Viewmont High credits teacher leadership, job‑embedded PD for student gains

Viewmont High School principal Travis Lund told the Davis County School Board that teacher leadership and job‑embedded professional development have been central to recent gains in student engagement and achievement at the school.

The presentation, led by a team of teachers and introduced by Lund, outlined how the school used the High Reliability Schools (HRS) framework to empower teacher leaders and translate that leadership into student supports across academics, multilingual services and extracurriculars.

The HRS approach at Viewmont, staff said, focuses on teacher empowerment to improve student outcomes. "As you're over the whole school, you need to first recognize that you're not the expert at everything. What you can be the expert in is putting the right people in the right places and giving them the support and help that they need so that they can support their colleagues and elevate the school," teacher Linnea Hernandez said, quoting the principal and describing the school’s emphasis on teacher leadership.

Teachers detailed several specific practices. The school produced a monthly teacher podcast tied to chapters of Marzano’s New Art and Science of Teaching; faculty are invited via a Canvas course to listen, reflect and share peer feedback. Lunch‑and‑learn sessions and voluntary “watch and learns” allow teachers to observe peers during prep periods or with classroom coverage and then debrief.

Staff reported the HRS work has yielded measurable programmatic initiatives. An English language development (ELD) program, now four years old, serves newcomer multilingual learners who speak nine languages; the program uses teacher leaders, counselors and teen‑center staff to build belonging, connect students with community speakers and create leadership opportunities. Akwasi Frimpong and other guest speakers were cited as past visitors.

Presenters also described growth in unified sports and arts collaboration. A unified sports class expanded from about 12 students when it began three years ago to roughly 35–40 participants, staff said, with peer athletes taking leadership and coaching roles. Performing arts staff created a symphony chorus that combined band, choir and orchestra and invited junior high students to perform alongside high school students; the ensemble was selected as a featured performer at the Utah Music Educators Association conference.

Principal Lund and teachers emphasized that the work is explicit about improving student learning: the school recently achieved HRS Level 1 status and is working toward Level 2. The presenters invited questions from the board and said their goal is to share classroom practices that other schools can adapt.

Viewmont staff closed by thanking board members and district leaders and offered to provide follow‑up information on practices and results upon request.

Ending: The board thanked the Viewmont team for the overview; no formal actions or votes resulted from the presentation.