Herriman Journal | March 2024

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE HOSTS REGIONAL RESOURCE FAIR IN HERRIMAN TO HELP REFUGEES, IMMIGRANTS

By Elisa Eames | e.eames@mycityjournals.com

Last month, Herriman played host to several state government officials, representatives from Utah charitable organizations and Spanish-speaking immigrants from all over the Salt Lake Valley and beyond.

The Pathways to Employment for Recent Arrivals and Resource Fair took place on Feb. 3. and was free to the public. The event was held at Herriman City Hall but not an official city event. Instead, it was a collaboration between a handful of organizations, including Columbus Adult Education Center, Alianza Venezolana of Utah and the Utah Center for Immigration and Integration, which is part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.

Dozens of volunteers from the community and local organizations donated their time and knowledge to help make the fair a reality. The advertisement literature for the fair stated that the purpose was to assist attendees in applying for an “Employment Authorization Document with legal service providers, and to learn about other resources including English classes, connect with local education programs and more.”

An EAD is also known as a work permit. Visitors could also peruse various resource booths, such as for maternity care and free English classes.

The GOEO received calls from as far away as Idaho with questions about attending the fair, and an overwhelming number of people came to the event.

“The amount of people who showed up, both registered and unregistered, blew me away given the fact that this is itty bitty

Continued page 4

Mayor Palmer (left), who volunteers with CAEC, speaks with Natalie El-Deiry (middle) and another volunteer. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Education

Chinese

High-quality, innovative health care with a heavy dose of compassion

With a focus on health care excellence, community service and faith – the doctors, nurses and care teams at Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley and Holy Cross Hospital - Jordan Valley West are committed to compassionate and high-quality care for their neighbors.

It has been nearly a year since CommonSpirit Health took over five Wasatch Front hospitals that now bear the name Holy Cross, a reference to the Sisters of the Holy Cross, who brought Catholic, faith-based health care to the people of Utah nearly 150 years ago. Today, the hospitals are reinvigorating the Sisters’ vision while caring for all with open arms.

“Our care is focused on neighbors helping neighbors, whether they be in West Jordan, West Valley City, or our surrounding communities,” said Christine McSweeney, CEO of Holy Cross Hospital – Jordan Valley and Interim CEO at its sister hospital in West Valley City. “Our care providers live in these communities, and we are committed to playing an active role in improving the health of those around us – inside and outside of our hospital walls.”

Besides innovative health care in services that include orthopedics, bariatric programs, a cancer center, heart care, stroke accreditation and a Trauma III ER, the hospital’s teams are actively involved in helping to make the communities better, from leading food drives at local schools to partnering with the American Heart Association to educate our communities on heart health.

Through its Hello Humankindness program, CommonSpirit is actively promoting the health benefits

of kindness and recognizing employees who go above and beyond the call of their jobs to help those in need.

“We believe that simple acts of kindness have a profound impact on the lives of our patients and communities, in addition to the medical expertise that our doctors and nurses provide,” McSweeney said.

The community-focused work also involves close partnerships with local first responders, including fire departments and EMS agencies, who understand the advanced medical care that CommonSpirit provides at its Holy Cross hospitals when patients need an ambulance.

“They know we have some of the most advanced stroke care in our communities and some of the most advanced heart care,” McSweeney added.

CommonSpirit’s mission includes advancing social justice for all, and last fall, it bestowed eight grants from its Health Equity & Advancement Fund to local nonprofits that are working every day to improve lives in ways that include health screenings for Spanishspeaking neighbors and mental health treatment for children and families.

With a long legacy of service and healing, CommonSpirit is just getting started in extending health care excellence for all Utahns at the Holy Cross hospitals.

“Our vision is a healthier future for all – inspired by faith, driven by innovation, and powered by our humanity,” McSweeney said.

Learn more about the services, care providers and mission-driven work of the Holy Cross hospitals and CommonSpirit Health at www.holycrossutah.org.

SPONSORED

Christine McSweeney, CEO

Herriman,” said Marco Escobar, who volunteers on the Culture Alliance Board for nonprofit Friends of Herriman and as the Ethnic Advisory Committee Chair for CAEC. He is in charge of inclusion for Friends of Herriman, so at the fair, he helped register attendees for English classes through CAEC.

The fair was set in motion back in 2023. “Lorin [Palmer] called me one day and said, ‘there are so many people doing things to help, but we don’t know what the need is,’” Escobar said. “I said, let’s do a summit to find out what the needs are.”

Organizers expected a handful of people to attend the summit, which took place Oct. 6, 2023, and were astounded when they got 60. Attended by Natalie El-Diery, director of Immigration and New American Integration under the GOEO, and Sean Marchant, board president of the CAEC, the summit served to create a network of individuals and organizations in the community able to help meet needs, allowing them to work together to identify resources and determine physical, social, educational and legal requirements of the growing immigrant population.

An immigrant from Guatemala who was once undocumented, Escobar understands the upheaval of relocating to another country. In the 1980s, his mother crossed the southern border of the United States illegally in the trunk of a smuggler’s car. Escobar was 3 or 4 years old and grew up blissfully ignorant of his family’s illegal status. It wasn’t until he was 14 that his parents finally dropped the bomb—when he, as a top student and hard worker, told them he wanted to get a job.

His parents had lived for years in constant fear of being caught, and for nearly six more years, Escobar shared in that fear. In 2003, he was finally able to begin the path toward legal status when he was in his early 20s, and in 2016, he became a citizen.

Soberly, he recalls the considerable length, complexity and expense of these processes, but because of his experiences and in-

volvement in Friends of Herriman and CAEC, he feels he is in an uncommonly advantageous position to help the Latino community.

“The Inclusion group [of Friends of Herriman] is designed to ensure minority groups are represented and have their voice heard regardless of race and ethnicity, ability, gender, religious affliction, and sexual preference. We strive to support all and be a great reference,” Escobar said.

Nonprofit Alianza Venezolana en Utah (Venezuelan Alliance of Utah), or AV, which aims to connect members of the Latino community with available resources, also lent its support at the fair.

Jesler Molina of AV emphasized how critical it is for immigrants to learn about U.S. laws and to find an immigration lawyer, despite the discouraging wait times.

“There is a three to four-month wait for immigration law firms,” Jesler said, shaking his head. “While they are waiting, people try to survive however they can. If someone comes to Utah without a connection, like family or friends, it’s so much harder to survive.”

To find a lawyer, he recommends reaching out to organizations like AV that serve immigrants, as they can provide a list of attorneys in Utah. A colleague of Jesler at AV, Wilma Medina feels that fairs like the one in Herriman are important to help immigrants ease into their new lives.

“A lot of people don’t know what to do or where to go, and this is the way to help people find some help,” she said.

She also added a warning—arrivals should only go through proper channels to get immigration assistance. “We have problems with people who say they can help immigrants but then just take their money,” she said. “People are afraid because they’re not legal, and someone will say, ‘I have a friend who can help with documents.’”

The sad reality, she explained, is that some will take advantage of people just looking for help. She emphasized that immigrants need to go to the official immigration office. Salt Lake

immigration attorney firm SimpleCitizen and Salt Lake nonprofit Holy Cross Ministries met with attendees at the event.

One fair attendee, Fernando Gallego, was granted temporary admission into the U.S.

through the Humanitarian Parole program.

“Humanitarian Parole is an extraordinary measure sparingly used to bring an otherwise inadmissible alien into the United States for a temporary period of time due to a compelling

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Jason Corbridge | jason.c@thecityjournals.com

Ryan Casper | ryan.c@thecityjournals.com

Greg Tanner | greg.t@valuepagesutah.com

GOEO staff, such as Claudia Gutierrez-Sanchez (right) of the Utah Center for Immigration and Integration, and volunteers made the fair possible. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Fernando Gallego, his wife and their daughter arrived in Utah in December. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

emergency,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website states. “Humanitarian Parole is not intended to be used to circumvent normal visa-issuing procedures, bypass delays in visa issuance, or immigrate to the United States. It is possible that a parolee can adjust to a permanent status from parolee.”

Border officials may also choose to parole in migrants who arrive at the southern border. Gallego arrived in Utah on Dec. 15, 2023, with his wife, Yexi Colmenares, and their daughter, Maria. Born in Colombia, Gallego and his parents emigrated to Venezuela when he was a young boy, but six years ago, he, his wife and his daughter returned to Colombia to escape a thorny political situation. They applied for Humanitarian Parole to the U.S. last year.

