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Superintendent's Newsletter - April 15, 2021

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Dear Salt Lake City School District community,

I am excited to announce we are planning to hold in-person graduations for our seniors this year. Our large high school graduations – East, Highland, Horizonte, and West High Schools – will be held at the Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus. Graduation ceremonies for Innovations Early College High School, the Salt Lake Center for Science Education, and the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts will be held at other locations.

The schools will send specific details to their respective families and students, but we can share some guidelines now for the ceremonies that will be held at the Huntsman Center.

  • Each student will be allowed to bring a maximum of four guests.
    • Additional guests will not be allowed, even outside the Huntsman Center.
  • Students will be given tickets that guests will need to attend graduation.
  • Masks must be worn by all students and guests.
  • Seating for students and guests will be socially distanced for the health and safety of all in attendance.
  • Ceremonies at the Huntsman Center will be live-streamed so other family members can watch online.

We are excited for the opportunity to celebrate this year’s graduates. As we finalize plans, we will list dates and times for each school’s graduation on our district calendar, and again, please look for more details to come from your student’s school.

Electric School Buses

New electric school buses began transporting Salt Lake City School District students this week. Two began service this week, and two more are scheduled to arrive next week. These four electric buses will be used to transport students on the west side of Salt Lake City. This specific area was chosen because environmental studies show Salt Lake’s west side has some of the highest levels of pollution in the state.

For more information, check out Fox 13’s story on our electric buses.

Federal Food Assistance for Families

Emergency food assistance is available for families who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. These families, and families of students who attend our Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools (Bennion Elementary, Edison Elementary, Liberty Elementary, Meadowlark Elementary, and Riley Elementary), may receive Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) benefits (a pre-loaded grocery debit card) from the federal government.

P-EBT is a benefit to help purchase food for households where children during this school year have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to pandemic-related school closures. This current round of P-EBT is for the 2020-21 school year.

To qualify for this round of P-EBT, students must be signed up to receive free or reduced-price school meals. If you have not applied for free and reduced-price meals, an online application must be submitted and approved for meal benefits no later than May 10, 2021. Go to https://www.slcschools.org/departments/child-nutrition/applications and click “Apply Online” to start the online application process.

More information about P-EBT, including how to apply, can be found at Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) (utah.gov).

Meatless Meals for Students

Following COVID-19 safety procedures, kitchen managers can now provide meatless school lunches upon request. Options may include a grilled cheese sandwich or EZ Jammer sandwich (Wowbutter soy spread with grape jelly, sandwiched between two whole-grain bread slices), with a cheese stick and cinnamon Elf graham cracker.

Request for a meatless entrée substitution must be submitted by a parent/guardian or school faculty member via email to the school kitchen at least 1 hour before meal service. Email requests must include the school name; student name, grade, or classroom; and identify the specific menu item or food category to be replaced. If needed, requests can be made for the entire school year.

If you have questions, please contact the kitchen manager at your student’s school. You can find appropriate contact information for each kitchen manager on the district website.

Upcoming Events

Sincerely,

Larry Madden
Interim Superintendent
Salt Lake City School District

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