– May 8, 2008–
IPM STAR Certification
The Salt Lake City School District has been awarded the North American IPM Institute's highest award of STAR Certification. This certification is only awarded to districts that have met the highest IPM standards of performance. Only 25 school districts in the United States have achieved this distinction.
The Salt Lake City School District earned IPM STAR certification after passing a rigorous, 37-point inspection. IPM STAR evaluates school systems and childcare centers for Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, a common sense approach to solving pest problems with a minimum amount of pesticide use. In Salt Lake City School District, both pesticide applications and pest complaints have dropped by over 90% since the program began three years ago.
“The IPM training we’ve put in place for our custodial, maintenance, and food service staff has resulted in not only better pest awareness and control but cleaner, safer, and healthier schools all around,” said Gregg Smith, Director of Facility Services.
Kudos
Congratulations to Paul Schulte, Principal, Highland High School. He is a 2008 Huntsman Award winner. The surprise announcement was made during an impromptu meeting in Schulte's office. More information on Schulte and his award will be coming in the local newspapers.
On Saturday, April 12, 2008, Kathleen Christy received the University of Utah's Department of Educational Leadership and Policy 2008 Distinguished Practioner's Award. She was recognized for outstanding educational leadership, devotion to educational improvement, and extraordinary commitment to educational excellence and equality in the State of Utah.
West High teacher Julie Adams was selected as the Outstanding School Teacher for 2008 by the University of Utah College of Education. The University of Utah and the College of Education established this award to recognize the important role elementary and secondary school teachers play in influencing students' educational aspirations beyond high school.
Walk on the Wild Side!
On May 16, at 6:30 PM, a reception at Hogle Zoo will open "Walk on the Wild Side," a show of Salt Lake District student art resulting from a year of study and planning. Students combined their studies of animals with service to the community resulting in projects such as “Koins for Kenya,” and a paring with the Utah Symphony to draw and display animals. Visitors will be able to see a ceramic animal carousel, a multicultural butterfly, sculptures, animal masks, habitat installations, and framed visual art. The show is the result of an Artstream/Hogle Zoo partnership. It is the only show of its kind, and students from schools throughout the district have stepped up to participate. Sponsorship for the program comes from Utah’s Hogle Zoo and Artstream, a K-12 Choice Initiative in the district.
Upcoming Events
This new feature of In the District aims to list upcoming events and activities in the Salt Lake City School District. This feature may never be able to list all events in every school, but contributions can be sent from any school or department and they will be listed here.
- Uintah Art Night - Thursday, May 8 @ :00 p.m.
- Wasatch Art Week - Monday, May 12 through Friday, May 16
- Walk on the Wild Side - (see information above)
- Bonneville Bash - Monday, May 19 @ 5:30 p.m.
- District Multi-cultural Festival - Wednesday, May 21 @ 4:00 p.m.
- High School Graduations
- East High - Wednesday, June 4 @ 7:00 p.m. - Abravanel Hall
- Highland High - Thursday, June 5 @ 4:00 p.m. - SLCC, Redwood Road Campus
- Horizonte - Saturday, June 7 @ 10:00 a.m. - Huntsman Center
- West High - Thursday, June 5 @ 7:00 p.m. - SLCC, Redwood Road Campus
Also, please check out the Artstream calendar for fine arts events at Artstream schools.
Annual Asbestos Notification
In accordance with the AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) regulations, this is to serve as the 2008 annual notification for the Salt Lake City School District. Building inspections are being completed on a six month cycle. The Asbestos Management Plan (AMP) is available for review in each buildings' main office or the custodial office.
Asbestos awareness training is required annually for all custodial and maintenance personnel and is being completed throughout the year with the help of our online safety training program. This training is required within 60 days of employment. Anyone needing this training or with any asbestos related questions should contact Steven Bennett in Auxiliary Services 974-8392. Custodians needing this or any other safety training should contact Robin Anderson 301-4545.
Asbestos abatement projects have been completed this year at the following locations; Bryant, Clayton and Hillside Middle schools, Highland High School, Lowell/Open Classroom, Auxiliary Services, and the Old Maintenance Shops building. More projects are underway for the coming year.
Teaching Tip
High standards for all does not mean similar instruction for all
Teachers want all students to learn. And state and national standards mandate that all students perform at expected levels. Yet, schools today are seeing an influx of culturally diverse students. Can all students be expected to achieve at the same levels? Yes, but that does not mean all instruction has to be the same. The challenge is to find a balance in responding to the needs of all students.
Begin by checking your own expectations. Do you believe that students whose cultural backgrounds are different from yours can learn? They can. However, keep in mind that they may:
- Process information differently.
- Communicate differently.
- Adapt to the classroom environment differently.
- Relate to teachers and peers differently.
Once you have set high expectations for all students:
- Vary your teaching strategies to fit their learning styles.
- Ask questions that are relevant (in concept and context) to their lives.
- Consider their cultural differences as positive, not negative, influences.
- Prepare them to fit in. While accommodating differences, expect your students to adapt to the needs of the entire learning community.
Reprinted with permission from the May 2008 issue of Better Teaching® (Secondary Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Teacher Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Nancy Protheroe, “ERS Focus On: Teaching in a Multicultural Classroom” (Educational Research Service, 1-800-791-9308, www.ers.org).