The Provo School District is a school district

School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

 in Provo, Utah

Provo, Utah

Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

 which has boundaries that coincide with those of the city. The school district is run by a school board elected by city residents. The districts for electing the school board members are drawn by the Provo City Council. There are currently 13,602 students enrolled. Randall J. Merrill is the superintendent.

Provo School District has two high schools, Provo High School

Provo High School

Provo High School is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah. It is one of the schools in the Provo District. It is part of the Provo City School District, and is the oldest existent secondary school in the city...

 and Timpview High School

Timpview High School

Timpview High School, abbreviated "THS" , is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah. Timpview is a 4A school and is part of the Provo City School District. The current principal is Dr...

. It has an alternative high school named Independence High School. It also has two middle schools and 14 elementary schools, including a magnet school

Magnet school

In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...

 for gifted and talented students in grades four through six.

The Provo School District has set up dual-immersion programs in four elementary schools. Timpanogos and Canyon Crest Elementaries offer a Spanish/English experience, while Wasatch Elementary provides classes with Mandarin Chinese/English immersion, and Edgemont Elementary teaches students French while they learn current core materials.

Magnet Schools

Students who qualify are invited to attend the Center for Accelerated Studies (CAS) for students in grades four through six. This special school caters to the needs of the profoundly gifted. The Gifted Magnet Program at Provo High School

Provo High School

Provo High School is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah. It is one of the schools in the Provo District. It is part of the Provo City School District, and is the oldest existent secondary school in the city...

 is for students in grades seven through eight and provides services to profoundly gifted students by giving them access to high school-level material while remaining with their middle school-aged peers.

Each school is designed to give accelerated learners the opportunity to be pushed to the highest learning potential and explore all avenues of academic interest.

Accelerated In-School Work

Students who wish to stay in their neighborhood elementary school and qualify for gifted and talented instruction can have additional lessons created specifically for them. Lesson plans coordinating with what is already being taught in the original classroom gives these students a chance to explore further into lesson topics with enough work to keep their minds focused and learning constantly.

This program gives students at all learning levels the chance to be challenged and work to their full potential.

Technology Integration

You can find a Technology Immersion Program at Spring Creek

Spring Creek

A spring creek is a stream that flows from a spring. Spring Creek may also refer to any of the following specific places:- United States :*Spring Creek Correctional Center, a state prison in Seward, Alaska...

, Sunset View and Franklin Elementary Schools. Students will utilize various technologies, like iPads and video cameras, and programs, like GarageBand and iMovie, as part of an integrated curriculum. Students will also create innovative projects and explore technology tools that will introduce teaching topics and lessons in engaging and interactive aways.

Dual Language Immersion Programs

The Dual Language Immersion program gives elementary students the opportunity to become fluent in an additional language by the time he or she exits the sixth grade.

More than 40 years of research consistently documents the power of immersion programs to help students attain high levels of second language proficiency. No other type of instruction, short of living in a second-language environment, is as successful. Young children especially thrive in this type of instructional environment. Happily, language immersion is also the least expensive way to deliver second language instruction. Below are the proven benefits associated with this program.

• Students achieve high language proficiency in the immersion language.
• Immersion students perform as well as or better than non-immersion students on standardized tests of English and math administrated in English.
• Immersion students typically develop greater cognitive flexibility, demonstrating increased attention control, better memory, and superior problem-solving skills as well as an enhanced understanding of their primary language.
• Immersion students are more aware of and show more positive attitudes towards other cultures and an appreciation of other people.
• Immersion students are better prepared for the global community and job markers where a second language is an asset.

Schools with Dual Language Immersion Programs:

• Canyon Crest Elementary -- Spanish
• Edgemont Elementary -- French
• Timpanogos Elementary -- Spanish
• Wasatch Elementary -- Mandarin Chinese

Quality High School Opportunities

Provo and Timpview High Schools have the challenging programs that will prepare students for the rigors of college-level courses. Each school has a wide range of core and elective classes, extra-curricular activities and successful athletic programs.

International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme at Provo High School is a comprehensive and challenging pre-university course that is the only one of its kind in Utah Valley. Demanding the best from both motivated students and teachers, this sophisticated two-year curriculum covers a wide range of academic subjects. The IB Diploma Programme has stood the test of time for more than a half million students in 119 countries since 1968. Top ranking universities, including the Ivy League schools, recognize IB Diploma Programme students as consistently having outstanding qualities and being some of the most qualified students found in the applicant pool.

