Connect Canyons

Send us Fan Mail When Canyons was created in 2009, the school district inherited a portfolio of aging buildings, some of which hadn't seen major upgrades in decades. In 16 years, the District has made huge strides rebuilding or significantly remodeling 27 schools.  These modernized buildings are safer, more efficient, and designed with today's learners in mind. But the work isn't do...

Send us Fan Mail In education, collaboration is key. No one person can do it all, and that’s where paraeducators come in, playing an indispensable role in the success of our students. On National Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day, we recognize the contributions of these dedicated professionals. To better understand their impact, we spoke with Nate Edvalson, the Director of Special Education for C...

Send us Fan Mail The pencil was invented in 1795. The first documented use of the chalkboard in the United States was in 1801, and the ballpoint pen came into popular use in the 1940s.  We’ve been using these tools in education for decades, and now we're sprinting into a new era with new tools. How are Canyons District schools using such modern tools as Chromebooks and artificial intelligence...

Send us Fan Mail We all know reading is fundamental to learning. But did you know it also reduces stress?  Or that it can help you sleep better, keep your mind sharp, and improve your relationships? Imagine, then, the benefits of an entire school community reading together, from every student and teacher to the custodians, Main Office staff, and principals — even the parents.   “I’ve never had suc...

Send us Fan Mail All across Canyon School District, students are working through real time scenarios with local businesses, and gaining hands-on experience through Career and Technical Education, or CTE classes and programs. For the last week of CTE Month, we sat down with Canyons CTE Director Janet Goble and Alta High’s CTE Coordinator Stephanie Morgan to take a deeper dive into the opportunities...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine if schools prepared students for college and the world of work. Imagine if students graduated from high school with more than a diploma but also college credit and the credentials needed to immediately land high-paying high-tech jobs.   You might be imagining what’s known as Career and Technical Education (CTE), an educational model already firmly embraced in Canyons. From...

Send us Fan Mail All across the nation, schools are struggling with what is called chronic absenteeism. Last year, 32 percent of Canyon School District students were chronically absent — meaning they missed more than 10 percent of the school year. The problem became prevalent following the pandemic, and Canyons is working to help keep our students learning, interacting with peers, and taking full...

Send us Fan Mail Student-athletes and their coaches take away so much more from a season than the memories of scored touchdowns or buzzer-beating wins. Among the life lessons are the opportunities to boost confidence levels, develop a sense of resiliency, and make friendships that will last long after the Friday Night Lights dim at the stadium for another year.     These are just a few of the take...

Send us Fan Mail Children experience a language explosion at the ages of 3,4, and 5, and play   — intentional play — can help them channel that. In Canyons District, time is set aside in preschool and kindergarten for play, or for students to "plan, do, and review" a fun activity of their choice.   Think of it as educating not only the mind, but the heart, and connecting students at an e...

Send us Fan Mail The students holding pom-poms on the sidelines of Canyons District prep sport competitions are a far cry from the cheerleaders of yesteryear. Gone are the days of cheerleading as a social club or an extracurricular activity to encourage school spirit. Indeed, times have changed. Cheer, to be sure, has entered a new era. As seen on such shows at Netflix’s “Cheer,” students on CSD’s...

Send us Fan Mail A new study found Americans see poor mental health as one of the biggest threats to public health, just behind obesity and the opioid epidemic — more of a societal threat than cancer, COVID 19, or access to firearms. We've also seen that rise in mental health challenges in school age students over the last few years. As we've seen youth of all ages dealing with those cha...

Send us Fan Mail Merriam Webster defines the word avid as characterized by enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit. That's exactly how students in our five AVID schools pursue their education with the goal of graduating college- and career-ready.    AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, and it's a research-backed college prep program which is offered at 7,500 schools across t...

