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

This summer, toddlers can have subject recaps by registering on Park City Coorperative Preschool. There is a discount that is being offered to Park City Cooperative Preschool students and graduates, but the good thing is that the registration is also open for all Park City homes residents.

Park City Cooperative Preschool teacher, Pati Bost, has explained that it is a great opportunity to let kids participate in this summer camp to meet and greet possible classmates that might enroll for the followng academic year.

"It lets us evaluate how wiggly the kids are," Bost said.

In order to prepare the kids for the next school year, the camp is planned the same way a regular school day is planned. The day starts with circle time and group projects during the morning class. The kids then play outside their classrooms and also enjoys music time. When lunch time is over, the class can enjoy several stories before they head for home.

Until August 11, there will be an offering of 7, 3-day camps. Bost is thrilled with the 2 new themes this year. They are Garden Gnomes and Fairies and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Garden Gnomes and Fairies offer students the chance to learn and experience what lives in their gardens at their Park City homes. On the other hand, Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a color theme camp which tackles every color in the rainbow.

They are switching the themes so that classes stay fun and new for the teachers and the kids.

On June 7, the Mini Musicians will begin and they will incorporate everthing starting from making instruments to singing songs into having parades.

One of Bost's favorite camp is the Little Chefs. It will be held from August 8 through 11. The kids will learn how to bake a cake or a cookie from scratch. They will teach the kids how to measure, mix and taste their baked goodies.

The summer camp has been running for 12 years now by Bost and Co-teacher Linda Perkins. Bost stated that the consistency of having the same two teachers brings great results and builds trust to the parent community as it is rare.

The cost per camp is a hundred dollars for Park City Cooperative Preschool students and alumni and a hundred and thirty dollars for the visiting students. The PCCP will give th enrolled students and alumni a discount when they sign up for 2 or 3 camps for this year.

The age of campers range between 2 and 5 years old. Kids of Park City homes can expect great summer with lots of arts and fun activities at the PCCP camp.

Findings Show Consistent Improvement through Last Four Years

Results from the recent reading assessment for kindergarten-through-fifth-grade students show marked improvements in nearly every grade as compared to last year, according to curriculum director Lorie Gardner.

In 2004, the Utah Legislature enacted SB230, the K3 Reading Improvement Program. Under this law, the state provides matching funds to help districts achieve Utah's goal to have every third-grader read at or above grade-level. Each district must use program monies to improve reading proficiency in kindergarten through third grade and annually report on its progress.

The Park City School District administers the Dibels test three times each year, once at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the school year. The test measures a student's reading comprehension, writing skills and English-language comprehension. Park City elementary students took the mid-year test at the beginning of January.

Kindergarteners reading at benchmark, or grade level, increased by 8 percentage points, going from 77 percent in January, 2010 to 85 percent this year. The number of first-grade students reading at grade-level didn't improved compared to last year, staying at 71 percent. Seventy-eight percent of second-graders are at grade level this year, up from 72 percent last January. The number of third-graders reading at benchmark also increased, going from 72 to 76 percent.

As mandated by recent legislation, school administrators will contact parents whose students are not reading at grade level and outline what remediation and interventions will take place to improve their reading.

The results reflect improving trends in reading through the last four years. This year, the comprehensive reading, writing and language instruction program Journey's was implemented at every elementary school, Gardner said.

"We've been spending almost four years looking at effective programs and practices," Gardner said. A committee made up of district administrators, teachers and reading specialists examined teaching practices and materials to determine how to better instruct elementary readers.

Several teachers piloted three different programs before Journey's was selected as the best fit for the district, Gardner said. The program featured high-quality literature for the children and a strong focus on grammar, she added.

Another area of committee members' concerns dealt with closing the significant achievement gap among English-language learners, students participating in free-and-reduced lunch and the Caucasian student population. A number of students would need remediation and intervention in order to reach benchmark reading, according to Gardner.

"The interventions were what we were looking for in terms of closing the achievement gap," she said. Gardner said she expects the number of students reading at grade-level will continue to increase.

Seventy-nine percent of fourth-graders and 80 percent of fifth-grade students in Park City School District reached benchmark for reading-level.

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

Four-Day Phone-a-Thon Focuses on Increasing Community Involvement

More than 100 volunteers joined members of the Park City Education Foundation last week during the third annual phone-a-thon fundraiser. For two hours a night from Monday, Jan. 31, through Thursday, Feb. 3, about 20-to-30 people called members of the community in an effort to increase parent and family support for the organization's programs.

As one of three major events hosted by the foundation throughout the school year, the parent-appeal fundraiser began before school started. Foundation members sent letters outlining the goal to have every family donate $180 for each student they have in a Park City school. Families were asked to bring any amount they were willing to donate to their students' back-to-school night in August.

"We ask for a dollar a day for each day the students are in the classroom," foundation director Abby McNulty said. "Every dollar really makes a difference."

Families throughout the district also receive invitations to donate at the end of each school year. If a family donates once, they won't be contacted during the phone-a-thon, according to McNulty. Those who don't donate can expect a friendly phone call.

Callers spent two hours a night from Monday through Wednesday lodged in a conference room donated by Newpark Hotel in order to make the phone calls. Volunteers raised about $35,000 during the first three nights.

Callers have always spent the last night of the phone-a-thon at the Park City High School. For the first time this year, sophomores, juniors and seniors joined the fray in the Miners' library.

"We put it out to the high school students," foundation board member and chair of the phone-a-thon Rayna Mintz said. "We wanted to get them involved."

Student groups, parent-teacher organizations and other teacher groups that brought more than 20 volunteers to make calls were able to keep 10 percent of the amount they raised for their specific programs. Trailside Elementary and Park City High School recruited enough volunteers to earn a special grant from the education foundation.

Inviting students to participate in the phone-a-thon injected a level of energy into the event that may not have been present otherwise, according to McNulty. PCEF raised more than $5,000 Thursday night.

"Last year we didn't have students call and we only raised $900," McNulty said. "So I'd say the students did a great job, collectively."

Park City junior Brett Davidson is the first high school student to serve on the PCEF board. The foundation received more than $800 through his efforts and phone calls Thursday night.

"I've called some big donors," Davidson said Thursday. "All of the people who have donated to me tonight are parents of high school students."

Not everyone had a completely positive experience making phone calls, however.

"I've called some pretty rude people," sophomore Adam Eisenbarth said. But his attitude wasn't tainted. "Some people have been pretty polite and they said to send information to them and they might send a check to us," he added.

During the four-day phone-a-thon, the organization raised about $32,000 in donations and pledges, earned a $10,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor and encouraged more than 250 families to participate. The total amount brought in surpassed the previous year by almost $12,000, according to McNulty.

"A lot of people are looking for ways to boost the public education system in the country," McNulty said. "We are a way for parents and community members to invest locally in the quality of education."

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

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
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com