Backman Elementary School hosted the official launch of the Utah 2034 Champion Schools program, a statewide pilot bringing the excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic movements into the classroom. The opening ceremony marked the start of the initiative and featured Winter Olympic athletes who joined students for the celebration.

The program is a partnership between the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Ken Garff for Good, and Utah’s First Lady Abby Cox. It is launching this fall in 72 elementary schools across seven Utah school districts. 

Amy Garff, chair of the Olympic Education Committee for the Utah 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has described the program as drawing a direct connection between what it takes to be an Olympic or Paralympic athlete and what it takes to succeed in school, pointing to the discipline, effort, and consistency both require.

At its core, the initiative is designed to strengthen literacy, boost school engagement, and build long-term academic participation. Students will follow a values-based curriculum built around a different monthly theme, starting with Friendship in September, followed by Curiosity in October and Gratitude in November. Kathi Garff has emphasized that the goal extends beyond the excitement of the Games themselves, with a focus on helping students grow into strong readers and engaged learners well before the Games arrive.

Backman is one of 13 Salt Lake City School District elementary schools participating in the program this year, alongside Bonneville, Dilworth, Ensign, Escalante, Franklin, Indian Hills, Liberty, Newman, North Star, Wasatch, Washington, and Whittier. As the district's launch site, Backman's opening ceremony helped introduce the program's approach to the broader SLCSD community and set an example other participating schools will build on throughout the year.