EVANSTON — A special meal was served to those who attended the Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Uinta County School District No. 1 administration building on Thursday, Dec. 13. The district’s general kitchen staff provided the main course and Horizon High School culinary arts students provided apple crisp for dessert. In addition, Horizon students Lynechia Roden, Anna Cook and Ciera Roberts, along with their teacher Candi DeCoite, served the food.

Superintendent Ryan Thomas was the keynote speaker for the day. He introduced and thanked the Horizon students and teacher for providing the food service. Secondly, Thomas stated his agenda included explaining the district’s strategic plan — Pathway to Excellence — informing the audience as to what’s new for the 2018-19 school year and information on the district’s inclusion in the League of Innovative Schools.

Thomas began by stating the mission of the district: “Our mission is to provide relevant and challenging instruction. We will set high expectations for students, focusing on experiences that build positive relationships, collaboration, persistence and that encourages maximum student effort.” 

He then reviewed the district’s core values of respect, responsibility and safety. Thomas explained how those values, the school board’s goals and the district’s goals are working together to reach the ultimate goal of all schools certified as High Reliability Schools (Level 1) by May of 2019.  

High Reliability Schools (HRS) is a model created by Marzano Research Lab. Bob Marzano has created one of the most recognized and respected models in the world. There are five levels to the HRS model: Level 1: Safe, supportive and collaborative culture; Level 2: Effective teaching in every classroom; Level 3: Guaranteed and viable curriculum; Level 4: Standards-referenced reporting; and Level 5: Competency-based grading. 

UCSD No. 1 is currently in a trial period and committed to working on levels one and two, Thomas said. The first step was setting up professional learning communities (PLCs), which consist of collaboration among teachers of the same grade level and content area. Thomas said the district has a commitment to teachers to give them the time needed for collaborative work. The delayed-start Monday was designed to give the teachers time to work in these PLCs. When teachers are themselves continually learning they become more effective in helping students to learn. 

Questions that teachers will address in the PLC time are concerned with goals and expectations for the students, how to assess whether students are learning, how to respond if students are not learning and how to respond to students who already know the material and need enrichment opportunities.

Thomas said other organizations such as banks and hospitals are high reliability and schools need to be as well. UCSD No. 1 serves 2,700 students in grades K-12 and is the largest employer in Uinta County with 600 personnel.

Next, Thomas spoke about the new security features in place at all the schools and plans for 2019. Already installed is controlled access in every school with security vestibules and A-phones. All outside doors are locked during school hours, and when someone visits the school, they use the A-phone to receive entry into the office, and from there their identification is scanned and a quick background check is completed.

All employees, visitors and volunteers must wear a badge at all times. When access is denied to someone, the Rapid Notification System is activated. A standard response protocol and crisis plans are updated on a monthly basis in every building and everyone is trained how to follow the procedures.  

“We are taking a proactive approach to safety,” Thomas said.

Concerning the concealed carry (CKA) policy, the district is moving forward to gain approval by following the necessary procedures. A notice of intent to adopt new rules regarding CKA is on the district’s website and public comment can be made at two upcoming school board meetings. Those dates are Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.

The last item Thomas addressed was the membership of UCSD No. 1 in the national League of Innovative Schools. The district has been a member since October 2015 and at that time there were only 50 school districts that were members. Since September, 102 total school districts have joined.

UCSD No. 1 was recognized for its personalized learning initiatives, which include blended learning with technology and staff development. On Oct. 11, 120 school leaders from 102 League Schools visited UCSD No. 1.  

“Our community needs to recognize the good schools we have in Uinta County,” Thomas said. “Our vision is to provide the highest quality of education to all students.”

Thomas then took questions from the audience. In response to a question regarding the attendance policy, Thomas said the district follows the state law and 10 unexcused absences require that the county attorney is notified. Thomas regretfully mentioned that he signs a “10-day letter” every week. 

“If a parent chooses not to send their child to school, there is little we can do. We need to intervene in the elementary grades,” Thomas said.