Advanced Placement

With classes ranging from European History to Physics to Spanish, there is an Advanced Placement class for any student looking to earn college credit in nearly any academic area. Both high schools offer nearly 20 different Advanced Placement subjects with exceptional passing rates. Advanced Placement courses are designed to place a student in college-level atmosphere with a small classroom design, giving students the best practice they can get to succeed at any university.

Dual High School Enrollment Option

Provo School District allows high school students to enroll at both Timpview and Provo High, allowing students to access the best of both worlds through Dual Enrollment. If you see programs that interest you at different schools, talk to your counseling office to make taking them all a possibility. This opportunity enrolls more and more students each year as students and parents see they can access the best qualities of both high schools.

Our Commitment to the Arts

Provo School District recognizes the benefit and value visual and performing arts can add to a student's education and learning ability. To enrich classroom learning, certified music teachers can be found in every elementary, middle and high school staff. In addition, schools are working actively with the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Grant from Brigham Young University to enhance visual art experiences in elementary classrooms.

These programs strengthen the social, emotional and intellectual well-being of students by catering to their multiple intelligences.

• Choir
• Band
• Orchestra
• Strings
• Drawing
• Painting
• Drama
• Graphic Design
• Ceramics
• More

The 20/20 Initiative

What do you see Provo School District being like in the year 2020? A special team of parents, teachers and principals asked the same question and created a plan that will pave the way to help ensure our current and future students have all of the resources necessary to learn, grow and be successful in an ever-changing and evolving workforce. The Recommendations for Action you see below are the result of the Guiding Principles and Strategic Imperatives formed by the 20/20 Committee. These are the concrete decisions that you will see taking effect in each of our schools. For details about the 20/20 Initiative, as well as the Guiding Principles, Strategic Imperatives and the 20/20 Committee, please visit www.provo.edu/202. Opportunities to leave feedback about this Initiative are also available at the same site.

Recommendations for Action

1. Confirm highly effective principals and teachers through enhanced employment, training and evaluation procedures.

• Develop a highly effective principal and teacher evaluation system, and implement an effective process for releasing or redeploying low performers when required.
• Design and implement a focused professional development plan that cultivates excellence.
• Implement an effective recruitment and selection process.
• Employ academic coaches to improve teacher/classroom performance.

2. From clear expectations for all staff at every level of the organization, reward exemplary performance.

• Develop a strategic comprehensive compensation plan.
• Implement a wide range of strategies to recognize organization and individual achievement.

3. Transform communication, customer service and relationship expectations with parents and community.

• Outline tactics that lead to high quality customer service and communication.
• Establish a district-wide compact with parents.
• Develop a broad-based Latino outreach initiative.
• Outline expectations (norms, code of conduct) and provide training that encourages respect, cooperation and civility.

4. Establish district-wide educational performance standards to ensure basic floor of opportunity for all students.

• Institute 3rd grade reading commitment by providing the tools and resources to ensure each 3rd grade student can read on grade level.
• Implement district-wide standards for Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Response to Intervention (RTI), extended-day (before/after-school) and extended-year (summer school) programs.
• Institute Tier II (perspective) intervention in literacy and numeracy directed to struggling students in every school, every day.
• Institute district-wide K-12 writing standards.
• Identify and create essential learning outcomes and formative assessments; hold teachers and students accountable to these outcomes.
• Provide for high-quality instructional materials.
• Develop specific standards and strategies to address the "summer reading loss."
• Enhance school schedules to focus on essential learning outcomes and respond to performance data (elementary 50/25/25; high school daily classes).

5. Provide for continuous improvement in current proven programs.

• Enhance dual immersion, gifted, preschool and extended-day kindergarten programs.
• Support programs, particularly those in arts, science and music that inspire/engage students and increase individual potential.
• Strengthen partnerships with higher education and the business community.
• Create a select committee on advancing science, math and technology instruction in the district.

6. Encourage programs and activities that encourage authentic learning experiences and critical thinking.

• Provide grants that support a variety of authentic (experiential) learning activities, i.e., science fair participation and educational field trips.
• Explore methods to measure student interest and engagement within the teacher evaluation process.

7. Improve general district operations.

• Finalize long-term financial plan, capital building plan and technology plan.
• Establish and implement facility cleaning and maintenance protocols.
• Reorganize busing to achieve high-level customer service and satisfaction.
• Improve efficiency and effectiveness in support operation.
• Enhance security district-wide.

Building Projects

Provo School DIstrict teachers know that students learn best in a bright, clean, safe and technologically-advanced environment. During the past decade, Provo School District has constructed four new schools (Timpanogos Elementary, Lakeview Elementary, Provo Peaks Elementary and Spring Creek Elementary) and has significantly remodeled many others. Included in the building projects are remodeling of Provo High School

Provo High School

Provo High School is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah. It is one of the schools in the Provo District. It is part of the Provo City School District, and is the oldest existent secondary school in the city...

