Education

School District addresses future schedules, programs, and 6 percent raise

The San Juan School Board discussed start times for secondary schools, the diversity in administration initiative, and approved a six-percent base raise for licensed staff at their May 19 meeting. The district plans to implement an A/B schedule for secondary schools starting next year, but how...

Local graduations

See the Monument Valley High School seniors See the San Juan High School seniors See the Monticello High School seniors HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS: Monticello High – Wednesday, May 26, 7 p.m. San Juan High – Thursday, May 27, 5 p.m. Navajo Mountain High – Friday, May 28, 9:30 a.m. Monument Valley High...

Fourth grade teacher in Blanding is named Teacher of the Year

Kristina Begay, a fourth-grade teacher at Blanding Elementary School, is the 2021 Teacher of the Year for the San Juan School District. Begay was honored for her work at a May 3 banquet. Blanding Elementary School Principal Jay Porter said, “Kristina is a wonderful teacher who cares for her...

Utah State University Blanding celebrates Class of 2021 graduates

Utah State University Blanding is proud to have celebrated its class of 2021 on Friday, April 23. The class of 2021 consists of individuals earning 73 associate, 27 bachelor’s, three master’s degrees, and 39 certificates. “You have had an experience like no other graduating class. University is...

School Board states parents can exempt children from school facemask mandates

Parents of students in the San Juan School District can excuse their children from facemask mandates by signing a medical exemption. By a 5-0 vote at the April 14 board meeting, the school board voted to allow the parental exemption for medical, mental health, or disability reasons. The news was...

USU plans new Monument Valley building to provide remote classes

Utah State University Blanding plans to build a new facility in Monument Valley. An estimated 68 percent of the student body at USU Blanding is Native American. Many of those Indigenous students travel daily from the Navajo Nation to Blanding for courses. Some students attend remote classes in the...

Five area students earn Sterling Scholar honors

Five high school seniors from San Juan County earned the title of Sterling Scholar and 14 more were named runners-up at the annual Southeast Utah Sterling Scholar competition. Winners include Jordan Clinger of San Juan High School in the Drama and Vocal Performance category, Xavier Martin of...

Schools preparing re-entry plans

Local schools are creating a “re-entry plan” as they come out of the year-long impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Details were discussed at the March 10 meeting of the San Juan School Board. The plans vary depending on the school and the area. Schools in the district’s River Region (in...

Network brings school to 500 isolated homes

A newly-installed “local area” computer network will bring new educational opportunities to more than 500 homes in the farthest reaches of the San Juan School District. A simple ribbon-cutting ceremony in Blanding inaugurated the network on March 8, culminating a nine-month process that officials...

“Unkempt” wins Spelling Bee

Alexis Bailey, Hyrum Vess, and Lucas Jeppesen were the top three finishers in the San Juan School District Spelling Bee, held February 24 at San Juan High School. After Jeppesen was eliminated, Bailey and Vess battled through round after round before Bailey correctly spelled “unkempt” and walked...