The Canyons Board of Education and the Canyons Educational Support Professionals Association have reached a tentative agreement for the 2012-2013 school year that will give ESP employees an increase in base pay in addition to steps and lanes, and a one-time 1 percent bonus. These are some highlights of the tentative agreement:
 

• 1 percent Cost of Living Adjustment to the base salary schedule
• 1 percent one-time bonus, to recognize the hard work of ESP staff in implementing changes in Canyons School District over the past three years
• Unfreezing of the salary schedule, with Steps and Lanes for the 2012-2013 year
• No increase in the cost of health insurance premiums

 
The Board and Association also tentatively agreed on some proposals to study several policies for the purpose of bringing recommendations to the Board of Education for consideration. Committees will be formed to study and make recommendations on transportation issues (specifically policies that may be needed to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations), DP369 (which has been on moratorium status since the beginning of Canyons School District), and the salary schedule (to determine how it might be revised to reflect the intent of SB 64, which will require advancements on public school salary schedules to be based on employee evaluations).
 
Any substantial additions or revisions to these policies (above and beyond routine statutory updates) will be done according to the Board’s approved policy process and submitted to the Board for final consideration and approval.
 
Canyons Educational Support Professionals Association President Gary Martensen, speaking on behalf of CESPA, and Superintendent David Doty, speaking on behalf of the Canyons Board of Education, stated: “We are very pleased with the collaborative nature of this year’s negotiations, and look forward to working together in the coming year as we make final preparations for grade reconfiguration and provide the support our educators and students need to make this transition successful in 2013.”
 
The Canyons Educational Support Professionals Association submitted the tentative agreement to its members on May 17, 2012, and the Board of Education is expected to ratify by the end of the school year.

Midvale Elementary’s PTA has planned a community carnival to bid farewell to the old, 61-year-old Midvale Elementary, which is being vacated after this school year. 

The Thursday, May 31 carnival will be held from 3 - 7:30 p.m. at the current school, 362 W. Center (7720 South). A special ceremony recognizing staff and PTA boards past and present will be held at 6 p.m. The event will include inflatables, games, food, and fun, including a Silly String Showdown. Most activities cost $1.

Amy Bateman's classroom is alive with chatter and the buzz and flash of technology. But it's not the latest celebrity news or school gossip that's flying between her Eastmont Middle School students. It's numbers, right angles, and equations.

"It's a fun class," Deputy Superintendent Ginger Rhode said, "and yet kids are learning."

Bateman, known for her relentless commitment to a vision that all students will succeed, was named the 2012 Canyons School District Teacher of the Year. The honor came with prizes including a $1,000 check from the Canyons School District Education Foundation. Bateman was one of three finalists for District Teacher of the Year honors. The other finalists were: Stephanie Lay, math, Butler Middle School; and Denise Ferguson, language arts, Alta High School, who received prizes and $250 each from the Foundation.



Bateman is described as a gifted educator, leader, and teacher mentor. She is a master of data-driven decision-making, and is quick to identify students who struggle, provide needed supports, and monitor their progress. As a result, her students continually achieve well above District and state averages on standardized tests. Bateman posts video recordings of her lessons on YouTube, and engages parents by providing them with information on assignments, tests, and ways they can access help for their students.

"She has the highest rate of student engagement of any classroom in which I've been," Dr. Rhode said.

"I'm very focused on, do I have a visual, do I have audio, am I engaging them to have fun, to get a little bit rowdy in the classroom – but rowdy, meaning it's definitely organized, chaotic fun," Bateman said. "It's not a default job for me. I'm extremely passionate about teaching."

Bateman's award was announced at the May 15, 2012 Canyons Board of Education's Teacher Appreciation Night, in which the Board honored 45 school Teachers of the Year for their commitment to excellence and dedication to Canyons students and families. Teachers of the Year were selected by school committees, and were nominated by colleagues, parents and school leaders. Each Teacher of the Year must have taught at least three years and be a career educator, and showcase outstanding teaching practices and professional and community involvement. Teachers of the Year were announced at their schools the last week of April, and honored at halftime at Canyons Night at Real Salt Lake May 5, 2012.

The 2012 Canyons Teacher of the Year program was supported by the Canyons Education Foundation, Real Salt Lake, LaCaille, and Hillside Floral.

For the second consecutive year, Canyons School District has earned two awards for excellence in creating the District’s annual budget.

Canyons District is the recipient of the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement in Excellence in Financial Reporting for the District’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Audit for the year ending June 30, 2011.
 
In addition, the District has received the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International, Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting award for the June 30, 2011 CAFR.

To adequately prepare for the districtwide grade reconfiguration in fall 2013, Canyons District has slightly altered the time frame to submit requests to attend a school other than the one assigned to your family by geographic boundaries.

The school open-enrollment application window for the 2013-2014 school year will start Aug. 1, 2012. Applications will be taken until Nov. 1, 2012.

Please take note: Applications will not be taken outside of this window.

If your child currently attends school on an out-of-boundary permit, you will need to submit another application during this open-enrollment window.

This one-time variance to the permit process, which is usually held from December to February, will help the District ensure proper staffing levels when Canyons schools adopt a new grade structure.

The new configuration, approved by the Canyons Board of Education in 2010, moves ninth-graders into the high schools, and creates middle schools of sixth- through eighth-grades, and elementary schools of kindergarten through fifth grades.

Open-enrollment applications can be accessed at any Canyons District school or the Canyons Administration Building, 9150 S. 500 West.

Applications should be submitted directly to the school where you would like your child to be enrolled.

Questions? Please call Canyons District’s Office of Planning and Enrollment at 801-826-5180.