Canyons District is pointing kids toward college

DRAPER – "Do you know why I call him Dr. Doty?" teacher Lisa Rigby asks the group of squirming kindergartners as they sit "criss-cross applesauce" on the carpet on their first day of school.

"Because he went to school for a long time," she says. "When you graduate, you get to wear a cap and gown — just like Dr. Doty."

Canyons School District Class of 2022, specifically the kindergartners in Rigby's class at Oak Hollow Elementary School, were in for a treat Thursday — but it wasn't graham crackers and milk.

Canyons Superintendent Dave Doty and Tamra Baker, district director of K-16 student achievement in elementary schools, donned their academic regalia to visit the classroom. The goal is to get children excited about college from day one.

"We graduated from high school and went to college," Rigby said, holding up her red-covered University of Utah diploma for the children to see.

The students then got to line up and receive a black mortarboard cap with a yellow yarn tassel and letters reading 2022 in gold glitter. They were handed a blue plastic wristband that said "Class of 2022" and received a certificate, rolled up and tied with a brown ribbon, that stated: "I will be college ready," signed by Doty and Oak Hollow principal Rebecca Dallimore.

"Even though you aren't really graduating today, we want you to think about how important it is to read and get smart and get ready for college," Doty told the tykes.

The children then placed their hands in hot pink and vibrant purple finger paint and made a handprint on a white paper sign that read: "I will be college ready." The sign will hang in the school's hallway.

Doty earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Brigham Young University, where he also received a law degree and doctorate in educational leadership. He has a master's in education from Stanford.

Baker, who has a master's degree in educational leadership from BYU, is the first woman in her family to earn a college degree. "It wasn't if I would go to college — it was when," she said. Baker has eight granddaughters following in her footsteps.

"When we are prepared in education, we have choices," she said. "We can seek satisfying work that has a purpose for us."

Rigby, who has a master's degree in literacy, said she furthered her education to "learn the new latest, greatest techniques for teaching children."

Whether the college theme will stick in the minds of these kids, most of them 5, will be seen in about 13 years. When asked what their favorite part of school was so far, Valerie Witzel and Riley Stevens both said, "Recess," and Beth Phelps said, "The playground."

e-mail: astewart@desnews.com

TWITTER: AKStewDesNews