SANDY -- Some Kindergarten teachers took a step back in time Friday and donned attire from their college graduation day.
But this wasn't just a day to dress up; It's an important first step to get their very young and impressionable students excited about college.
They may be more than a decade away from picking a school, but these kids are learning young that the choice will be an important one in their lives.
"It's such an interesting and novel idea when they first realize that it's not Halloween, that we are really proud of our education," said Debbie Shumard, principal of Crescent Elementary School in Sandy. "They go home and they talk to their parents, talk to people around them."
That talk led to everyone in the future class of 2024 at Crescent Elementary school making a pledge to be college-ready.
They'll have plenty of help to get there.
We want them to think about what they are going to be when they graduate," Shumard said. "We are initially putting that in their mind that the picture of them, themselves, is what they want to be and picture themselves in that role later."
But the ultimate goal requires baby steps -- starting in kindergarten.
After finding little progress in test scores from the beginning to the end of the year, the Canyons School District launched an intensive teacher training program to bring those scores up.
The nearly 2,000 hours of coaching paid off: 86 percent of Canyons kindergartners knew what they needed to know before moving on to first grade -- a significant jump from the 65 percent who met the benchmark the year before.
Educators hope the year-to-year progress can carry kids through to college, and eventually their careers.
"Most kids don't realize that learning math, learning writing skills and reading skills really affect the quality of their life when they graduate," Shumard said. "We want them to know that they've got choices out there."
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