capacitación del personal. Específicamente, la Regla 277-613-1 requiere que los distritos escolares “desarrollen, actualicen e implementen políticas de intimidación, hostigamiento cibernético, burlas, represalias y conductas abusivas a nivel del distrito escolar y de las escuelas.” Del mismo modo, la R277-613-4 requiere que los distritos escolares brinden capacitación que incluya información sobre varios tipos de acoso escolar, incluyendo “hostigamiento escolar, acoso cibernético, burlas y represalias basadas en las características reales o percibidas de los estudiantes o empleados, incluyendo raza, color, nacionalidad de origen, sexo, discapacidad, religión, identidad de género, orientación sexual, atributos físicos o mentales, o conformidad o inconformidad de los estereotipos.”

Creemos que el uso del programa Escolar de Bienvenida para el desarrollo profesional es consistente con este mandato. Los maestros de la Escuela Primaria Trailside están siendo entrenados este año de una manera que los prepara para tener las herramientas apropiadas para proporcionar un ambiente de aprendizaje seguro, óptimo y equitativo para sus estudiantes. En lo que va del año, los maestros han recibido 1.5 horas de capacitación en desarrollo profesional utilizando el programa Escolar de Bienvenida. Esa capacitación fue impartida por Holly Bell, especialista en equidad y defensa de la Junta de Educación del Estado de Utah. El módulo de desarrollo profesional se tituló “Abrazando la diversidad familiar” y el objetivo es equipar a los educadores con las herramientas para que puedan responder preguntas de los estudiantes y las familias sobre la importancia de dar la bienvenida a todas las familias en nuestra diversa comunidad escolar. Los materiales de capacitación escritos, proporcionados a nuestro personal en relación con ese modulo, están disponibles para su revisión.

Estaríamos en grave violación de nuestros deberes como educadores públicos y líderes escolares si no nos esforzaríamos por preparar a nuestros maestros para enseñar no solo la parte académica del plan de estudios, sino también para abordar y apoyar el crecimiento y desarrollo social y emocional de nuestro diverso alumnado en las escuelas. Al elegir enviar a su hijo (a) al Distrito Escolar de Park City, es lo menos que debe esperar de nosotros. El programa de Bienvenida de Escuelas es solo una pequeña parte de esta enorme responsabilidad que compartimos con los padres.

A pesar de que los argumentos establecidos en la carta de demanda pueden ser extremadamente emotivos para muchos miembros de nuestra comunidad en ambos lados del problema, esperamos que los involucrados y otros miembros de la comunidad modelen los valores que intentamos inculcar en nuestros estudiantes: respeto, honestidad e integridad en sus comunicaciones. También queremos recordarle a la comunidad que, de conformidad con la misma ley estatal y la política del Distrito que nos obliga a implementar políticas y capacitación contra el acoso escolar, nuestros empleados no pueden ser sometidos, y no toleraremos, “conducta abusiva”, es decir, verbal, no verbal, o física hacia ellos, que una persona razonable determinaría que tiene la intención de causar intimidación, humillación o angustia injustificada. Finalmente, esperamos que nuestra comunidad aprecie que la obligación principal de nuestros maestros es enfocarse en su importante trabajo dentro de las aulas. Esto significa que los miembros de la comunidad que deseen dar a conocer sus opiniones con respecto a estos temas deben dirigir sus inquietudes no a los maestros de la clase, o a consejeros o administradores individualmente, sino a la Superintendente y a los miembros elegidos de la Junta de Educación. Finalmente, la Junta de Educación, en consulta con la Superintendente, el Gabinete y el asesor legal, decidirá la respuesta adecuada a las demandas que se han formulado. Gracias por leer esta carta y por su continua participación en la educación del recurso más apreciado de nuestra comunidad, nuestros niños.

District Announces 2019-20 Administrator Assignments

Park City School Superintendent Jill Gildea has announced the following administrator assignments for the 2019-20 school year.

District Office

– Dr. Amy Hunt: Chief Academic Officer (Teaching & Learning) – Dr. Hunt has experience as a science and math teacher, high school assistant principal, middle school principal, executive director of Human Resources and Pupil Services in California districts, as well as leadership in adult education in Granite School District in Utah.

– Traci Evans: Federal/State/Competitive Grants, Professional Learning, and Principal Leadership – Evans’ leadership strengths will keep the district’s Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV programs moving forward as well as providing innovative leadership in the area of principal mentoring, and professional learning. Instrumental in securing and managing federal, state, and competitive grants, Evans will oversee implementation of the Digital Teaching & Learning Grant which will provide transformative professional learning experiences for staff.

– Mark Wiesenberg: Executive Director, Human Capital and Culture – Wiesenberg has more than 20 years in human resource leadership. He has also worked within non-profit sector at Make-A-Wish leading over 200 volunteers. Mr. Wiesenberg has experience in all areas of leading, training, managing, and growing exceptional human capital processes and organizational culture.

Openings for a Nutritional Programs Director and Dual immersion/English Language Coordinator are posted and appointments will be announced at a later date. A Career Technology Education (CTE) Director will also be announced once placement is finalized.

