Education

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...

School district considers spring student events in light of COVID-19

As COVID-19 cases continue to drop and vaccinations rise, the San Juan School District is closely monitoring what the changes may mean for the district. At the February 10 school board meeting, distract staff discussed spring activities, including extra-curriculars, graduation ceremonies, and prom...

School district will work to bring a better balance of diversity

The San Juan School District is forming a plan to have the school district administration match the student populations that it serves. At the January 20 meeting of the San Juan School Board, the board unanimously passed a resolution to work out details of a plan to create an administrative hiring...

Schools release smartphone app

The San Juan School District has launched a new smart phone application for parents, students, and staff. The app will allow users to access school district news, announcements, and event calendars. The app can be customized to receive important notifications from the district regarding specific...

Local student athletes receive fall 2020 Academic All-state honors

Three local high school student athletes earned Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) Academic All-state honors for the 2020 fall sports season. Kalea Chamberlain of San Juan High School was named to the Academic All-state girls soccer team. Lydia Pugh of San Juan and Kennedy Brewer of...

At-home learning ups, downs in area schools

In contrast to the widespread failure of at-home learning in the mountain region schools of the San Juan School District, the river region schools are experiencing success with the teacher-directed instruction of students at home. The San Juan School Board reviewed reports of student success at the...

San Juan School Board votes to move away from district-provided at-home learning

At-home online learning offered by the San Juan School District is going away for students in Blanding, Monticello, and La Sal. The district program, known as Option Two, was eliminated citing widespread lack of success among students and increased work-loads among teachers. The change will not...

School fall break extended through Monday, Covid outbreak in Monticello schools

Fall Break has been extended in the San Juan School District. There will be no school for students district wide on Monday, it will be a teacher/staff work day. Additionally there has been an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Monticello schools involving at least three students and half a dozen staff...

San Juan County river region schools adjust to online learning

Students in Bluff, Montezuma Creek, Monument Valley, and Navajo Mountain are back to learning despite the challenges of not physically being in their school buildings. The decision for the river region of the San Juan School District (SJSD) not to physically return to school was made based on...