Wilson Elementary hopes to set standard

An 80-year-old school has gotten a massive face lift Granite School District hopes can become a model for urban education.

Woodrow Wilson Elementary kicked off the first day of single-track, year-round school in a state-of-the art facility in an off-the-beaten-path location. It's in a wing of the Granite Education Center, the old hospital at 2500 S. State that houses two other schools, district offices and, coming next year, a Utah State University extension.

Leaders at the ethnically diverse, high-poverty school hired a new staff a year ago and have been trying to move in a new, "best practices" direction, which includes full-day preschool and kindergarten programs and teaching with technology and the arts. They want district and student teachers to observe Wilson professionals — perhaps opening to visitors thrice weekly, principal Lynda Hart says — and pick up new ideas and model them elsewhere.

"It's exhilarating, a privilege to have all the equipment we have in this school, the extra personnel . . . and to see it all come together," sixth-grade teacher Karen Baxter said. "It's all for these kids, and these kids deserve it."

The 600-student Wilson is in a two-story wing — mostly, an addition — connected to but separate from Granite Peaks adult classes and the Granite Technical Institute. The old school, 2825 S. 200 East, will house Granger Elementary for about 18 months until that new school is built, district spokesman Randy Ripplinger said.

Wilson has after-school programs for tutoring, sports and arts activities and Girl Scouts. It is one of a handful in Granite piloting full-day kindergarten — a pet project of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. shown to level the playing field before achievement gaps take hold. Two full-day pre-school programs — a first in the district — and a half-day preschool enroll 60 students and have waiting lists, Hart said.

The school has challenges. All but 3 percent of the students probably will switch schools during the school year. Sixty percent are learning English as a second language — students come from 26 countries and about 65 students are refugees, who will be assisted under a $210,000 federal grant — and 85 percent are low income.

But these factors also can bring opportunities not found in homogenous schools.

"It gives us a lot more variety," said third-grade teacher Jessica Giauque, who says she's picking up Spanish from students. Students can share their experiences and their home nations, serving as a geography and social studies lesson. "It brings a lot more to education, I think."