Park City High

Assistant Principals Tracy Fike and Amie Campbell will join Roger Arbabi and Jamie Weekes in the leadership of Park City High School. Most recently, Fike served as Assistant Principal at Ecker Hill Middle School in an interim capacity. Campbell served as Principal/Director for Ogden Preparatory Academy (K-9) for the past six years. With 23 years in education, her teaching experience includes high school teaching, Science Department chair, and volleyball and basketball coach.

Treasure Mountain Junior High

Principal Caleb Fine and Assistant Principal Sam Salinas will join Assistant Principal Missy Tschabrun in the leadership of the 8/9 program throughout the master planning transition. Principal Fine has been a member of Park City School District since August 2009 and has background in financial literacy, business teaching, as well as having served as PCHS Assistant Principal/PCCAPS since August 2016. Salinas has experience in middle school education has implemented PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports), developed School Improvement Plans, and has attained re-designation of EHMS as a School to Watch – a national recognition for excellence in middle education.

Ecker Hill Middle

Principal Amy Jenkins joins Assistant Principal Claustina Reynolds in the leadership of the 6/7 program throughout the master planning transition. Principal Jenkins has served as Assistant Principal at TMJH since 2015. An Assistant Principal, to be named, will also join this leadership team at EHMS.

Parley’s Park Elementary

Daren Houck joins Parley’s Park Elementary as Principal. Principal Houck comes from Coast Episcopal School where he has served as Principal for the past two years. His mix of both private and public school background, experience in high achieving systems, and his family’s relocation to Park City support his placement into this leadership post.

District Moving Forward to Prepare Future Ready Students

“The most dangerous experiment we can conduct with our children is to keep schooling them the same at a time when every other aspect of our society is dramatically changing,” says Professor Christopher Dede of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“We cannot maintain the status quo when it comes to preparing our students for the world ahead,” says Superintendent Jill Gildea. “Our educators know the critical need of always finding better ways to teach and assess.”

Academic excellence is one of the strategic pillars of Park City School District which is to “develop the potential of every student through data-driven and best learning practices to be academically successful and prepared for life beyond graduation…”

Park City High is currently ranked 28th in Utah and 3,381 in the national by US News & World. “This is not the best result we can achieve in this community. If our target is to be ranked in the top 1,000, we need an aligned system (including curriculum, instruction, and assessment) which requires intentional and purposeful change.”

The change had its beginning at Ecker Hill Middle School. During the 2005-06 school year, EHMS teachers attended a conference where standards-based grading was discussed. Teachers had been looking for ways to better report student learning and immediately began working on reporting systems in individual classrooms to better reflect student learning.

“Grading belongs at the classroom level, as does professional development, and school-based decisions,” says Dr. Gildea. “At the district level we help ensure that assessment and reporting practices are being reviewed and are responsive to the needs of students.”

As a school, EHMS began the work of unpacking and prioritizing standards through curriculum mapping. Many teachers began to see success as they started to implement standards-based grading. “Our educators are professionals and I’m incredibly proud of them for wanting to move forward with this way of assessing students and reporting progress along a continuum of learning,” says the Superintendent.

Standards-based assessment is not about students competing against one another, according to Dr. Gildea. “It is about the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for next generation access to life, career, and college ready outcomes.”

When schools adopt a standards-based mindset it requires a cultural shift. This is not a new system of grading. It has been around since 1983. Dr. Gildea’s previous district has been using standards-based assessment for more than 20 years.

National education consultant Kevin O’Connor says parents have a hard time making this shift. “Standards-based grades are not what parents know so it changes the conversation to an emphasis on words about strengths and weaknesses, not single symbols per subject that have little meaning.”

While some parents may have frustrations about moving to a new reporting system, Dr. Gildea continues to receive positive feedback from teachers, parents and students about this shift and how much it assists teachers in personalizing instruction and learning for all students.

The successes seen in the early stages at EHMS, prompted other schools in the district to begin looking at standards-based assessments. School administrators, instructional leaders, and teachers have had and continue to have external and internal development work. This professional development has originated in a school-based manner with the district providing external experts such as Bob Marzano Associates, Tom Guskey’s team, and Tim Brown of Solution Tree.

Teachers, principals and parents have donated their time, suggestions, learning, ideas, and input in order to fully develop an implementation timeline for all schools. This summer elementary teachers will continue their work aligning mathematics standards, while secondary teachers will continue working on refining the proficiency scales and vertical articulation of learning targets. Ongoing professional learning will also be available through the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant the district was award earlier this year.

This fall, internal and external experts will host parent forums on college admissions as well as the shift toward a competency-based approach. In August, the district’s Back-to-School Convocation will focus on “Learning Transformed.”

Dr. Gildea anticipates the implementation in schools will continue through 2021-22 with junior high and high school retaining both letter grades and GPA. “We remain committed to defining a system that measures actual student learning, provides meaningful feedback to students and their families on their academic progress, and motivates students to achieve and persevere.”

