Logan High School.
LOGAN — Spring graduation wrapped up this past week at Utah State University, but still to come is the end of the public school year.
On a recent KVNU For the People program, Logan City School District Superintendent Frank Schofield said this is a busy time of year.
Seniors are trying to wrap up their courses, there is A.P. Testing, end-of-year testing for state-testing courses and a couple days before high school graduation it’s one of the favorite events for Schofield, the Senior Wave.
“(It)is a day of graduation practice, all of our seniors, we put them on busses, and we take them to the elementary school that they attended, or if they’re newer to the district it’s the school where their younger siblings attend,” he explained.
Schofield said they got the idea from another school they learned about that did this, so the teachers at Logan High School asked if they could do it there.
“(I said)sure, let’s put it together. But, it’s really cool because you have these seniors who are walking down the halls at Ellis Elementary or Wilson Elementary, and they haven’t seen their first-grade teacher for…12 years, 12 – 13-plus years. And they’re walking down the halls and their teachers get to see them and they’re surprised and you’ve got high-fives, you got hugs, you got so many people taking selfies and parents walking behind taking pictures.”
He said it’s a great celebration of the students, but it’s also a unique celebration of the teachers and the work that everybody in the district has done.
Schofield said that the COVID-19 pandemic made issues become more visible in some ways, especially when it comes to student’s emotional well-being. He said there are great resources for students and parents.
“We have cases where a parent will approach the administration or at the high school or middle school they’ll approach the counselor, and say ‘my child is struggling, here’s what they’re struggling with. Can we make a plan to support them here in the school?’ We’ve got kids we put on plans and they might have regular time with the school counselor. We might put something in, we’re saying ‘okay now whenever you’re feeling yourself get agitated and here’s how you’re going to recognize that’. So, we teach them that skill, first of all, how do I recognize when I’m starting to get upset.”
Schofield said they guide them to what to say to their teacher, and that will give them opportunity to go the wellness room.
He said the process helps build the students skills and builds up the student’s self-perception of their own ability to be successful and manage things.