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Edgemont Elementary highlights Blue Ribbon, STEM platinum designation and equity efforts
Summary
Edgemont Elementary principal reported the school — serving just under 600 students — earned the 2024 National Blue Ribbon and a state platinum STEM designation and described goals to boost ELA and multilingual student progress while maintaining high achievement in math and science.
Harmony Karchner, principal of Edgemont Elementary School, told the Provo City School Board on Feb. 11 that the school is sustaining high achievement while focusing on equitable growth for multilingual and special-education students.
Edgemont serves just under 600 students and reported midyear measures showing roughly 78% of students at or above grade level on early reading benchmarks. Karchner said the school’s recent recognitions include the 2024 National Blue Ribbon School award, a platinum-level STEM designation from the state of Utah and recognition of its French dual-language immersion program by the French Embassy as a La Belle school.
“We live by our mission and vision at Edgemont Elementary School, and we make sure all of our decisions are made through the lens of ‘Will this contribute to student learning and growth?’” Karchner told the board. She described schoolwide systems used to support students, including weekly student-success meetings, strong Tier 1 instruction, Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, a multilingual aid, a social worker and a family advocate.
Karchner listed elements the school uses to sustain student outcomes: a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program called SOAR (Safety, Ownership, Achievement, Respect), professional learning communities, parent involvement, a space and STEM lab with 3D printers and a Beverly Taylor Sorensen visual-arts program. She said about 5% of students are multilingual learners and about 13% are identified with disabilities; the school also serves families from a local women’s shelter, which affects year-to-year figures.
Karchner reviewed the school improvement goals for 2024–25: increase English language arts (ELA) proficiency by 5%, increase math achievement by 3%, continue implementation of the five-year STEM plan with a target of a 3% rise in science, and ensure at least 75% of multilingual learners make proficient or better progress. She reported Edgemont met its goal to increase French proficiency on the APPA/ACTFL-type assessment for most grade levels and is investigating supports for the one grade that did not meet the target.
Board members asked about how teachers coordinate instruction across dual-language immersion and STEAM programs; Karchner said teams intentionally reserve PLC time to discuss each subject area and to plan supports so “we own all the students” rather than working in isolated silos.
Clarifying details Karchner provided during the report included enrollment near 600 students; about 30 teachers and roughly a dozen instructional aides; roughly 5% multilingual learners; about 13% students with disabilities; and midyear reading benchmark results with about 78% of students at or above grade level.
Karchner closed by thanking staff and noting the school continues to review midyear data to target Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports for students who need them.
Next steps the principal identified include continuing the five-year STEM-plan implementation, targeted ELA work to recover slight declines, and additional supports for multilingual learners and one grade-level in the French program that missed its proficiency goal.
