Park City & Deer Valley

The Title 1 Ensures Students are Hungry to Learn, Not Hungry to Eat

As reported in the Park Record, for the third year in a row, McPolin Elementary School received recognition for its high test scores as a Title 1 school. Funded through the federal government, the school offers students free or discounted lunch prices. According to McPolin Principal, Bob Edmiston, more than 55 percent of the school's student body qualifies for the program based on household income.

At the end of each school year, the state calculated the average test scores per school. For the last three years, McPolin's averages have been higher than several school's that  aren't in the Title 1 category. The school received a letter from the Utah State Office of Education recognizing the student's achievement. To read the full article, go to www.ParkRecord.com.

Park City is a great place to live and raise children. With the current Park City real estate prices now is a great time to purchase a primary or vacation home.

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael LaPay, Associate Broker
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

First - through - Ninth Grade Students present their Projects

Students at the Park City Day School showed off their science projects Monday from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at the school's science fair. Many parents, teachers and community members filled the gymnasium to hear students explain their research and experiments.

First-grader Beckley Palmer enlisted the help of her mother Mary to research how to turn a solid chunk of dry ice into a vapor. A constant group of Palmer's classmates, as well as older students, crowded around the beakers filled with water, dish soap and dry-ice to watch the sudsy vapor spill out. Many students gathered suds in their hands.

"Lots of friends like it," Palmer said.

Participation in the fair is required for students from fifth-through-ninth grade. Projects need to include an experiment of some sort that fully follows the process of the scientific method, according to Day School science teacher Peggy Fadling.

As part of the method, students researched a question they had. After they came up with an idea or hypothesis, they created an experiment to test whether or not their idea would work. Many students said they needed to change a few things in order to find success.

The final step in the method was to share their findings with others. Throughout the night, many young scientists stood next to their projects as they addressed groups of people, explaining what they learned through the process. From catapults to explanations of the color spectrum and the water cycle, students wow-ed parents and friends with how much they knew about their projects.

Students in first-through-fourth grade could choose to participate by setting up an experiment, conducting a research project, creating a model, starting a collection or inventing something.

Dierdre O'Neill and Paige Anderson ran a wired circuit through 8 potatoes cut into halves to power an LED light. They researched cathodes, anodes, volts and amperes to learn how to use the electricity in the potatoes to light a flashlight bulb.

"We watched a lot of videos on YouTube to learn how to do it," O'Neill said.

Anderson said they ran into trouble when the potatoes they used produced enough volts but not enough amps to power the light. The two used nails as negatively charged cathodes and copper wires as positively charged anodes to create the wired circuit.

Science teachers assigned projects in mid-December and many students began working on them during the holiday break from school, Fadling said. The fair is designed to allow students to learn the scientific process, share their ideas and experiences with their peers and bring the school community together, she added.

by Douglas Greenwood OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
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mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

McPolin Elementary's Curriculum is Scheduled to Expand in August

According to research based on early-childhood education, a student's success in elementary school is directly linked to how ready he or she was to begin kindergarten. Students who attended a high-quality preschool program are found to be involved in fewer cases of crime, teen pregnancy, delinquency, substance abuse and welfare dependency as compared to those who did not.

Next school year, Park City School District will expand the new preschool curriculum that was introduced at McPolin Elementary last October. Beginning in August at each elementary school, a morning and afternoon class for 3-year-olds will run Monday and Wednesday. Another will run Tuesday and Thursday. A morning and afternoon session for 4-year olds will be offered Monday through Thursday.

For more than 20 years, Park City schools have offered limited preschool classes for children with disabilities beginning at age 3, as mandated by the government.

In conjunction with Davis County School District, Park City students have been able to participate in the Government-funded Head Start Program for nearly two decades. Head Start is designed to help minority families become self-sufficient and prepare their children for success in school.

"One of the things we've been working really hard on district-wide, but starting at the elementary, is closing the achievement gap," Park City curriculum director Tom VanGorder said. "We've had huge gaps over the last 10 years in comparing our Caucasian population to our ESL [English-as-second-language], Hispanic and special ed. populations."

With the limited scope of Park City district's preschool program, VanGorder was troubled by the minimal success he was seeing. He said many students were going from Head Start into kindergarten no better prepared than their classmates who hadn't already gone to school.

"For the benefit of our kids, we had to say, 'We can not continue doing this anymore the way we are doing it,'" he said.

In an effort to further close the gap, VanGorder began looking at a new approach to high-quality, early-childhood education. New preschool curriculum was based on Granite School District's program in Salt Lake, which has received national recognition for its success, VanGorder said.

About 90 students are enrolled in the new program at McPolin this school year. When the classes expand to Parley's Park, Jeremy Ranch and Trailside elementary schools in August, VanGorder anticipates to cap the classes at about 90-100 students per school.

The curriculum is designed to focus on just a few aspects each month. It focuses on early literacy, numbers, social interactions, as well as physical and cognitive growth in an age-appropriate environment. Students will take three assessments throughout the year to measure their progression.

Class-time is organized by activities to best meet the limited attention of 3- and 4-year-old students, according to VanGorder. Students rotate through centers throughout the day.

The teaching center groups a small number of students with the teacher to focus on language, math or social learning, while another group of students spend their time in the work center. The remaining students can choose between different activity centers where they can apply what they are learning by working alone or with their peers.

Full-class activities alternate between break-out sessions and the students spend the day rotating through the four learning centers. The children stay busy all day, VanGorder said.

The program will be funded through a combination of Title 1 monies and donations from the Park City Education Foundation. A large portion of the one-time Edujobs federal stimulus will be used as seed money while the district continues to earmark and secure steady donations.

