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Show A-8 The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, April 4-6, 2018 Student puts Park District appoints two new positions Hill leader City on the map Ecker moves to district, principal named Park Record Staff CAROLYN WEBBER/PARK RECORD Will Smyth, a seventh-grader at Ecker Hill Middle School, has won the school’s geography bee for the last two years. He is attending the state bee Friday to compete. This is the third time he has qualified. He has qualified for state for the past three years CAROLYN WEBBER The Park Record Will Smyth grew up looking at a world map covering a wall in his home. He was partly dreaming of the places that he would travel one day, but also studying, which is probably why he is the reigning champion of the Ecker Hill Middle School Geography Bee. The seventh-grader has won Ecker Hill’s bee for the last two years. Before taking first at Ecker Hill, he won the Jeremy Ranch Elementary School Bee. All three years, he has qualified with a test to go to the state competition. He is currently preparing for the state competition, which is scheduled to take place on Friday. The Bee involves questions about the location of rivers, monuments and cities around the globe. He said that he studies by reading books, memorizing maps and doing daily quizzes, but he does not see it as work. He loves everything to do with geography. While he has never left the U.S., he said that he has traveled all over the country. He has a long list of places that he wants to visit once he is able to. Juleen Smith, a social studies teacher at Ecker Hill who helps run the school bee, said that it is impressive to have one student win multiple times at the school and make it to state. She said that Ecker Hill has students who are educated and well-traveled, so the bee is fairly competitive. She is excited to see how far he can go. Smyth attended the state bee the last two years and placed 13th out of 100 students last year. He hopes to make it into the top 10 this year. Next year will be his last eligible year to compete. He is preparing by studying for one to two hours every day, he said. The Park City School District announced two administrative appointments for the 2018-19 school year last week. According to the district’s website, Traci Evans will serve as the interim associate superintendent for teaching and learning, effective Aug. 1. Evans, who is currently the principal of Ecker Hill Middle School, will replace Kathy Einhorn, who will retire on July 31. Sam Salinas, the assistant principal at Ecker Hill, will replace Evans as the interim principal. The opening for a oneyear assistant principal position will be posted in a few weeks. Evans has served as principal of the school since 2010. After receiving her degrees in Continued from A-7 Wellness is factor in budget tion. The school currently has three counselors. They added a third counselor two years ago, but she said more help is needed. “We’ve been doing what we can to get by right now, but it’s not enough,” she said. “Leaving our 14- and 15-year-olds completely without that support in the school I think is irresponsible.” She said that part of the increased need is because community-wide awareness of mental health issues has increased. The new counselor would also work on community outreach to continue building that awareness, she said. SERVICIO DE TRANSITO DE PRIMAVERA elementary education and human development and family studies, she taught second and fifth grades at Parley’s Park and Jeremy Ranch Elementary Schools. According to the district, she then earned English as a Second Language (ESL) and Level One Reading endorsements, as well as a master’s degree in elementary reading and literacy. She served as assistant principal at Jeremy Ranch, where she earned her administrative/ supervisory license. Under her direction, Ecker Hill was recognized as a national “School to Watch” for its work of supporting student needs. Salinas has been at Ecker Hill since 2015. He has taught at middle schools, high schools and universities in both Mexico and the U.S. throughout his more than 25 years in education. He received his undergraduate degree from Westminster College and his first master’s degree from La Universidad In- ternacional de La Paz in Mexico, according to the district. He received his second master’s degree in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah. He has worked in secondary school and university administration for 10 years. In 2002, he became the director of La Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur Campus Loreto, which is part of the state university system in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The student wellness coordinator position at the high school is currently in place, because it was funded by the school last year. Phyllis Suggett, assistant principal, said that the position made a big difference for the school, and officials hope to continue it with support from the district so they can instead use the funds for before- and after-school programs. The position came about after the school implemented intervention teams to coordinate additional support for students with disabilities, she said. The teams are made up of teachers who meet and discuss how they can better provide assistance to those students. She said that they quickly realized that they needed someone to facilitate and manage those teams. Suggett said that because of the position and the established processes, decisions are now data driven rather than “hunch based.” “This extra person expands our safety net for kids,” she said. “We know it is working.” The coordinator also manages 504 plans that outline accommodations for students with disabilities, Belnap said. There is currently inconsistency among schools about which students qualify for accommodations. At the high school, there is anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of students who have 504 plans, he said. “It takes a lot of organization and a good systemic approach to process,” he said. “This student wellness coordinator has really tightened up that process so we’re not just kind of scattered all over the place.” Belnap said that the positions the Board is considering adding to the budget free up other staffers and allow them to focus on what they are trained to do. “When we’re spread out, our efforts are diluted,” he said. “That’s when kids fall through the cracks.” Belnap said that he has had some pushback from the Board regarding the positions because members want to ensure that there is a plan in place instead of simply throwing more people at the problem. “It’s created a good, healthy discussion to make sure that we are allocating our resources appropriately,” he said. Andrew Caplan, president of the Board, said that there were several positions added last year to support the “whole child” and now the Board is determining what the needs are and what positions can help fill those needs. He said that there are a lot of issues that are affecting students, and the district wants to be proactive about helping those students. But he, and the rest of the Board, wants to be sure that the positions added will provide the best support to the most amount of students. “It will continue to be a good portion of the budget because if kids don’t have food in their stomachs or they are focused on things outside of the classroom, whether it’s anxiety issues or depression or whatever it might be, they won’t be able to learn,” he said. PHOTO BY DEBORAH DEKOFF PHOTO BY DEBORAH DEKOFF Traci Evans will leave her position as principal of Ecker Hill Middle School to become the interim associate superintendent for teaching and learning this summer. Sam Salinas will serve as the interim principal of Ecker Hill Middle School. Wednesday, April 11, 2018 4:30 pm – 7 pm PARTIR DEL LUNES, 9 ABRIL 7:30 a.m. a 10:30 p.m. HORAS DE SERVICIO DIARIAS PARA LAS SIGUIENTES RUTAS SERÁN DE 1 Rojo Prospector Square (ruta modificada) 2 Verde Park Meadows & Thaynes Canyon (ruta modificada) 7 Rosado Kimball Junction West 8 Marrón Kimball Junction East LA 10 XPRESS ELÉCTRICA BLANCA FUNCIONARÁ HASTA MEDIA NOCHE. EL COMANDO KAMAS MANTIENE SU CALENDARIO REGULAR. Las líneas naranjas y moradas regresarán a mediados de junio. PARKCITYTRANSIT.ORG Descarga la aplicación myStop para rastrear tu autobús en tiempo real. ¿Viaja con Park City Transit con PC-SLC Connect? 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