“I did it that way because it was the way to legally enter this country and then be able to adjust my immigration status through political asylum,” he explained via Google Translate. Gallego chose Utah because he has friends in West Jordan, where he and his family are staying. His parole will last two years, during which he hopes to find work as a mechanic or machine technician, learn English and begin the path to citizenship.

“I have studied and worked in mechanics in my father’s auto shop in Venezuela since I was little,” he said.

Other ways to gain legal admission to the U.S. include arriving as a refugee, which means the person is experiencing persecution in their country of origin or fear that they will, or as asylum seekers, who qualify for refugee status but arrive without permission either through an authorized port of entry or an unauthorized route. Asylum seekers generally have one year to complete an application for asylum, which could take years to process. After a case has been pending for 150 days, the applicant may seek work authorization, which usually takes another 30 days to be approved.

A person granted asylum has authorization to work in the U.S., may apply for a Social Security card, lobby to bring family members into the country and may also qualify for government programs, including Refugee Medical Assistance or Medicaid.

“After one year, an asylee may apply for lawful permanent resident status (i.e., a green

card). Once the individual becomes a permanent resident, they must wait four years to apply for citizenship,” declares the website of nonprofit American Immigration Council. A small number of immigrants, such as those affected by natural disasters, are granted temporary protected status, which gives them permission to stay in the country temporarily. Many of those at the Herriman fair came into the U.S. by presenting themselves at a port of entry at the southern border and have already applied or plan to apply for asylum.

Escobar maintains that many cities much larger than Herriman are buckling under the strain of recent arrivals.

“And here is little ol’ Herriman with virtually zero infrastructure trying to help,” he said proudly. He emphasizes that educational programs and events, such as classes at the new CAEC Herriman location and the fair on Feb. 3, are not common across the country despite the need and are only possible here because of the countless volunteers willing to help.

“Where we see a need, we fill it. It speaks to the culture of Herriman,” Escobar said. “That doesn’t happen in every community. That’s the reason that it’s working here.” l

Attendees meet with legal and immigrant assistance representatives, sometimes after waiting hours. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Volunteers from Alianza Venezolana and CAEC worked with the GOEO to put on the fair. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Alianza Venezolana volunteer Wilma Medina and a CAEC volunteer assisted fair attendees. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

A Spanish-speaking volunteer gives attendees instructions. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

A booth at the fair offers free clothing items for attendees. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

A booth at the fair offers maternity assistance for attendees. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

It has been four years this month since Jordan District schools announced they would temporarily shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the years that followed, the pandemic significantly impacted students’ academics, their habits, and how, where and when they attended classes.

Four years later, the majority of students are back to attending in-person classes and extracurricular activities without limits or requirements for social distancing, masking or quarantines. On the surface, schools look much like they did pre-COVID. However, there are some impacts of the pandemic that are still lingering, and some that have changed education permanently.

“The pandemic exaggerated the good and the bad,” Jordan Board of Education Member Darrell Robinson said. “It made the bad really bad, and made the good really good, but there’s never been a better time to be in public education. There’s fantastic things that came out of that horrible experience.”

Increased Innovation

Robinson, who had pushed for virtual learning options for years, saw them get approved when the pandemic made it necessary. Suddenly, every teacher was learning to use virtual platforms and experimenting with digital tools to enhance their lessons.

Carolyn Gough, who was the principal of Riverton High School in 2020, said the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning tools.

“We were already moving in a good direction toward 1:1 with computers, but the pandemic expedited our progress,” she said. “Since then, digital teaching and learning has taken off and we are offering more and more to teachers in terms of programs, software and strategies they can use to assist students with technology.”

After every student experienced online learning during 2020, some realized it was a better fit for them. To meet the demand for online options, Jordan District provided a virtual option for students for the 2020-21 school year and the following year opened the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, with a fully developed virtual elementary, middle and high school.

“We had taught virtual classes for years,” Jordan District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey said. “But the difference is that we were able to accelerate that effort in ways that would not have been possible without the pandemic, so that we now have options in every grade, at every grade level.”

In addition to providing personalized learning for students, virtual curriculum created an unexpectedly reasonable solution to sick days and snow days.

The wide-spread availability of virtual platforms such as Zoom also changed how

How the pandemic changed education

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

parents participated in school meetings. Five years ago, virtual meetings were not an option, but now schools offer virtual parent teacher conference appointments, virtual career and college preparation meetings and even virtual kindergarten orientation.

Stacee Worthen, a secondary counselor consultant for Jordan District, said providing the option for virtual PCCRs increased parent participation.

“It’s just allowed us some ways to think outside the box and say, ‘We’ve always done this, but we don’t always have to do it this way,’” she said. “COVID has given us the opportunity to say, ‘Maybe there’s a different way to do this and that different way is just as good, if not better.’”

District Counseling Specialist Hillary Emmer said this year most parents are opting for in-person meetings.

“Most of the time if people can connect in real life, they’re choosing that, but it still is a nice option for those that can’t come or if it is just more convenient,” she said.

The push for live-streamed board of education meetings never got momentum until during the pandemic when community participation increased and social distancing limited in-person attendance. Meetings continue to be live-streamed and accessible on YouTube.

Robinson is optimistic that advances in innovation will continue to improve education.

“I think what you’re starting to see with our district, now that COVID’s gone away and we’re moving back to being proactive again, you’re going to see some cool things again,” Robinson said. “We’re not done.”

Mental Health

A major impact the pandemic had on education was that it brought mental health to the forefront.

Jordan District Health and Wellness Program Administrator Dr. McKinley Withers said the pandemic didn’t necessarily cause new mental health issues, but it forced people to confront the problems they had been ignoring.

“I think the pandemic just really brought to the surface a lot of the underlying issues in our culture and amplified some of that isolation and loneliness,” he said.

Withers said the pandemic had a positive effect by normalizing discussions about mental health and reducing the stigma of asking for help, which has helped people who are struggling get the resources they need.

In 2018, Withers was the only district employee responsible for addressing the health and wellness of students and employees. Now, in 2024, he works with a team of six full-time district employees and 24 school-based support personnel who promote wellness and provide mental health resources to teachers, students and families.

“Before the pandemic, our work was in getting buy-in for mental health,” Withers said. “Post-pandemic, people are bought in. So, it’s just a matter of getting the right kinds of resources matched to the support that students and staff need.”

Since 2020, JSD has prioritized mental health support. Now every school has fulltime assistant principals, full-time counselors and more campus monitors. Many schools also have a Wellness Room as a re-

source for both students and staff members.

Emmer said because everyone experienced the pandemic differently, the effects on different people and groups varied in length and severity.

“Some kids are really having a hard time, and some are just thriving and resilient and as successful as ever,” she said.

Middle school counselor Alyson Law said among her students, the mental and social effects from the isolation during the pandemic are ongoing.

“One of the biggest problems we’ve seen, especially in the mental health side, is the loneliness that kids are feeling, the separation and the loneliness,” she said. “We didn’t have a good way to deal with that, and we were all in this trauma response—parents included. There was this fear of survival for quite a while. And so the loneliness was very hard, especially for kids who were so used to social situations, to be so separated from one another.”

At Fort Herriman Middle, where Law works, the school year’s theme “You Belong” was chosen to address those lingering effects.

Many schools have addressed mental and social interruptions to their students with themes and activities to encourage students to resume making social connections and to access tools for dealing with the side effects of the pandemic.

Beginning in February 2021, Jordan District has set aside an annual Health and Wellness Day to encourage employees and students to prioritize their mental and physical wellness.

Masking, which was required for the 2020-21 school year when this photo was taken, is now a decision that is left up to the individual who is sick. (Photo courtesy of Doug Flagler)

Academic Impact

Mental health can have a direct correlation to academic performance, however academic gaps are another major effect of the pandemic and the COVID-related disruptions to educational instruction.

When instructional hours were interrupted during the last few months of the 2019-20 school year with a sudden closure of schools, and then by frequent quarantine requirements during the 2020-21 school year, it caused gaps in the academic, social and behavioral development of children that continue to impact students’ academic performance.

Godfrey said there were expected academic gaps during the pandemic because teachers had to focus on the essentials. He remains optimistic that students are progressing and closing those gaps.

