Weber School Foundation opens teen resource centers in every county high school; nearly 7,600 visits reported

Weber School Foundation officials and district leaders on Tuesday described the completion of teen resource centers in every high school in the county and said the sites were accessed about 7,600 times last school year. The centers provide students at-risk access to food, clothing, hygiene items and a staffed space to study or rest, officials said. Foundation Executive Director Emily Euler and board president Jeremy Dunn told the district board the program began after the foundation visited a model teen center and determined the district’s level of student need justified creating similar sites in each high school. Why it matters: Foundation and district leaders said the centers are intended to remove barriers to learning for students who face food insecurity or unstable housing, and to provide a private way for families to access food pantries without entering school buildings. What was said and done: Euler told the board the first completed site, at 2 Rivers High School, recorded nearly 6,000 visits from August 2024 through April 2025. Bonneville, Roy, Fremont, Weber High and Westfield teen centers reported smaller counts that reflected shorter operating windows; figures released in the presentation included 1,300 visits for Bonneville and 168 visits at Roy in a two‑month span after opening. Euler said Westfield had opened two weeks earlier and the district expected visits to grow as awareness increased. Euler and Dunn described funding and cost: the total cost for all teen centers was “just under $3,000,000.” They said legislative funding secured with help from the Policy Project totaled about $1,300,000 (roughly $250,000 per high school with a slightly smaller award for Westfield). Additional funds included roughly $913,000 raised through Foundation and community events, $200,000 in community contributions and about $457,000 from private family foundations; Euler described those three categories collectively as community dollars. Leaders described other program elements: each center includes a food pantry with a separate external access point so families can pick up items without walking through the school; principals are adopting a uniform tracking sheet so the Foundation can compare data across sites; and the Foundation is working with school principals to identify volunteer opportunities to extend hours and provide mentoring. Euler said the district is exploring background‑check and supervision procedures before volunteers would be placed in the centers. Board reaction and next steps: Superintendent Butters and several board members praised the Foundation’s work. Euler and Dunn asked the board to help publicize ways community members can contribute financially or by donating grab‑and‑go snacks, clothing and other basic‑needs items. They asked for help expanding hours and recruiting mentors; the presentation said principals are meeting to share best practices and to coordinate volunteer staffing in a later phase. Ending: Foundation leaders asked the public to visit the centers and encouraged donations and volunteers; they said the district will continue to collect consistent data across sites and report results to the board.