For more information about standards-based learning and assessment visit the district’s Teaching & Learning homepage here.

District Appoints Chief Operations Officer

In an effort to provide more efficient day-day-to operations, Park City School District has appointed Michael Tanner as its Chief Operations Officer. As COO he will oversee the departments of facilities and grounds, maintenance, transportation, child nutrition services, and community education.

Tanner has worked in similar roles for other school districts over the past 15 years. He was selected following a national search by an independent search firm.

Tanner has extensive experience in education, as well as corporate, government, and military management. “Mike comes to us with a broad range of supervisory and leadership skills,” said Superintendent Jill Gildea. “He will be a tremendous asset because of his strong background in master planning, bonding, budget administration, transportation, finance, and marketing.”

He has a MBA in Finance and Marketing, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Natural Resources Management. He is a certified Chief School Business Official and also has a Secondary Education teaching certificate.

“After considering a move to Park City for many years, my family and I are very excited to finally get the opportunity to become part of the community,” said Tanner. “I am honored to join the fine school district team, and look forward to leading the group effort to bring a number of operational improvements to the district. I hope to leverage my background to provide communication, visibility, accountability and execution for the community, and serve as a force to help drive positive change.”

In addition to his public education background, he has served in the United States Air Force since 1996 as a Pilot and Contingency Airlift Director. He collaborates with senior military and state department leadership to frame airlift requirements, articulate system capabilities and limitations, conceive strategic airlift plans, and mobilize resources to orchestrate international airlift operations in support of U.S. wartime and humanitarian relief missions.

PCSD Launches ‘The Future of Learning’ Education Master Plan

Park City School District is collaborating with the collective community during the 2018-19 school year asking what they want learning to look like in the coming years. The nine-month project will ultimately produce a community-based education vision and a proposed system to deliver on that vision.

“The Future of Learning” will be the roadmap to the future for the school district,” said Superintendent Jill Gildea. “We will be asking educators, students, parents, and community members what they want learning to look like in the coming years and how that will be implemented in our District.”

Superintendent Gildea said previous master planning for the district was designed to address specific building needs. But this process focuses on how today’s students learn and how the environment and teaching methods can best support that – both now and in the future.

GSBS, a consulting firm in Salt Lake City, is assisting the district with this planning. The four-step process will include:

– Identify the community’s vision;

– Create guiding principles and education specifications;

– Analyze existing facilities as they relate to the principles, and;

– Provide final recommendations for implementation.

Community Steering Committee Created

Earlier this summer the district invited community members to volunteer for its education master planning Steering Committee. This committee will ensure that all groups have a voice and the opportunity to be involved in this long-term educational planning. The Steering Committee held its first meeting in September.

Community Engagement Open House

The community will have its first opportunity to engage with the team and the process during an evening open house on Monday, Oct. 29, at the Summit County Sheldon Richins Building Auditorium. Sessions will be held at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

The Future of Learning Summit

The following day, Oct. 30, the district has invited teachers, community members, students and the Steering Committee to attend a day-long “The Future of Learning Summit” held at the District Office from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be recorded and posted to the District’s website under “The Future of Learning” tab.

Workshops

Over the next six months, the consultant team will host six additional “mini” workshops with various segments of the community to generate educator and community input into the educational specifications surrounding pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, learning spaces, and student learning experience.

Additionally, there will two more open houses (December and April) that will seek the community’s feedback on the progress made at the summit and workshops. The community will also be asked for input through a series of online surveys.

Final Recommendations

Once the education specifications have been created, the consulting team will evaluate existing facilities for alignment and the ability to deliver the education specifications. Final recommendations, including education specifications, potential facility needs, and funding will be presented to the Board of Education in May 2019.

Learn More

For more detailed information visit The Future of Learning section on the district’s website.

Sept. 10 Front Line Blue Line Focused on Dark Web, Harmful Drugs

Parents are invited Monday, Sept. 10, to spend an evening with law enforcement learning about drugs and the Dark Web. “The Front Line Blue Line — Parents and Police Working Together,” is presented by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and members of the Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance.

“Educating parents on issues affecting our student is a subject that is incredibly important,” said Dr. Ben Belnap, Associate Superintendent of Student Wellness. “This is one of the most important events our parents can attend all year.”

The event, which is for parents only, begins at 6 p.m. at the Eccles Center. Park City School District Superintendent Jill Gildea will welcome parents, and remarks will be give by Sheriff Justin Martinez, Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter, Lt. Greg Winterton (drugs and harmful substances), and Special Agent Clinton Kehr (the Dark Web) from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The Dark Web is a subset of the dark web or deep web, is a place where illegal activity thrives and criminals function in perceived anonymity. Illegal drugs are one of the most dangerous categories of goods marketed on the Dark net, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Following the speakers, a resource fair featuring 20 community partners will be held in the Park City High gym.

Free childcare will be available for children ages 4-11.

NOTE: The community is also invited to attend an Open House from 5-6 p.m. in the lower lobby of the Eccles Center to meet the district’s new Superintendent, Dr. Jill Gildea.

KPCW Story

Park Record Article