“We have to be thoughtful about making sure that we don’t fall into a deficit mentality and focus on the negatives,” Godfrey said. “We really do need to focus on being able to move forward. At the same time, we have to be realistic about the lasting impact of the pandemic. And what happened is we lost academic time, and we lost time for students to make social progress.”

Catherine Crosby, a middle school reading teacher, sees evidence of the interruption at particular developmental stages which affects students’ learning, even four years later.

“This year, I’m seeing kids that really struggle with making connections [in reading],” she said. “The kids I have now would have been in fifth grade when the pandemic started. What were they learning in fifth grade that they missed? Because this is where their struggle is this year and I’ve not ever seen that—usually that’s one of the easier strategies for students but that’s been really hard for these kids this year.”

Literacy specialist Tara Pearce was not surprised when there was a big dip in elementary students’ reading scores because of so many interruptions to their learning. The deficits have resulted in more students arriving in middle school lacking foundational

reading skills.

Pearce said this year’s seventh graders were in fourth grade in March 2020, which is the year that reading skills transition from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn.’

“If they struggled with any of those fundamentals before COVID, it’s really hard to get caught up unless they’re getting really explicit instruction,” Pearce said. “After COVID, we had a lot more students coming to us that had a hard time decoding or reading the words, so we realized we needed to step up what we’re doing here. We didn’t have any specific reading teachers in seventh grade before, but now every seventh grader right now has a reading class based on their reading level.”

Pearce said the biggest difference between pre-COVID and post-COVID was among the low-performing students.

“The numbers aren’t necessarily different, but how low they are is,” Pearce said. “So, we’ve had to adapt and learn to teach those lower level skills.”

Ben Jameson, director of JSD’s Evaluation, Research and Accountability Department, said the pandemic emphasized the inequity among certain groups of students.

“We noticed right off the bat that there were certain demographic groups that were more impacted in a negative way from the switch to online learning—demographics like students with disabilities and students that are learning English as a second language,” Jameson said. “So I think one of the positive outcomes is, we were paying attention to those student groups before, but we’re certainly paying lots more attention to them now to make sure that we’re closing those gaps in the moment that they need it and getting them back on track.”

Jameson said the constraints on in-person interactions during 2020-21 impacted students’ ability to learn using the normal techniques, such as teachers modeling how to move their mouth to make specific letter sounds.

“In 2021, kindergarten and first grade students are learning those early sounds— how to make them, what letters make what sounds, diagraphs, blends and all of that

stuff—it was modeled through a mask because everybody had to wear a mask at the time,” he said. “So that’s an example of how they would have been impacted. We actually saw in our early literacy assessment data that the kindergarteners especially lag behind in some of those early skills.”

The good news is that K-3 reading proficiency test scores are showing that students are bouncing back from the deficits. In 2018-19, 69.1% of K-3 students were at or above benchmark for early reading skills. That dropped to 63.1% in 2021, but was up to 70% in 2023.

“That’s an assessment where there’s an example that things have largely recovered back to pre-pandemic levels, and even starting to show an increase,” Jameson said. “In fact, that 70% in the spring of 2023 is the highest percentage of students at or above benchmark that we’ve had in the history of this assessment.”

Attendance

To reclaim academic gains, teachers and administrators are stressing to students and parents the importance of regular school attendance. However, the current and troubling attitudes toward attendance are another result of the pandemic, Godfrey said.

“For all of us, I think, during and after the pandemic, we started to evaluate whether we were going to show up in person for something, even though our whole lives we had assumed we had to,” Godfrey said. “School suddenly became a question. Are we going to be virtual today? Are we not virtual today? Church, for many people, went virtual. Family gatherings—there were virtual conversations with family. So, I think we got used to not always showing up, and it’s taken some time to rebuild that.”

In December, Godfrey reported to the board of education that the number of students who are considered chronically absent, with 18 or more days of missed classes in one school year, has increased.

Crosby said she has students in her class that have no consistent academic records because of chronic absenteeism over the past few years. They continue to miss class for

weeks at a time.

“We still are seeing things I think that are a result of COVID, just habits, and kids that we’ve just never gotten back,” Crosby said.

The average attendance rate for JSD students has decreased. In 2018, the average attendance rate was 90.9%. In 2020, when three months of the year were virtual, the rate was 93%. That fell to 91.7% in 2021, 88.9% in 2022 and 87.6% in 2023.

Jameson said the low attendance rates could be impacted by other variables, such as the availability of being able to complete classwork virtually.

“I think in people’s minds, it’s easier for them to make up assignments because it’s right there on Canvas, and so it’s actually a little bit easier to be absent,” he said. “But they sometimes don’t take into account the fact that it doesn’t compensate for the kind of instruction that they would receive in person in the classroom.”

Robinson suggests that the increase in absences could be a reflection of more students staying home when they are sick, which has become a more acceptable norm in the wake of the pandemic.

While attendance has not yet recovered from pandemic thinking, Godfrey remains optimistic.

“Our focus is on moving forward, helping students be at their best, and having a wide range of meaningful educational opportunities every day they come to school,” Godfrey said.

Innovation, mental health, academics and attendance are the main areas the pandemic has impacted education, but Emmer believes there could still be unknown repercussions.

“There probably are still impacts that we just don’t even know and won’t really know for quite a while, and what we’re figuring out is that we won’t really know until we’re there,” she said. “I think it’s just hard to say, ‘This is exactly because of COVID or this isn’t because of COVID’ because I just think, in general, education isn’t what it was before COVID. But it is more like it was.” l

The switch to virtual learning that was forced upon students and teachers in 2020 accelerated innovations in digital education tools and personalized learning opportunities. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

Virtual learning, what it looks like four years after COVID shutdown

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Four years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to switch to virtual instruction, teachers were left scrambling to adapt. In the wake of that experience, Jordan School District’s Administrator of Digital Teaching & Learning Ross Menlove helped piece together an online curriculum for the 2020-21 school year. What he and his colleagues learned from that experience, they applied to the development of the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy which opened for the 2021-22 school year.

“There was a lot of debate of whether or not [online learning] was good for kids and good for learning,” Menlove said. “And so one of my driving forces was, if we’re going to create an online program, let’s do something that’s good for kids and then we can prove it’s good for kids and produces good results. It was based on research and experience and just good teaching practices.”

Menlove felt strongly that the school model should include both customizable virtual instruction and interactive in-person learning opportunities.

“We came up with our own model based on the idea of providing students with some more activities that are hands-on,” Menlove said, who became the principal of the virtual academy’s elementary school, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary. “My goal as a principal is to make sure that kids have just as many as or more experiences with the different types of learning as they would in person.”

Rocky Peak Virtual Academy now has 260 K-6 students. The school day includes fun morning announcements with Principal Menlove, a daily minimum of four hours of live instruction with a teacher and classmates, and optional twice a week in-person sessions called Peak Time. Students attend Peak Time sessions at one of two locations, one at the north end of the district and one at the south end.

The purpose of Peak Time is to provide hands-on learning opportunities through art, movement and STEM activities. Students have access to a makerspace with a 3D printer, laser cutter, sewing machines and a wide array of art and crafting tools and supplies. They explore various art mediums and participate in games and physical activities. Students can also compete in STEM challenges, program robots or learn to sew.

“It’s really fun,” Menlove said. “And there’s no grades, there’s no homework, it’s just come and learn at your level.”

Peak Time also includes monthly field trips. This year, students have visited Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, Museum of Natural Curiosity, This is the Place Heritage Park, Natural History Museum of Utah and Hogle Zoo.

Menlove sometimes drives the bus for field trips, which provides more flexibility with time and budget. All grades are invited on every field trip, so students can go on up to seven field trips in one year.

West Jordan resident Jen Brown said Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary was her choice for her son Ryker over other online school options because of the in-person opportunities.

“I really like the fact that it’s more like a hybrid, so I can keep him home and then I can also send him to the school to do those extracurricular activity classes,” Brown said. “Peak Time offers a lot of fun and opportunities for the kids to be together and to socialize to do those activities.”

Ryker, a fourth grader, enjoys the Peak Time P.E. and art classes.

Cohen Barker, a second grader, likes that he gets to eat lunch with his classmates on Peak Time days. He also loves the hands-on activities.

