Taylorsville makes the jump
At the end of every school year, every student takes their final test. English, math, and science teachers make the reviews hoping that each student will pass the test and hopefully with flying colors.
In this past year, Taylorsville has indeed put on a display of flying colors. Formally ranked as the 33rd on KSL’s school ranking, it is now ranked as 9th in Utah. This is an extraordinary jump, extraordinary enough to catch KSL’s eye.
Jerry Haslam explains the school’s plan that the faculty has composed, “When Sophomores enter the school, we want them to realize that school is important, ” said Haslam, “the trackers are here to help Sophomores get a hold on their grades from the start.” Not only are there trackers to help stay on top of grades, but planned-out class systems have helped as well.
Jen Hilton, an Elementary Algebra teacher, uses the modified schedule and class sizes to her advantage. She feels that the students get a better understanding of what their being taught.
“They’re getting over their fears of math,” Hilton said in an interview with Palepoi. “They have math everyday, they are in smaller classes. And they have technology to help them learn.”
The little changes are making a big difference over-all. “Every high school in Utah is included in the KSL School Project, but Taylorsville made a huge jump,” said Palepoi. “And schools deserve credit when they’ve improved like that.”
The KSL School Project is looking to spotlight success stories among Utah high schools. Whether it’s with the faculty, students, or the school in general. “We want students to send in videos of their success stories,” Palepoi said. “It could be on YouTube or you could record it on your iPhone, and you just send it in on KSL.com.”
The staff of the school is working hard to make improvement. Coordinating with not only junior high schools but elementary schools as well. The goal is to give us, the students, an excellent future. Haslam said, “Once you find out what is different about high school, you’ll be a successful student.”
