WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah --Utah lawmakers gathered Monday to talk about how they can help schools that received poor letter grades in September.
All Utah schools received their first letter grades in September as part of a new state law.
Granger High School in West Valley City was one of the worst performing schools in the state, receiving an overall D grade on its report card.
Senator Karen Mayne said she sees the grade as a call to action. In an effort to make a change, Mayne invited several of her colleagues from Capitol Hill to take a field trip to Granger High to give them a sense of what's working and what's not working.
Mayne said several unique factors were not taken into account during the state grading process. She said Granger High is one of the most diverse schools in Utah. More than half of the students who go there speak a language other than English, and many students come from families who are struggling financially.
While Mayne does take issue with the grading system itself, she said it's time for her colleagues to help her struggling school succeed.
"We have all of those ribbons of community here," Mayne said. "We're embracing them, and we just need to move forward to make sure we have enough money for them, make sure that we have the best and the brightest teachers [and] make sure our community is geared to help them," Mayne said.
The lawmakers who visited Granger High School on Monday also stopped by Kearns High School, which received an overall F grade.