“We made slime one time for science,” Cohen said.

Cohen’s mom, Kinsale Barker, a Herriman resident, said she loves the flexibility of the asynchronous option which allows her to do family activities during the day and to balance her daughter Chloe’s ballet class schedule with schoolwork. She said virtual school has been a better fit for her and her children than in-person school was.

“I love everything about it, I don’t think I’d ever go back,” Barker said. “The staff is incredible. I feel like the teachers and the staff all care so much about your kid and making sure that they’re where they should be and getting better at everything.”

Menlove said the school offers research-based curriculum, utilizes engaging activities and taps into the latest technology trends, but it’s the teachers that make it such an effective learning experience.

“Technology is great, but it’s the teachers who have the expertise, it’s the teachers who are the magic in the classroom,” Menlove said. “We wanted to highlight that as we built a program and so the curriculum teachers use, the way they deliver it, it’s designed and created by the teachers. We don’t buy anything premade. Ours is completely created and delivered by the teachers. It’s delivered live, so the teachers are the ones who can adjust as they go along. There’s a lot of creativity and innovation on the teachers’ part, and I believe that’s what makes a difference, is our teachers.”

Menlove said the smaller class sizes, the customizable content, the hybrid options and the technology are all what makes Rocky Peak Elementary a good fit for students with disabilities, anxiety, health concerns, for those who just need a different environment or who need a flexible schedule because of extracurricular activities or frequent travel.

“We know this school isn’t for everybody,” Menlove said. “But we do know that there are certain kids who this is what they need, and they love it, and they thrive on it, and parents love it, and this is the best learning environment for them.” l

Rocky Peak Elementary School students do creative hands-on arts and movement activities twice a week at Peak Time. (Photo courtesy of Ellery Goudy/Rocky Peak Elementary)

Peak Time Specialist Ame Jensen provides students and teachers with a hands-on experience with a large snake. (Photo courtesy of Ellery Goudy/Rocky Peak Elementary)

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Pair of Herriman wrestlers place at boys state wrestling tournament

By Josh McFadden

The collection of teams at the Class 6A state boys wrestling tournament, held Feb. 16–17 at Utah Valley University, was deep and talented. Overall as a team, Herriman didn’t have the firepower to move far up the standings. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some strong showings by Mustang competitors.

Herriman’s Macrae Parker, a 175-pound sophomore, had the top individual showing for the Mustangs. He entered the state tournament with an impressive 45-6 record in the regular season and was seeded third in Division B. Parker wound up taking third place in his weight class, defeating Jake Closson of Pleasant Grove in the third-place match 5-2.

Parker got off to a good start with a pair of wins in the tournament. First, he won by fall in just 1:23 in the opening round. This preceded a quarterfinals victory over Corner Canyon’s Caleb Robinson, 6-2. In the semifinals, with a bid to the championship on the line, he lost to Bingham’s Banks Love, the eventual champion, by fall in 3:18. However, Parker rebounded for a pair of wins in the consolation bracket to claim third place. Before the third-place match, he defeated Farmington’s Mason Kartchner 9-0 to stay alive in the tournament.

Herriman’s 165-pound wrestler also fared

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Ty Carman, a junior who was seeded second in Division A after a 27-11 season, took fourth in his weight class. Carman, like Parker, won his first two matches to advance to the semifinals. Carman began with wins of 15-2 and 7-5 over his opponents. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual champion Logan Hancey of Fremont 7-2.

From there, Carman regrouped with an 11-3 win in the consolation bracket to advance him to the third-place match. At that point, Davis’ Ryker Roundy edged him in a tough 2-1 contest. Carman finished the season with a record of 30-13.

Bradley Hyer, a 150-pound competitor, won a pair of consolation matches after a firstround loss. He went 37-14 on the year.

In all, 10 Mustangs qualified for the state tournament. In addition to Parker and Carman, seven wrestlers earned points for the team, which scored 43.5 points to finish 14th overall.

With Parker and Carman both returning next season, the Mustangs will look to be even better in 2024–25. Junior Luke Abercrombie (215 pounds) and freshman Dylan Starks (106) will also be back next season to bolster Herriman’s varsity lineup. l

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WOMeN’S SECTION

A publication covering local influential women in honor of International Women’s Day

Utah-educated doctor chosen to lead National Institutes of Health

By Mimi Darley Dutton | m.dutton@mycityjournals.com

For the first time, a University of Utah medical school graduate sits at the helm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2023. She is the second woman to serve as NIH Director since its inception in 1887 and the first surgeon in that role.

The NIH is located in Bethesda, Maryland and is comprised of 27 institutes and centers. The organization has a budget of more than $47 billion and serves as the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.

President Biden stated: “Dr. Bertagnolli has spent her career pioneering scientific discovery and pushing the boundaries of what is possible to improve cancer prevention and treatment for patients and ensuring that patients in every community have access to quality care. Dr. Bertagnolli is a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people.”

Bertagnolli first earned an engineering degree from Princeton University, then she attended and graduated from the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine in 1985. She was interested in immunology but discovered a different passion. “I signed up for surgery as my very first clinical rotation, just because I wanted to get it out of the way. I still vividly remember my first day in an operating room because I immediately knew that’s where I belonged,” she told the ASCO Post.

In more recent years, she served as chair of the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s External Advisory Board. Bertagnolli was previously a professor of surgery at Har-

vard Medical School and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She has been president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and leader of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.

Prior to her current role at the NIH, Dr. Bertagnolli was the first female director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a role she took in October 2022. NCI is a component of NIH. One month into her time at the NCI, a routine mammogram led to Bertagnolli being diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Since then, she has called herself a cancer survivor. “Fortunately, my prognosis is excellent. And this is due to NIH-funded research over the last several decades. And the many women who participated in clinical trials before me,” she said.

Her upbringing on a ranch in rural Wyoming as the daughter of first-generation immigrants has shaped her professional approach by providing an understanding of the medical challenges rural communities experience. An NIH press release said, “Equity is a core value that drives all her efforts, which includes ensuring NIH research is equitable and accessible to all people from all walks of life regardless of income or zip code.”

Huntsman Cancer Institute CEO Mary Beckerle, who has known Bertagnolli almost since her Utah med school days, compares her to the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who also grew up on a ranch: A “bundle of wit, resilience, and can-do spirit,” Beckerle said in Science magazine, December 2023 edition.

Beyond being a cancer surgeon for more than 35 years, her research has

DR. MONICA BERTAGNOLLI is a 1985 graduate of the University of Utah medical school. She served on an advisory board for the Huntsman Cancer Institute and was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which is made up of 27 institutes and centers for biomedical research.

focused on the genetic mutations that lead to gastrointestinal cancer and how inflammation stimulates cancer growth. In her current role, she hopes to leverage commonalities such as how inflammation causes cancer but is also a component of Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disorders, arthritis, Long COVID and other diseases.

In 2023, she was named one of the 100 Influential Women in Oncology by Onco Daily.

Bertagnolli said in a December 2022 NCI statement, “Having been an oncologist my entire career, it was always—and still is—all about the patients and survivors. It’s one thing to know about cancer as a physician, but it is another to experience it firsthand as a patient as well. To anyone with cancer today: I am truly in this together with you.” l

Photo credit: Chia-Chi Charlie Chang/NIH

‘Look Good, Feel Good’ conference focuses on inclusion for Pacific Islander women

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

The inaugural “Look Good, Feel Good” conference, held in February at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy, was organized to empower Pacific Islander women in Utah. In partnership with the Creative Pacific Foundation, the Women’s Executive Alliance held the event to celebrate women of the PI community through education and connection.

La Wolfgramm serves as president of the WEA, the women in business arm of the Utah Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce, that just celebrated its first anniversary. As the owner of Pasifika Kitchen, Wolfgramm wanted to bring women together and provide a fun environment where they could learn about holistic empowerment, covering physical and mental health, hair and fashion.

“We started WEA because we felt that there was nothing out there for PI women,” she said. “I wanted our PI women to see that there’s someone that looks like them, that talks like them and walks like them. It’s a comfort thing to know they can come in, and if they want to, they can start a business.”

The “Look Good, Feel Good” event marked the first time Utah PI experts in food, health, entertainment and fashion joined together in one place to offer support and information.