Send us Fan Mail The sparkling tiara of Miss America is within the reach of a Brighton High graduate who has dreamed of winning the title since she was a small girl watching the pageant on television.  Paris Matthews, a 2016 BHS graduate and the current Miss Utah, is doing her final preparations before leaving for Florida to vie for scholarships and the crown. When she crosses the stage in a glitt...

Send us Fan Mail Here at Canyons School District, our community is rooted in the idea of helping each other. This year alone, more than 8,500 volunteers have lent a hand in classrooms and schools across the District. In light of International Volunteer Day, the Connect Canyons crew sat down with two of the most generous volunteers in the District: Two Apex Award winners for Volunteer of the Year,...

Send us Fan Mail Artificial intelligence is new, fast-evolving, disruptive — and, for some — a little scary.   It should be some comfort to know we’ve been here before. Think back to the birth of the printing press, color TVs, personal computers and the Internet. The rise of anything this pervasively transformative is either heralded as the answer to all our problems or labeled a perilous threat. ...

Send us Fan Mail National School Psychology Week and National School Psychologist Appreciation Week is an annual event that takes place during the second week of November. This week celebrates the contributions of school psychologists and the important role they play in schools and communities. It is an opportunity to recognize school psychologists who work to help children thrive in school, home,...

Send us Fan Mail Since its founding days, Canyons District schools have planned assemblies, activities, and learning opportunities to mark the importance of Veterans Day. As Veterans Day 2024 approaches, Connect Canyons gives voice to CSD employees who have given so much of themselves in the service if our country. In this edition, released just days before the Monday, Nov. 11 federal holiday, we...

Send us Fan Mail Need help paying for college? File a FAFSA.  It’s that simple. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the gateway to all sorts of funding — so, before you tune out because you think you’re not eligible for aid, think again. Most colleges and scholarships require families to complete the FAFSA, even for merit scholarships. And, while applying for any kind of fin...

Send us Fan Mail The safety and wellness of students and employees has been a top priority since Canyons District’s founding days 16 years ago. The focus on security is the reason more than 500 new surveillance cameras were installed in just the past year and that plans for security vestibules have been made for every school building in the District. Those two initiatives are among the myriad ways...

Send us Fan Mail We’ve all encountered unkindness at some point in our lives, but when does teasing or taunting cross the line to become bullying?  For National Bullying Prevention Month, the Connect Canyons crew sat down with two Canyons District specialists to discuss how to spot bullying and respond to it when it’s happening.  Karen Brown, a School Psychologist Specialist at Canyons, walks us t...

Send us Fan Mail It’s parent-teacher conference season in Canyons District. In the coming days, tens-of-thousands of meetings are planned throughout the District, a significant investment of time and energy on behalf of schools and families — all with the best interest of students in mind. So, how can parents get the most out of this opportunity for facetime with faculty? What kinds of questions s...

Send us Fan Mail No student should worry about attending school hungry or without access to basic necessities.    But a growing number do, which is why Canyons School District created a the Resource Closet, a central storehouse of food and hygiene items and school supplies that Canyons schools can draw upon to replenish their pantries or extend a little emergency support to students and families i...

Send us Fan Mail According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies impact one in 13 children. That's about two students per classroom, and those numbers are on the rise, increasing 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.  It's all but impossible to eliminate food allergies, as they're synonymous with our main food groups. But we can work with families to cre...

Send us Fan Mail People are stressed. The COVID-19 pandemic, global conflicts, and the always-connected nature of modern life are weighing on our collective consciousness.  But no one needs to face these pressures alone. In Canyons District, there’s a resource called the Canyons Family Center, which, for 15 years, has provided a spectrum of wellness supports to families completely free of charge,...

Send us Fan Mail Michele Vasconcelos set the Alta High record for the number of goals scored in a single season when she dominated the prep scene in 2011 with her Hawk teammates. The big moment came during the 65th minute of the 5A state championship at the then-Rio Tinto Stadium that gave the Hawks the state trophy. That record stood until 2016 when Brecken Mozingo, who grew up just blocks away f...