"I'd love to find individuals or corporations that want to be some heavy-duty sponsors for us because it's that important," VanGorder said.

Interested students will also pay tuition that will be based on a sliding scale, VanGorder said. Families who qualify for the free-and-reduced lunch program will pay $20 each month. For families who can afford it, monthly tuition will be $180. The projected cost for the program's first year is close to $400,000.

"The school board, at this point, is committed to making this run as we need to," VanGorder said. "I feel confident that it will continue based on the support of the school board and the superintendent."

Registration packets are available at each elementary school office. Registration is first-come first-serve and will take place at McPolin Elementary School Thursday and Friday Febuary 3rd - 4th, 2011, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. The program is for district residents only. A $30 fee is due at registration.

by Douglas Greenwood OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

The Program uses Art for Youth-Development

Arts-Kids is a free after-school, youth-development program that uses the arts as a tool to reach children with special needs.

"The children we help are not selected for their artistic ability," said executive director and founder Pat Sanger. "They are selected because they may be living in a stressful home life, shy, or if they are new in school and need a place to make some friends."

While living in Norfolk, Va., Sanger noticed children living in stressful environments were not getting the nurturing they needed.

"I got this whole idea to help integrate the emotional creative part of developing oneself, which often seems to be absent in these kids," Sanger said. "I started up the program after I moved out to Park City, and found the program can be used for any child from any kind of background."

Arts Kids, which involves an eight-week schedule in all the elementary and middle schools in Summit County, also holds sessions at Park City High School, Sanger said.

"The younger children in the elementary schools always do clay, make hats, use watercolors, face paint and hip hop dance," she said." The secondary or older levels, which include Treasure Mountain and North Summit middle schools and Park City High School will be creating graphic novels, ceramics and hip hop sessions."

In order for the sessions to run smoothly, Arts-Kids needs volunteers.

"There are up to 18 kids in nine groups," she said. "We would like three to four volunteers to help the trained facilitator, especially in the elementary schools."

Sanger is looking for adults and teens who aren't necessarily artistic, but value art as a learning tool.

"We would like to have the volunteer commit to three hours a day," she said. "The groups start immediately after school and they run two-and-a-half hours. We would like the volunteers to come 15 minutes early and stay for clean up."

There is a one-time, two-hour training session as well.

"Volunteers do have fun," Sanger said. "If they want, they can do the project with the kids. We like them to work alongside the kids and be a mentor and a role model."

To volunteer or for more information, call Arts Kids at (435) 615-7878 or email pat@art-kids.org

Teens attending Park City High School and Treasure Mountain Middle School can volunteer through the Arts Teens program by talking to their school counselors.

by Scott Iwasaki OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

"Stetson" features Notable Parkite Cameos

While the 2011 Sundance Film Festival has taken Park City by storm, behind the scenes local crews have been filming a live-action adaptation of the local children's book "Stetson: Street Dog of Park City."

The book, which was published by Le Petit Chien Publishing in 2002 by local author Jeanine Heil, caught they eye of Nancy Ogden, founder of video production company Campbell & Co. who thought it would be a great story to bring to life, said producer Patrick Lovell.

"The book is about Stetson, a dog that has been abandoned in Park City," Lovell said. "Jeanine, who moved here from Toronto in 2000, had always told stories about dogs to her children. One day, she developed the story of Stetson and thought it reflected her life, as far as she was always in pursuit of trying to find a stable home. She also thought about how important a home is for families and children."

The book ended up selling about 5,500 copies and is now on its second edition, said Lovell, who cut his teeth as a producer for Park City TV.

"Jeanine and Nancy shared the same vision and filmed a first-run last year," he said. "But they felt it could be better."

A mutual friend recommended Lovell who came on board as a consultant/producer.

"I put together a team that could deliver the quality they wanted and we started shooting two weeks ago," he said. "And it has been an amazing experience."

While filming throughout Park City, crews have captured some high-profile Parkite cameos within the frames, Lovell said.

They include Randy Barton of the Egyptian Theatre Company and KPCW radio; Amy Williams of PCTV, entrepreneur Beth Moon and local legend George the Hack.

"We also filmed Mayor Dana Williams, who was just terrific to work with," Lovell said. "He played the guitar for us in the scene he was in."

The hero of the story, other than Stetson the dog, is Dr. John Artz from the Silver Creek Animal clinic. "We cast Dr. John because he happens to be a veterinarian and also works on the ski patrol at Park City Mountain Resort, which are the two occupations of the man in the book," Lovell said. "John's the real deal.

"He worked well for the character because children respond to him as a vet," Lovell said. "People in Park City love their animals and when they find Dr. John, they love his bedside manner with dogs that are either sick or need assistance in some way or another.

"We also envisioned Stetson going on a multitude of adventures and journeys with him to help those animals and people who are in need of help in one way or another."

The film will continue to shoot throughout the next few weeks, Lovell said.

"We're hoping to get it into some film festivals down the line," he said. "We've also talked with the CEO of the Hallmark Chanel who showed great interest because they are launching a national campaign that ties into the concept of Stetson's mission awareness of homeless animals. So we'll see what happens with that.

"The endgame is to hopefully have a feature film and a TV series that is set here in Park City."

Lovell said he has become personally attached to the project because of his love for Park City.

"I know this place intimately and I think it's a tremendous backdrop," he said. "More importantly, we tend to love dogs in this town, and if you're going to be a stray dog or a stray person who happens to love mountain culture and you wander into this city, you will find a home because there is a culture of people here who are open, kind and sincere."

Lovell said the message of "Stetson: Street Dog of Park City" and bringing the story to the screen is important this year, especially since many families are dealing with the economy.

"If you keep your heart open and you keep moving forward, you will find a stable home."

by Scott Iwasaki OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com