West High Recognized as School of Excellence for Closing Opportunity Gap

The Salt Lake City School District recently recognized West High as a school of excellence for “closing the opportunity gap” for Utah’s multilingual learners. This award was also given to East High, which is being honored as an exemplary Utah High School as well. 

The Salt Lake City School District is among seven other school districts in Utah which have created efficient and effective learning programs for students who are bilingual. West High is one of eight High Schools being recognized for their excellence. 

According to the letter on the Salt Lake School Districts’ website, “The commitment by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is to honor those educators who have supported equitable access to the same educational opportunities offered to English speaking peers. Your work with high school principals and teachers provides an important learning opportunity for all of us to better support an effective transition to post-secondary education for success in both career and college.” 

The opportunity gap within education in Utah has been something many people and organizations have been making efforts to close. The Pew Research Center found that the number of undergraduates who came from poverty or nonwhite families in higher education has increased over the last 20 years. They also state that, “even as more students arrive on campus, inequality based on wealth and race has continued to grow.” 

Many other states, including Colorado and Indiana, have increased awareness of the significant gaps within their education systems. And these states have made it a goal to close the gaps within their education systems, Utah included.

Overall, the amount of progress West High and other Utah high schools have made in response has been very important in the effort to give students equal chances for success in their careers. 

Congratulations to West High for their excellence!