Staff commitment, collaboration highlighted as strengths at Copper Canyon Elementary

Terry Shonoff, the principal at Copper Canyon Elementary, said the school’s greatest strength is “the collective commitment that our staff, students, parents, everybody has in making sure that students are building a solid foundation in their education.”

Shonoff has been principal for a year and described the school’s success as rooted in cooperation among adults in the building. Julie Bezanes, a school secretary who said she opened Copper Canyon and has worked at the school for 21 years, described the campus as “such a great I I would call it a family here at Copper Canyon.”

Teachers and students interviewed during the short profile echoed that view. Ally Mickelson, a first-grade teacher, said, “My favorite thing is our staff. We work together so great to help these kids get where they need to go. We have a very amazing group of adults around these kids that just always push them, and we are very great at collaborating with each other and helping them throughout kindergarten all the way through sixth grade.”

A fourth-grade student, identified as Maddox, cited classroom instruction when asked what makes the school strong: “The teachers are nice and fun. They try to keep the students entertained and stuff.” When asked his favorite subject, Maddox said, “Math.” He added, “Because our teacher like knows how to explain it and keeps it fun,” and said he is looking forward to “maybe harder math” in fifth grade.

The interview was a short profile piece rather than a formal school board discussion; no actions, policy changes, funding figures or program decisions were discussed during the segment. The comments in the profile focused on school culture, staff collaboration, and student engagement as factors behind Copper Canyon’s performance.

Copper Canyon Elementary is part of the Tooele County School District. The profile did not provide enrollment numbers, test scores, budget details or comparative district data.