Guest speakers included Aveda beauty and hair expert Ben Powell, “Project Runway” designer Afa Ah Loo, mental health expert Celia Moleni (owner of Manaaki Mental Health) and wellness expert Alex Millions, RN, (owner of ModeRN Hydraesthetics). The conference ended with a keynote address from Sui Lang L. Panoke, senior vice president of culture at Zions Bank.

In addition to workshops, the event featured a DJ, a 360-degree photo booth, catered food and mocktails.

Analei Samasei’a serves on the WEA board of directors. She wants PI women to understand that they belong in these spaces and that what they contribute to the community has value.

“A lot of our women are caretakers. They stay home with their families, they take care of their aunties or uncles or mothers or fathers. That’s what we inherently do in our culture,” Samasei’a said. “So they’re not always available to go to these types of events, nor do they have accessibility. But now, we have all these experts here in the room. They were all mingling together and asking questions.”

Partnering with Creative Pacific allowed WEA to host the “Look Good, Feel Good” conference with a focus on inclusion while

strengthening bonds between PI women. Creative Pacific is a nonprofit that celebrates cultural diversity.

For information about WEA and the Utah Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce visit

Upichamber.org. To learn about Creative Pacific, visit CreativePacific.org.

“We had a mental health expert who walked us through some exercises to connect back to ourselves and understand the sensations we were feeling and how

our thoughts determine actions. It was like a good therapy session,” Samasei’a said. “And so it unified everybody in that room. We’ve all shared this experience together, and now we can talk about it to our friends.” l

“PROJECT RUNWAY” designer Afa Ah Loo talks to Pacific Islander women about fashion at the “Look Good, Feel Good” conference.

City Journals

MORE THAN 70 WOMEN attended the first “Look Good, Feel Good” conference for Pacific Islander women at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy. The event celebrated women of the PI community.

City Journals

LA WOLFGRAMM is president of the Women’s Executive Alliance, the women in business branch of the Utah Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce.

City Journals

Salt Lake Community College President Deneece Huftalin leaves behind a legacy of student-centered leadership

By Rachel Aubrey | r.aubrey@mycityjournals.com

For more than 30 years Deneece Huftalin has been a student-focused leader at Salt Lake Community College serving in various capacities within administration. What began in September 2014, when she became president of SLCC, will come to a conclusion in June of this year as Huftalin officially retires. She will have been the longest serving female president within the Utah System of Higher Education.

With the most diverse student body in the state, Huftalin said she always aimed to keep true the SLCC mission “[to] engage and support students in educational pathways leading to successful transfer and meaningful employment.”

To “support students” is something that she spent her career being focused on.

A Salt Lake City native, and a University of Utah graduate, Huftalin spent some time outside of Utah on various higher education campuses including Northwestern University, Stanford University and University of California, Los Angeles. But it was a job at Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois that helped open her eyes to the community college system.

“I worked in orientation, but they considered their student affairs people faculty, which was a really cool model,” Huftalin said. “I was able to teach a little and serve on the college senate, but also have kind of a staff role.”

That position at Harper, although brief, left an impression. As Huftalin found herself back in Utah, returning so her husband could take a job opportunity, she found herself looking for work again on another college campus.

“There’s something [magical] about campuses,” Huftalin said. “People are thinking, discovering, laughing, having fun and testing waters, and it’s a good place to be.”

As Salt Lake Community College was booming with growth and expansion in the early 1990s, Huftalin realized that her time at Harper’s gave her a bit of competitive edge when it came time to apply for positions at SLCC. She began her tenure as the director of academic and career advising in 1992.

“I always feel fortunate that Harper College gave me a little bit of knowledge and a kind of step into a community college role,” Huftalin said.

That first role led to her eventual “dream job” in the mid-1990s, as the dean

of students. Being involved with students was always where she saw herself.

“I just love being with students,” said Huftalin said.

Over the years, colleagues took notice of that student-centered persona. Alison McFarlane, who became the Vice President of Institutional Advancement in 2012, worked closely with Huftalin, who was the Vice President of Student Services at that time.

“Deneece is the most student-focused leader I could have possibly imaged,” McFarlane said. “You always hear about Deneece being the voice for students.”

Cassidy Behling has been the Administrative Assistant to the President for the last 10 years, and has watched as Huftalin, who often gets pulled in so many different directions, has been able to focus on what truly matters in higher education.

“Her care and concern for her students is always her guiding force,” Behling said.

Huftalin admitted that she worries

about current and future students and how heavy the world is on them, especially when it comes to mental health.

“It takes a lot to break through and come and be courageous and learn and try something new,” Huftalin said.

Despite never seeing herself in the role of president of SLCC, Huftalin said that being in leadership roles has allowed her to model behavior that she has witnessed over the years. Throughout her career, she was able to be a part of women-led communities, allowing for the formation of friendships and connections.

“Younger women are experiencing things differently than I ever have,” Huftalin said. “But I do think there’s some continuity of support…and having lived longer and navigated different things, I can give advice and support or encouragement.”

While in office, Huftalin realized several goals such as, but not limited to, the addition of the Westpointe Workforce Training and Education Center in Salt Lake City and

the Juniper Building in Herriman which has increased geographical access to classes and the Open Education Resources (OER) initiative that allows students access to public domain textbooks for general education courses.

According to McFarlane, who retired in October 2023, one of the many ways that Huftalin has been able to accomplish these goals is because she is a “connector” of people and ideas, fostering collaboration within the college and the surrounding communities.

“When she sees opportunities, she’s very [eager] to give them to other people,” McFarlane said.

Those connections have led to great relationships with students, faculty and staff, and Huftalin said she will miss those the most after retirement.

“…Those relationships are hard to step away from,” Huftalin said. “Because they’ve just meant so much.” l

DENEECE HUFTALIN has been president of Salt Lake Community College since 2014 and when she retires in June, she will have been the longest serving female president within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).

Photo courtesy of Salt Lake Community College

Educators try something new for Health and Wellness Day

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Jordan District employees spent Health and Wellness Day, held Feb. 9, playing cornhole, bowling, meditating, painting, playing pickleball and learning to make pasta and sourdough bread.

“We wanted Wellness Day to be a unique opportunity to get experiences with trying new things that promote long-term wellness,” Jordan District Health and Wellness Program Administrator Dr. McKinley Withers said. “Because having that little extra time and space in your life to do something maybe a little bit different can set you up for regular ritual or routine over time that will really benefit your wellness. Wellness is not a one-day event.”

This year’s offerings encouraged employees to try new things, like making homemade pasta and sourdough bread or learning self-defense techniques.

Elk Ridge Middle School Registrar Corinna Magleby tried out the meditative sound bath experience.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was delightful and incredibly relaxing,” she said. “It contributed to my wellness that day and also opened my eyes to an experience that I will choose to participate in again.”

Magleby also attended a watercolor painting class, as did 249 other JSD employ-

selor, attended the painting class to explore it as a possible new hobby. As a beginner, initially she was caught up in trying to get her painting to look right, but then she began to relax and just enjoy being with her colleagues.

“This was more of art therapy and just enjoying the process,” she said. “It was so fun and just great to be able to get out of our building and experience things and have the opportunities to feed our souls.”

She said the experience of trying something new gives her empathy for students.

“We challenge students to do new things all the time and as an adult I don’t feel like I do that,” Huefner said.

Jordan District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey said Health and Wellness Day is a reminder to take time to focus on personal wellness.

ees, to be instructed by world-renowned artist Al Rounds.

Rounds normally doesn’t do big events but he made an exception.

“I agreed to do it because they’re teach-

ers and because I love teachers,” Rounds said, who credits his high school English teacher for believing in him and pushing him to pursue art as a career.

Alishia Huefner, a middle school coun-

“It’s a demanding profession, and there really isn’t as much time as we need to do the job,” he said. “So when you’re short on time, sometimes the shortcut you take is in taking care of yourself. This is a chance to stop and focus on ourselves, and for families to focus on themselves, and be able to be at our best for each other.”

This was the third annual Health and Wellness Day which was organized in re-

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Jordan School District employees were given opportunities to develop new skills and hobbies, like making pasta, to benefit their mental wellness. (Doug Flaglar/Jordan School District)

sponse to mental health concerns exacerbated by the pandemic and to promote suicide prevention awareness. This year’s Wellness Day also included a health fair and health screenings. JSD employees participated in a wellness challenge to win prizes for integrating wellness practices into their daily routines. Students were provided with wellness activity ideas for themselves and for their families.