, and auditorium addition to Centennial Middle School

Centennial Middle School

Centennial Middle School is a middle school in the Snohomish School District in Snohomish, Washington And in Boulder County in Boulder, Colorado U.S.A....

, a facelift for Wasatch Elementary, new classrooms at Provost Elementary and a new office and library for Sunset View Elementary.

Provo School District Foundation

The Provo School District Foundation facilitates charitable giving that fund programs and services not provided by the state or federal government, including after-school activities. The Foundation passes resources from contributors to the schools, classrooms and programs that need the most assistance, or can be designated to the entity the donor sees most fit. Below are listed way in which people can contribute.

ProvoREADS

ProvoREADS is a Provo School District and Provo City LIbrary sponsored program that encourages every city resident to promote literacy and community by reading and sharing a common book or author. This year's two books of choice are A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962. The story revolves around a young girl whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project called a tesseract. The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and...

 by Madeleine L'Engle and When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me is a Newbery Medal-winning science fiction and mystery novel by Rebecca Stead, published in 2009. It takes place in the Upper West Side in New York City during 1979 and follows the protagonist, Miranda. She receives a strange note asking her to record future events and write down...

 by Rebecca Stead. Adults will remember A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962. The story revolves around a young girl whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project called a tesseract. The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and...

 as a classic book with a classic good verse evil plot and a time travel twist. When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me is a Newbery Medal-winning science fiction and mystery novel by Rebecca Stead, published in 2009. It takes place in the Upper West Side in New York City during 1979 and follows the protagonist, Miranda. She receives a strange note asking her to record future events and write down...

 explores a New York City girl's beliefs about time travel and how to work through relationship with her family and friends. These books are great companion reads and will resonate with families as the major themes in both stories include independence, redemption and friendship. Each book has received the Newbery Award, the highest recognition for children's literature, and will prove excellent for children, adults and families.

Previous ProvoREADS picks are the collected works of Katherine Paterson, A Long Way from Chicago

A Long Way from Chicago

A Long Way from Chicago is a "novel in stories" by Richard Peck. It was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1999. Peck's sequel to this book, A Year Down Yonder, won the Newbery Medal for children's literature in 2001.-Plot Summary:...

 by Richard Peck, The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux, also known as The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread is a 2004 Newbery Medal winning fantasy book written by Kate DiCamillo. The main plot follows the adventures of a mouse named Despereaux, who sets out on his quest...

 by Katie DiCamillo and Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty is a young adult novel by Rodman Philbrick. Published in 1995, it was l Max the Mighty in 1998. The primary characters are friends Maxwell Kane, a large, very slow, but kind-hearted boy, and Kevin Avery, nicknamed “Freak,” who is physically crippled but very intelligent...

 by Rodman Philbrick. Please visit www.provo.edu/provoreads for more information.

High schools

• Center for High School Studies

Anita Craven, Principal

• Independence High School

Rosanna Ungerman, Principal

• Provo High School
  Provo High School
  Provo High School is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah. It is one of the schools in the Provo District. It is part of the Provo City School District, and is the oldest existent secondary school in the city...
  
  

Jeff Schoonover, Principal

• Timpview High School
  Timpview High School
  Timpview High School, abbreviated "THS" , is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah. Timpview is a 4A school and is part of the Provo City School District. The current principal is Dr...
  
  

Todd McKee, Principal

Middle schools

• Centennial Middle School

Mitch Swenson, Principal

• Dixon Middle School

Jarod Sites, Principal

Elementary schools

• Amelia Earhart Elementary School

Jason Cox, Principal

• Canyon Crest Elementary School

Pat Anderson, Principal

• Edgemont Elementary School

Dennis Pratt, Principal

• Franklin Elementary School

Marlin Palmer, Principal

• Lakeview Elementary School

Drew Daniels, Principal

• Oak Springs School

Dennis Meyers, Principal

• Provo Peaks Elementary School

Alex Judd, Principal

• Provost Elementary School

Stephen Oliverson, Principal

• Rock Canyon Elementary School

Dean Nielson, Principal

• Spring Creek Elementary School

Missy Hamilton, Principal

• Sunset View Elementary School

Clint Smith, Principal

• Timpanogos Elementary School

Diane Bridge, Principal

• Wasatch Elementary School

Colleen Densley, Principal; established 1948

• Westridge Elementary School

Cory Anderson, Principal