SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — Some of Utah’s largest school districts opened for business Wednesday morning.
The welcome students got at Harvest Elementary School in Saratoga Springs was second to none.
Every year, teachers and administrators roll out the red carpet and wave pom-poms to make the kids feel welcome.
Teacher Marisela Prince has taken part in the festivities since 2007, and says it never gets old.
“I love Harvest, I’ve been here for 16 years," she said. "One of the most exciting things this day is to get to know my students, learn their names, what they like, I do have a radio game so I can do that, so today, very exciting, also this red carpet activity we do every year is exciting for both teachers and students."
Harvest is part of Alpine School District, Utah’s largest.
Eric Woodhouse is Director of Operations for Alpine School District.
He says the focus is on student literacy and mathematical abilities.
“We have a four-year strategic plan and we’re on year three of that strategic plan to continue to improve student outcomes,” Woodhouse said. “We’ve seen a positive trend line in those student outcomes over the last three years and haven’t quite seen the dip in our district that other districts in our nation have seen.”
This year's theme is “Excellence Quest,” and the goal is to set a proper mindset for students in order to help them develop necessary skill sets.
