Achievement – Hillcrest High School

Hillcrest’s Clief Castleton Chosen for Prestigious NASA-funded Training, Education Program

Post published:February 25, 2021
Post category:Achievement

Two stellar Canyons District educators have been selected by a NASA-affiliated institute to attend a prestigious astrophysics teacher-training program that includes a flight into the stratosphere on a jumbo jet carrying a massive reflecting telescope used to detect light sources from the depths of space.

Hillcrest High’s Clief Castleton and Corner Canyon High’s Milo Maughan are among the 30 high school, middle school, and community college instructors from 10 states chosen as 2021 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors.

They are the sole Utah teachers in this year’s co-hort, which was announced Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 by the SETI Institute.

Hillcrest High Lauded for Closing Achievement Gap

Post published:January 21, 2021
Post category:Achievement

Hillcrest High School was one of eight Utah high schools to be designated as a Utah High School of Excellence. To qualify for the award, the schools were required to have more than 800 students enrolled, with 25 to 50 percent of the students being economically disadvantaged. The award also targeted schools with multilingual learners comprising 10-15 percent of the school population, and 25 to 45 percent of students achieving their annual growth goals.

To best support students at the school who are learning English as a second language, including refugees, Hillcrest created two specific math and English Language Arts classes with additional supports for the students. The classes have been effective at giving students the tools they need to stay on task and receive additional attention that is difficult to provide in a regular classroom, Hillcrest High School Principal Greg Leavitt said.

“We appreciate Canyons School District for providing funds that we could expand our ELL programs and our secondary language expansions,” Leavitt said. “Now that we have those resources, I think we can see that those resources have created results. If good resources are applied, we can make some progress.”

Six Huskies Named Semifinalists in 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program

Post published:September 9, 2020
Post category:Achievement Announcements

Congratulations to Hillcrest’s John Baird, Anthony Davies, John Graupman, Ilha Hwang, Michael Lu, and Nami Robinson who have been selected as semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among more than a dozen Canyons District students and 16,000 students nationwide chosen as semifinalists.

Merit Scholar designees are selected because of their outstanding skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

If designated as finalists in February, these students will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit Scholarships in the amount of $2,500. Winners will be announced beginning in April.