“Our goal is to promote health and wellness with families and employees in a way that will be sustainable throughout the year,” Godfrey said. “We’ve sent out ideas for increasing and maintaining health and wellness throughout the year. So this is a day to raise awareness. It’s a day to recharge. It’s a day to

connect with each other. But it’s also a day to remind us of how important it is to continually work on our health and wellness.”

Godfrey, who participated in the cornhole tournament sponsored by Scheels, said there were more activities and discounts provided for this year’s event, thanks to the hard work of the health and wellness team and support from local businesses, including Swig, Holiday Oil, A Great Escape, Ahhhsome Relaxation Spa, Orangetheory Fitness, Delton Lanes, Club Pickleball USA, The Pickler, Jazzercise, HITFIT Gym, Get Away Today, Burn Boot Camp, F45 South Valley, Sköl Crossfit, Kayfabe Cards, Pure Spirit Healing, Beehive Meals, Khorasan Mills, Blomquist Hale and Scheels. l

Larkin Mortuary is one of the most respected funeral homes in the Salt Lake Valley. Its pioneer founder, George William Larkin, arrived in Utah in 1863, having emigrated from Cambridge, England. He started the Larkin tradition of arranging funerals in 1885. Today, with seven generations of history serving Utah families, four mortuaries, cremation facilities and two cemeteries, Larkin Mortuary remains locally family owned and managed.

Larkin’s vertically integrated services also provide a premier floral shop, monument, urn and vault manufacturing facilities, along with beautiful memorial meeting and luncheon facilities. Multilingual staff honor and facilitate important traditions of many cultures.

Local artist Al Rounds helps educators learn watercolor techniques as part of Health and Wellness Day 2024. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

Multiple sessions of yoga and meditation were offered to Jordan School District employees for this year’s Health and Wellness Day. (Doug Flaglar/Jordan School District)

Chinese New Year festival at Herriman High celebrates language and culture

By Elisa Eames | e.eames@mycityjournals.com

Red paper lanterns hung from the ceilings of Herriman High School while posters, fans and dragons festooned its walls and pillars. On Feb. 8, the school hosted the 3rd Annual Community Chinese New Year Celebration, which was a labor of love for several schools involved in Chinese language programs in the state.

“This event… provide[d] a panoramic view of the Chinese program in… Utah,” said Kimberly Chen-Pace, who teaches Chinese at HHS. She is also involved with the Chinese Dual Language Immersion program and the University of Utah Chinese Bridge Program, which allows qualifying high school students to concurrently enroll in college courses.

Kicking off the year of the dragon, the event was free of charge, open to anyone and featured a variety of cultural activities, photo opportunities, student-created educational displays, Chinese food vendors, performances and even games for children. Near the entrance stood a cherry blossom wishing tree made of paper and other materials. Visitors were encouraged to write their wishes down and attach them to the tree.

Led by students, faculty and special invited guests dressed in traditional Chinese attire, activities included paper folding, crafts, beginning and advanced chopstick instruction, calligraphy and Chinese board games. Attendees who wanted to try their hands at playing the Chinese fiddle, called an erhu, were able to cross that off their bucket lists, and those interested in acupuncture or martial arts met with a specialist.

“[The] Chinese New Year Celebration event provides students and the community a first-hand experience to immerse in Chinese culture,” Chen-Pace said.

In addition to HHS, other schools partic-

ipating in the Chinese DLI and Bridge Programs include Eastlake Elementary, Mountain Creek Middle School and Bingham High School. Many DLI and Bridge enrollees began studying Chinese as early as first grade. Born in China, DLI student and U of U Chinese Bridge Program enrollee Jingxi Huang explained that to participate in the Bridge Program, students must pass both the advanced placement class and the advanced placement test in Mandarin Chinese. U of U professors come to HHS to instruct advanced students. “The program has some pretty cool opportunities,” Huang said.

Kingston Scott, one of Huang’s class partners, showed off a mask that was part of the group’s display, remarking that masks like it are worn during performances of the Sichuan Opera in China. “The colors have different meanings,” he said. “Performers hide their faces for half a second, and then they have a completely different mask on. There is a technique to learning this.”

Proudly standing by their Chinese history display were Herriman High students Jack Beckstram, Austin Schindewolf, Jordan Hamilton and his brother, Logan Hamilton. “The first emperor of China was Emperor Qin (pronounced Cheen). He united all of China, and when he died, he wanted protection in the afterlife,” Jordan Hamilton said. “So before he died, he commissioned thousands of statues made of terracotta to protect him. But he hid them and had anyone involved killed, so no one knew where they were.” Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi ruled from 259 to 210 BCE, and it wasn’t until 1974 that the missing life-sized statues were finally happened upon by a farmer digging a well. Despite the large number of figures that were made—over 8,000—each is unique with distinct facial features and characteristics.

Soon, it was time for the performances to

begin. The first one of the evening was the Chinese Dragon Dance; dragons symbolize wisdom, power, dignity, fertility and success, and the dance is an important part of new year’s celebrations. Each holding aloft a section of a winding dragon, dancers snaked through the audience in the packed auditorium, which was also decked out with hanging lanterns and illuminated by the soft glow of red house lights.

The evening’s scheduled program went on to include the Ribbon Dance, various other dances and musical and vocal performances. There was also a screening of a student-made film—completely in Chinese (with English subtitles)—which explored the often discouraging experiences of the 20,000 Chinese immigrants who worked on the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s; many of these immigrants

worked so they could send money back to their families in China. During a song called “The Moon Represents My Heart,” performed by the Herriman High Orchestra, audience members turned on the flashlights on their phones and began waving the lights.

A highlight of the evening’s impressive festivities showcased the abilities of the students themselves. Students from each grade, first through 12th, stood on the auditorium stage and introduced themselves to the audience—all in Chinese. They explained what they had been learning in their classes about Chinese history and culture and commented on what they found most interesting. Noticeably absent from each student’s hands—even the youngest—were any notes or prompts.

Third grader Lucy from Eastlake Elementary said enthusiastically, “I think Chinese sounds really cool. I am able to read books in Chinese in school.”

Kimberly Chen-Pace facilitates the Chinese DLI and Chinese Bridge Programs at HHS. (Jordan School District)

Masks like this are worn by performers in the Sichuan Opera. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

From left to right, former DLI and Bridge students Emma Cunningham, Jackson Osmond, Caleb Booth, Rose Holden, Daniel Covington, Cecilie Thomas and Carly Pace attended the celebration to share their experiences. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Students Paige Wursten and Rebekah Lin were available for photo ops at the celebration. (Elisa Eames/ City Journals)

Herriman 12th grader Austin said, “My favorite part about being in Chinese class is learning to understand different cultures and being able to communicate with people from around the globe.”

Former DLI and Bridge Program students currently attending the University of Utah, Utah State University and Brigham Young University also attended and shared their experiences and how learning Chinese has helped them.

“I’ve been learning Chinese since the first grade, and I always wanted to use Chinese in the future,” said Cecilie Thomas, who attended Riverton High School and is now a U of U student. “I got called on a [religious] mission to Taiwan, and I want to teach Chinese when I get back. I want to teach Chinese at a preschool.”

Daniel Covington graduated from the Northern Utah Academy of Mathematics, Engineering, and Science, and now attends the U of U. He believes that learning Chinese has helped him be more accepting of others.

“It’s really important to be multicultural, see different points of view, and to be less judgmental about other cultures,” he said. “It’s an important principle of anthropology to not just have an ethnocentric point of view but to just accept.”

A music lover as well as a Sinophile, Taylorsville High graduate Caleb Booth began playing the piano when he was just 3 and also began studying Chinese in first grade. He de-

cided he wanted to combine his two loves.

“I realized that Chinese music is a thing, and I can educate people in high school and college and spread awareness of the culture,” the current U of U student said enthusiastically. “Chinese music is becoming lost. A lot of it is westernized, and lots of teachers are afraid to approach Chinese pieces because they don’t know where to start.”

The culmination of the entire celebration was the traditional Chinese Lion Dance. As per custom, the lion was fed real lettuce for luck and then spit it back out, symbolizing the spread of wealth and prosperity to onlookers. Beginning onstage, two masked dancers moved alongside a red lion and an orange lion to the beat of drums behind them. Each lion was comprised of two dancers, and like the Dragon Dance, it wasn’t long before both lions and dancers were moving through the aisles of the auditorium.

