HEBER, Utah — The school year is coming to an end, which means we have reached our final Cool School of the Week, and we are doing it with some surprises!
Our Cool School of the Week is Heber Valley Elementary. When you walk around its halls, you'll notice class signs and more are all National Park-themed in honor of the school's mascot, the Eagles.
"I love that our teachers choose to work at Heber Valley, and then our students have never been so prepared for the next grade because of their work ethic," said Principal Katie Cummings.
This week, we're celebrating not only our cool school, Heber Valley Elementary, but also a cool district! Heber Valley is part of the Wasatch County School District, which just won Best of State.
"Our kids are learning on average a grade level higher in math and half a grade level higher in reading, one of few in the nation," said Assistant Superintendent Garrick Peterson.
Heber Valley Elementary also has a diverse student body with students coming from many places, including Mexico, which is why they started the Newcomers Program to help students adjust to their first few years living in America.
"They come to this place like to learn and like to learn English and like that," said Mariana, a successful newcomer's student.
"Students are so happy they feel that sense of belonging, and they're passing the standardized tests," added a program teacher.
The elementary school is also the only one in Utah with a Latinos in Action program. On Wednesday, they performed a fun dance to a traditional Spanish song.
"It has helped them become great leaders in their community," said the Latinos in Action advisor.
In our last segment, Granite Credit Union joined us with their final donation of the school year — this week, the recipient was the Wasatch Education Foundation.
"This has been our first inaugural year with cool schools with FOX 13," said Spencer Carver, Granite Credit Union's Marketing Director. "We're so grateful to work with so many different schools, so many different teachers, it's an honor to be here and recognize you for your efforts in the Wasatch Education Foundation."
And for our final Cool School of the year, we also had a surprise for Wasatch County School District Superintendent Paul Sweat, who is retiring after 34 years of service.
Superintendent Sweat's roots in the Heber Valley and Wasatch County School District run deep. He started in the district as a kindergartener! To thank him for his years of service, Heber Valley students and teachers lined the hall with cut-out faces of Sweat with a cowboy hat on to represent his rancher background.
"Thank you for this," Sweat said. "This will be one of those sweet special moments that'll be at the top of my list as I ride off and kind of go into retirement and do some other things with my family, but I will always remember this day at Heber Valley Elementary."
