Ogden School District reports enrollment trends, test-score gains and expanded career programs

Superintendent Rasmussen provided a wide-ranging update on student enrollment, demographic composition and academic programs for the Ogden City School District, citing recent gains in early literacy, rising participation in concurrent enrollment and improvements in teacher retention.

Rasmussen said the district counted about 10,045 students as of Oct. 1 and is on a long-term downward trend statewide that appears to be stabilizing. The superintendent described the district as about 51 percent Hispanic and roughly 65 percent minority-majority overall; he said about 67 percent of students are economically disadvantaged and roughly 23 to 24 percent are learning English as a multilanguage learner. Rasmussen said the district’s mobility rate averages about 21.2 percent (students who change schools during a 160-day school year).

On academic outcomes, district leaders said the district met a key state reading-growth goal for the first time. “Sixty percent of our students in grades 1 through 3 were typical or better in reading growth as measured by our state assessment,” Rasmussen said, calling the result “the first time that that has ever happened in the history of Ogden School District.” He added that grades 1–3 showed a year-over-year growth increase of about 9 percent.

Rasmussen reviewed specialty and postsecondary programs at length. He said the district has a full International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum (primary, middle, and diploma programs) in select schools, a growing concurrent-enrollment profile with 568 seniors enrolled in college-credit courses, and a robust career-technical education (CTE) program that places students in credential and certificate pathways. He described OTEC High School — a partnership with the local tech college — where students take core courses at the tech college while remaining attached to their home high schools for electives and extracurriculars; students there can earn substantial college credit toward an associate degree.

The superintendent said the district has moved from a narrowly focused strategic plan to “Nexus 2030,” a portrait-of-a-graduate framework organized around three anchors: academic excellence, positive behavior supports, and talent development. He named Adam (academic excellence lead), Nicole Lovell (positive behavior supports lead), and Jessica (talent development lead) as staff heading those anchors.

Rasmussen also discussed graduation-rate improvements at several campuses, noting George Washington High School’s rise from a historically low graduation rate to a higher, improved rate in recent years. He credited targeted interventions, literacy work and expanded postsecondary opportunities for the gains.

On staffing, the district reported an increase in teacher retention: district leaders said retention reached roughly 87 percent, exceeding the district goal of 85 percent by 2030. The superintendent said that the district now onboards far fewer new teachers annually than in previous years — roughly 30 new teachers per year compared with near 100 in earlier years — which district staff said allows greater continuity in early-literacy instruction and elsewhere.

District leaders highlighted that 77 percent of students are engaged in college- and career-readiness coursework — including AP, IB and CTE pathways — and said AP participation increased without a decline in pass rates.

Officials also outlined nonacademic supports: teen centers at Ogden High, Ben Lomond and OTEC High and a family center at Odyssey Elementary are being used for shower/hygiene services, clothing and food distribution, tutoring and casework. The district reported about 40 regular teen-center users at each comprehensive high school and 21 users at OTEC High; the family center reported 32 regular parent/guardian users. The district’s MarketStar resource center has served 1,973 unique students this school year, and the Young Automotive “Kind Fund” supplied roughly $265,000 in assistance this last year, district staff said.

Rasmussen and other officials said they will continue program mapping with the city to build pipelines that move students from early-age recreation into school-based teams and to expand opportunities (including increased female participation in athletics). He did not announce new school-district budget line items at the meeting.

The district’s leaders said they will continue to publicize postsecondary and career-pathway successes as part of outreach to families and businesses and to counter misperceptions when families consider charter or out-of-district options.