Following the Lion Dance, the final performance of the evening included a traditional Chinese New Year song wishing others happiness and prosperity, entitled the “Gong Xi Song.” In an expression of what the DLI and Bridge Programs mean to them, students in the audience happily joined those onstage in singing the song.

Chen-Pace thanked audience members for their support of the language programs. “The goal is to spread the beauty of Chinese culture and language.” l

From left to right, Chinese language students Tyson Do, Kingston Scott and Jingxi Huang pose in front of their display. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Acupuncturist and martial artist Tyehao Lu shows off his acupuncture model. (Elisa Eames/ City Journals)

Calligraphers write the names of guests in Chinese. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Musician Yu-Feng Huang gave guests the chance to play an erhu. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Dancers perform the Ribbon Dance. (Elisa Eames/ City Journals)

During the Dragon Dance, the dragon moved through the audience. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

The Lion Dance continues behind lettuce the lions spit onstage while students sing the “Gong Xi Song” together. (Elisa Eames/City Journals)

Mountain Ridge boys wrestlers show well at state tournament

Kleimann wins title

Mountain Ridge junior Layne Kleimann put a nice finishing touch on his season with a dominant performance at the Class 6A state wrestling tournament. Kleimann, who went 45-4 during the regular season, won the title in the 138-weight class at the championships, held Feb. 16–17 at Utah Valley University.

Kleimann was ranked No. 1 in his weight class coming into the tournament, and he didn’t disappoint. He won in the first round by fall in 1:54 and then pinned his quarterfinals opponent in just 35 seconds. His semifinals opponent, Jace Lemons of Layton, was his toughest matchup at state. Kleimann prevailed, however, 16-4. In the championship round against Jason Worthley of Fremont, Kleimann secured the state title and top spot in his weight by winning 12-0.

The Mountain Ridge boys wrestling team nearly cracked triple digits in points at the Class 6A state wrestling tournament, earning the Sentinels sixth place overall.

Mountain Ridge scored 99 points as a team, just 1.5 points away from

reaching the top five. The Sentinels were 2.5 points ahead of seventh-place Davis at state. The two-day event, comprising the state’s top wrestlers, featured a competitive, deep field in which the Sentinels equipped themselves well.

Last season, Mountain Ridge placed fifth in 6A.

This time around, the Sentinels sent 13 wrestlers to the tournament, with 12 of them winning at least one match to score points for the team.

In the 150-pound class, junior Coen Maxwell placed fifth. He won his first match by fall in 2:45. Then, after losing in the quarterfinals, he advanced in the consolation bracket with a pair of wins. He came up short in a bid to get to the third-place match but then defeated Treyson Hunt of Fremont in the fifth-sixth match by the score of 10-8.

Preston Stevens finished third in the 157-pound class. The senior was seeded No. 1 after a 34-9 record during the regular season. Stevens won his first two matches by fall in 2:41 and 2:47, respectively. After a tough loss in the semifinals by a 5-2 decision,

By Josh McFadden

Stevens rebounded with 7-5 and 7-4 victories to capture third place. Incidentally, his victory in the third-place match came against teammate Hayden Johnson. Johnson, who was 6-7 in the regular season, lost his first match but caught fire in the consolation round with four wins in a row before losing to Stevens.

In the 190-pound division, Mountain Ridge’s Jayce Wilbon came in sixth. The senior was 27-16 during the regular season and got the fifth seed in Division B. He won his first match 6-4 before a quarterfinals loss by fall in 2:27. However, Wilbon won two matches in the consolation bracket to advance, eventually losing in the fifthsixth matchup 8-4.

Another sixth-place finisher was junior Jackson Olsen. The 215-pound competitor was 21-12 coming into the tournament. He won 4-3 in round one before falling in the quarterfinals. Olsen then scored back-to-back wins, which preceded a pair of losses, including a 12-5 defeat in the fifth-sixth match. l

Treatment Resistant Depression

Layne Kleimann won the 138-weight state title. (Courtesy Mitchell Stevens)

Ohana means unity for Oak Leaf Elementary families

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

It was cold and rainy on the night of Jan. 25, but inside Oak Leaf Elementary School, families basked in the warmth of family, friends and Hawaiian-themed games, crafts and treats.

The Hawaiian word ‘ohana’ was chosen as this year’s school theme to help unify students and families for Oak Leaf Elementary’s second year.

“Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind,” Principal Ronna Hoffman said. “This ‘ohana’’ theme has been fun this year as we’ve talked about being inclusive with our Oak Leaf ohana/family.”

Every school event this year has tied into the ohana theme, from the bubble run fundraiser to Hawaiian dress up days during Spirit Week, to snow cones and Hawaiian-themed swag for contest prizes.

“We’re really just trying to focus in on that family and inclusivity we have,” PTA Secretary Kaily White said. “When the school opened up, it fed in from three different schools, so we’re really just trying to create that sense of community.”

The purpose of the Luau Night was for staff members, students and their families to have fun together. Families watched a movie, played games, made crafts and learned to hula hoop and limbo. Third-grader Jaxon Briscoe loved the free-play in the STEM room. His

mom, Ami, said the PTA events are always fun and well-run.

“They do quite a few family events, and the PTA does a lot to support the students and teachers,” Briscoe said. “Everything is very welcoming.”

Sixth-grader Mallory Bsharah said she and her family came to Luau Night to have fun and to taste the Hawaiian themed floats and tiki popcorn the PTA members had been preparing

all day.

“I smelled them cooking it while I was in class,” Mallory said.

Her father, Perry Bsharah, said PTA events like Luau Night provide a much-needed opportunity for parents to connect.

“This allows parents to interact and provides a sense of community,” Bsharah said.

White said a lot of work goes into planning and running the PTA events but that it is

worth it when there is a great turnout.

“We have experienced wonderful support from our community; when we post activities, people just show up, and we really love and appreciate that,” White said.

She said the kids are thrilled to bring their parents to the school to meet their teachers.

“I think having an opportunity for a student to share the place that they’re at for seven hours a day and the teacher that they spend so much of their time with—the students get so excited,” she said. “They say, ‘I can’t wait to bring my mom to meet my friends’ and ‘I can’t wait to bring my dad to meet my teachers.’ It’s just such a special way of bringing people together where there’s no pressure, there’s no agenda, we just want to get together and hang out and have an opportunity to get to know each other.”

Oak Leaf Elementary has just over 500 students and will continue to grow as the surrounding neighborhoods are developed.

White said in addition to the support from parents, the school staff has also been supportive, especially Hoffman.

“I just cannot say enough good things about her and how wonderful she is,” she said. “I think she is one of the reasons why the school is just such a wonderful place.” l

The Bsharah family makes leis for Oak Leaf Elementary School’s Family Luau Night. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

AI provides real-life experiences in the classroom

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Editor’s note: this is part of a series of articles about artificial intelligence in schools.

AItools in the classroom immerse students in historical context, help them realize real-world applications for math skills and provide them the freedom to demonstrate what they’ve learned in creative ways that develop their skills and interests.

Jordan School District teachers are encouraged to utilize AI tools such as Canva, Adobe Suite and SchoolAI.

“It’s been exciting to see so many teachers jump on board, learn more and start to use AI for themselves and to help their students,” Jordan School District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey said.

Godfrey experienced for himself an AI-augmented history lesson created by a JSD teacher. In a choose-your-own adventure activity, he experienced being a soldier in the Revolutionary War and then an explorer on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

“I had to make decisions about whether to camp for the night, where to travel next, how to avoid dangers, and as a result, it really pulled me into that experience in a way that no other tool could have,” he said. “The interactive nature of it, the immersive nature of that learning is something that we’ve only begun to explore.”

JSD Digital Learning Specialist Kasey Chambers helps teachers find and utilize digital tools to enhance their lessons and engage students. One popular activity called ‘chat with a historical figure’ brings people like Abraham Lincoln or Rosa Parks to life through an AI-generated interaction which responds realistically to students’ questions and comments. Some teachers use this activity as part of the research process.

“Students research a historical figure, plan questions to ask and then chat with the historical figure,” Chambers said.

