District Newsletter – March 16, 2023

Superintendent’s Message

Dear Salt Lake City School District families,

One of the most important tasks the Board of Education has before them is the hiring of a new superintendent. The Board has a solid plan in place to recruit and hire a superintendent who will lead this district into the future. I would like to update you on the progress the Board has made. 

The job announcement brochure has been published, and applications are currently being accepted. The Utah School Boards Association will collect those applications and deliver them to the district once the job posting closes at 4 PM on March 31, 2023. Several actions will take place over the next several weeks to meet the Board’s target hiring date of May 2, 2023.

• Each Board member has invited two or three people to be part of a stakeholder committee that will review the applications and provide feedback to the Board. Invitations have also been extended to high school students, employee group representatives, and to Salt Lake City leaders.
• The Board will do its own review of the applications and consider the feedback provided by the stakeholder committee.
• The Board will check references, set up times to interview candidates, and, if needed, schedule a second round of interviews and/or site visits with the finalists.

To accomplish these tasks, the Board of Education approved adding additional dates to their regularly scheduled Board meetings. In addition to previously scheduled meetings, there was a meeting this week, on March 14, 2023, and more meetings may be held on April 11 and April 25, 2023. Further meetings may be added, as needed. All meetings will be posted and noticed as usual.

You can find out more about the process on the district website.

Sincerely,

Dr. Martin W. Bates
Interim Superintendent
Salt Lake City School District

Board Meeting Report

The Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District held its latest public meeting on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 to discuss topics related to their search for a new superintendent, including the stakeholder committee that will review the superintendent applications, a draft copy of the superintendent’s employment contract, and a list of possible interview questions. 

You can read the entire Board Meeting Report on the district’s website. 

Population and Boundary Study

As we've previously shared, the Board of Education is currently engaged in a Population and Boundary Study of ALL district elementary schools for possible boundary realignment or school closure. During the next two months, the district’s Director of Boundaries and Planning will be attending school community council meetings at every district elementary school. He will present information about the study process and answer questions. As always, parents are invited to attend these meetings. The district will also be hosting four public town hall meetings (times, dates, and locations will be shared when details are finalized) to share information about the Population and Boundary Study. Please watch for additional information in future district communications and on social media. You can leave a comment for the Board by filling out this form.

 You can find more information about the Population and Boundary study on the district website.  

Public Hearing for School Fees

The Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District will hold its second public hearing on changes to school fees for the 2023-24 school year on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 6:15 PM. Those wishing to speak should be in the district Board Room (465 South 400 East, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, Utah) prior to the starting time. Final action on the proposed fee schedule will be taken by the Board of Education following the public hearing.

You can review the proposed school fee changes on the district website.

Parent Portal

Salt Lake City School District uses PowerSchool as our student information system. PowerSchool allows parents to review their students’ information through their Parent Portal. The district encourages you to sign up for and use Parent Portal because it provides access to your student’s classes, grades, and attendance. In Parent Portal , you can click on a teacher’s name to email the teacher, click on a grade to view the course information and assignments that make up that grade, and click on absences or tardies to view the dates your student was absent or late. 

The district continues to add information to Parent Portal each year. This year, the district added student health documents and will add Term 3 progress reports for the elementary schools in April. You can log in to Parent Portal or learn how to create an account at https://powerschool.slcschools.org/public/home.html.

Spring Recess

The 2022-23 school year is moving along quickly. As a reminder, Spring Recess will run March 27-31, 2023. Students will return to school on Monday, April 3, 2023. You can find more calendar information on the district website. 

Summer School

Summer is a great time for students to enhance their learning or make up credits they may have missed. Registration for the district’s Community Education Summer Learning Program (CESLP) is now open. Summer learning programs are available for all district elementary and middle school students. High schools will offer credit recovery programs for students who are missing credits needed for graduation. More information about the CESLP can be found on the district website or by calling the Community Education Department at (801) 578-8275.

You can also go directly to the online registration for elementary and middle school students. You will need your student’s number and PIN to log in. For questions on how to access those two numbers, please contact your student’s school. High school students interested in credit recovery should contact their school counselors.