Another AI interaction teachers are using to help students understand a historical event is to have the student and the AI both write an essay with opposing perspectives of an event. Then the students compare and contrast the points in both essays.

AI activities are also being used in math classes to bring the equations off the page and into the real-world.

An interactive AI activity gamified math skills practice for a sixth-grade class. Students were motivated to calculate the ratios for ingredients to formulate a potion to save a wizard.

One instructor reached out to district math specialist Amy Kinder to collaborate on an engaging exercise to allow students to practice on-the-job math skills in a medical assisting class.

“We decided to use AI to help us plan so that we could make a strong lesson,” Kinder

said. “It was quick and easy to set up.”

Instead of converting fractions to decimals and ounces into milliliters on a worksheet, the students worked through real-world scenarios, such as calculating medication dosages for a specific patient. The AI responded to the students’ actions, adjusting follow-up scenarios based on the student’s responses, providing more examples if the student had calculated inaccurately or increasing the complexity of the tasks if they demonstrated understanding.

The exercise took just 15 minutes of class time; however the majority of the students accessed the activity again on their own time.

“About 70% of them went home and practiced more,” Kinder said. “They chose to practice on their own when they didn’t have to so that they were prepared for the assessment. I think they really liked the instantaneous feedback that they were getting.”

The JSD math department team is still figuring out how AI can best be applied in the math curriculum. Kinder said as math instruction moves to rich problem-solving and real-word applications, AI can provide engaging math skills practice.

“We want to make sure that we’re doing real-world math that makes sense to kids, and not just teaching them steps,” Kinder said.

One area of education in which AI shines is in allowing students more ways to demonstrate their understanding of concepts and mastery of skills. Instead of answering comprehension questions from a story they read, students can use image creation tools to produce a digital visualization of the characters, setting and plot points to demonstrate they understood what they read.

Chambers said AI can add a fun twist to a common critical thinking exercise teachers use called Think-Pair-Share, in which students think about what they’ve learned, discuss it with a partner and then share their ideas with the class. Adding a step for students to bounce their ideas off a chatbot helps them develop their ideas further, Chambers said.

West Jordan Middle School teacher Dan Clark believes AI will be part of future jobs and that by learning to use AI tools in school for creative problem solving and collaboration, students will become more employable.

“It’s more about interacting with people, creative creation and skill building,” he said. “I think ultimately what we want them to do is to be able to interface with those models, but then create something beyond that.”

He said having AI tools available to him and his students has changed the way he assesses his students.

“Instead of a multiple-choice vocab quiz, what I’m asking them to do is to create something, like an infographic, that shows their knowledge rather than just test them on memorization skills,” he said. “A student

might want to show their knowledge in several different ways, so if you can be clear to students what you expect, and then allow them to show their knowledge in any way, they can pick through Adobe Suite or Canva or create a video or podcast. They’re learning skills that are not going to be replaced by AI.”

Jordan District’s Digital Learning Department regularly shares tips and tricks for teachers on social media to get them excited about the technology tools available to them. They also provide large group and customized small group trainings on using AI tools.

“The majority of teachers that come to our trainings, that see how it works and have

those demonstrations, they are so excited,” Chambers said. “The response we’ve had is just full positivity, full excitement.”

Chambers said it doesn’t take long for teachers to learn to create and implement AI activities based on their teaching goals while ensuring students have accountability for their own learning. She emphasizes that AI is a tool, not a replacement for a good lesson plan.

“One thing I have been doing is trying to help teachers understand that AI is a tool within the learning process, not the entire process,” she said. l

An example of an AI interactive classroom activity. (SchoolAI screenshot courtesy of Kasey Chambers) Students can have an interactive chat with historical figures in SchoolAI. (SchoolAI screenshot courtesy of Kasey Chambers)

Top spellers to compete at the Greater Northern Utah Spelling Bee

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

More than 100 schools will be represented at the Greater Northern Utah Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 23 at 9 a.m. at Wasatch Jr. High in Millcreek (3750 S. 3100 East). Sponsored by the City Journals community newspapers, the winner of the event will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.

Each school can send up to two spelling representatives to compete at the Utah bee. Students will complete a written test before the competition and everyone will have the chance to spell one word on the stage. After the first round, the top spellers will be announced and they will compete for the state championship.

“The spelling bee is a foundation of the building blocks of education,” said Elizabeth Sweat, people leader at the City Journals. “It teaches children the importance of hard work, language skills and aiming for the best. It helps them become strong thinkers, ready to create a better tomorrow.”

The City Journals has hosted the regional spelling bee since 2014 and pays for the trip to Washington, D.C. for the winner and one parent. This year, Planet Tooth Pe-

diatric Dentistry in West Valley will provide funds to ensure a second speller can also attend the national bee.

Last year’s winner, Surya Kapu, competed at the national event, finishing tied for third place. It was the third time the South Jordan resident had competed at that level. Surya won the regional bee four times but didn’t attend the Scripps event one year because of COVID. This year, he is too old to compete, so there will be a new champion crowned.

City Journals publisher Bryan Scott is adamant about hosting the event each year and giving students the opportunity to shine.

“To me, children are synonymous with our future and our community,” Scott said. “Any time we get to celebrate a child is awesome. For some of these spellers, this may be the only time in their life where they are on a stage. Those few moments make all the difference.”

To support the regional spelling bee and competitors, donate with the QR code. Help send the champion to Washington, D.C. to complete at the national level. l

design called Panda Home and see the motifs that tell the story of Panda Express.

Susan

The City Journals sent South Jordan resident Surya Kapu to Washington, D.C. last year to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This year’s regional bee will be held on Saturday, March 23. (Photo courtesy of Udaya Kapu)

As I’ve gotten older (but never wiser), I expected the hot flashes, mood swings and irritability. What I didn’t expect was that my age would turn my hair into a mortal enemy. Each morning, I stare in the mirror and prepare for what feels like a battle to the death.

If the indignity of having my face turn a heat-blasting shade of scarlet at any given moment wasn’t enough, I suddenly developed cowlicks along my hairline, giving my head the appearance of constant swirling, like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” My hair suddenly changed directions and refused to be bullied into lying flat.

In fairness, my hair and I have been through some stuff. We endured the spongy, pink curlers mom twisted onto my head every Saturday night. We survived my feathery Farrah Fawcett era, the spiral perms, the lemon bleaching in the summer, the sky-high bangs of the ’80s and a decade of nothing but ponytails when my daughters were little.

Maybe my hair never forgave me because now there is no amount of styling products or heated irons that make my hair manageable. It usually looks like newlywed hawks nested on my head to raise their young.

After another morning struggling to arrange my hair in some semblance of

Peri Kinder

Life and Laughter

Letting my hair down

control, I threw my hair straightener down the hall and burst into tears. My husband walked out of his office and asked what was wrong. I pointed at my head and kept bawling.

“I don’t care if your hair looks like a tornado emoji,” he said. “You’re always beautiful to me.”

“I don’t want to be beautiful to you,” I sobbed. “I want to be beautiful to complete strangers.”

He doesn’t get it. Men can be bald or gray or have a comb-over or just a Van Dyke beard and they’ll still be considered handsome, even distinguished. But if a woman can’t style her hair using a tube sock, a bottle of mousse and a barrette, the TikTok police jump out of nowhere and create harsh videos for public shaming.

But it’s not just the random cowlicks that give my scalp the appearance of a tropical storm weather map, it’s the breakage and the sensitive scalp and the way my

hair just refuses to comply. My hair breaks so often, it looks like my stylist started to give me a bowl cut and then got bored after trimming the first layer.

I’ve invested in expensive shampoos and luxury leave-in conditioners with no effect. My hair just twirls insolently from my head. I purchased soft brushes and vitamin supplements and I paid someone good money to rub my scalp for 45 minutes. The pampering hasn’t paid off.

There’s no such thing as “styling” my hair. I have to distract it, wrestle it into place, staple it down and spray it with a light coat of cement. It doesn’t matter.

Within minutes it’s spinning around my face like it drank too many mimosas for breakfast.

Maybe the lack of compliance is the reason many older women end up cutting their hair into cute pixie styles, easy crops or elegant bobs. But my face is too round for a short haircut. I end up looking like a basketball wearing a toupee.

I hope at some point my hair and I can become friends again. Between my mood swings and hot flashes, I don’t have the patience to be irritated at one more thing.