School LAND Trust
Much of the land in Utah is federally-owned, including national parks, wildlife reserve areas, mining/farming areas, and other lands. Funds from these lands are invested and the resulting revenue is distributed to public schools throughout the state of Utah to be used where most needed.
Early Light Academy’s school board and administration function together as the School LAND Trust Committee and make decisions about federal School LAND Trust funds. The committee determines where there is an academic need, makes a plan for using the funds, and reports on the results after implementation. School LAND Trust plans are discussed 2-3 times per year during board meetings, which follows the Open Meetings Act. Therefore, notice of meetings are always posted in advance with an agenda. If there ever is not a parent majority serving on the board, additional parents will be encouraged to participate on a committee to plan and report on School LAND Trust funds and expenditures. If more parents are interested than the number of open positions an election will be held and parents within the school community will vote to determine who will represent them on the School LAND Trust Council. Currently, the board has a parent majority.
LAND Trust Council Membership & Election Procedures
Please visit the School LAND Trust website to view the current and past SLT plans and additional information.
LAND Trust Committee
| Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Stephanie Schmidt | Executive Director | sschmidt@earlylightacademy.org |
| Jenn Lund | Chair, Parent & Board Member | JLund@earlylightacademy.org |
| Brett Crocket | Parent & Board Member | BCrockett@earlylightacademy.org |
| Candice Mitchell | Parent & Board Member | CMitchell@earlylightacademy.org |
| Andrea Johnson | Parent & Board Member | AJohnson@earlylightacademy.org |
| Brian Christensen | Parent & Board Member | BChristensen@earlylightacademy.org |
The ELA Board of Directors acts as the School LAND Trust (SLT) Committee. The Board of Directors meets monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of the month except for July and December. The Board will discuss SLT business in their October, February and March meetings of each school year. These dates are subject to change without notice. Please refer to the Utah Public Meeting Notice Website for agendas and times.
Past Land Trust Funds
ELA has previously allocated School LAND Trust funds to support student proficiency and growth in math, reading, science, and technology. In the past, we have purchased laptops for math enrichment, a digital teaching microscope for science, a classroom set of SMART Response clickers to pilot new formative assessment strategies, Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, computer software for student use, reading materials (novels and guided reading titles), and math curriculum.
For the 2012-2013 school year, the funds were allocated toward the purchase of new math curriculum for students in grades K-8 in order to support the transition to the new math core standards.
For the 2013-2014 school year, funds were used to purchase additional laptop carts for students as well as several classroom sets of SMART Response clickers to support the use of technology in math and science.
For the 2014-2015 school year, ELA purchased computers for keyboarding instruction, reading materials for literacy instruction, and math textbooks with online licenses for ninth grade students. 2014-2015 Land Trust Report
For the 2015 - 2016 school year, ELA funds were allocated for the purchase of a new Language Arts Curriculum, Reading Street. Our goals were to see student growth in Language Arts SAGE scores. 2015-2016 Land Trust Report.
For the 2016-2017 school year, ELA funds were allocated for the purchase of SRI assessment subscriptions, Mastery Connect software, and additional computer labs to facilitate fidelity to these programs. Our goals were to see student growth in Language Arts SAGE scores for students in grades 5-9. 2016-2017 Land Trust Report.
For the 2018-2019 school year, ELA funds were allocated for the purchase software and supplies to support writing and science; chromebook’s for junior high science, language arts and fourth grade classrooms. Our goals are to improve the student outcomes in the beginning and end of year assessments in science and writing.
For the 2019-2020 school year, ELA funds were allocated for the purchase of software and supplies to support Math and Language Arts; Mastery connect software, and additional computers to bring the CCA lab up to current specifications. Our goals are to 1) provide classroom pathways in STEM, Computer Science and Engineering in the Junior High; 2) improve student outcomes on District created Math and Language Arts Benchmarks utilizing Mastery Connect.
For the 2020-2021 school year, ELA funds were allocated for the purchase of updated SMARTboards compatible with interactive Math core curriculum and professional development for staff regarding the use of SMARTboards as a tool for improving student outcomes. We also used the funding to support advanced reading groups in our Supplemental All-Day Kindergarten program. Our goals are to measurably improve mathematics scores on state end of year RISE assessments and to improve student outcomes in the all-day population on the Kindergarten KEEP State Assessment from Entry to Exit in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy.
We are thankful for the School LAND Trust funds that enable us to target academic needs in our school. We anticipate continued benefits for our students in the years to come.
- Dollar amounts received by the school each year through the program »
- Rules of order and procedures the council uses to conduct meetings »
If you have questions about Early Light Academy’s School LAND Trust program, please contact Stephanie Schmidt.
Teacher & Student Success Act (TSSA)
The Teacher and Student Success Act is designed to improve the school’s performance under the state’s accountability system.
- Student Success Framework
- 2020-2021 TSSA Plan
- 2021-2022 TSSA Plan
- 2022-2023 TSSA Plan
- 2023-2024 TSSA Plan
Based on the budget allocated, the funds will be spent as follows:
- 60% of the TSSA funds will be used for augmentation of existing programs
- 40% of TSSA funds will be used for teacher salaries and/or bonuses
Funding will be used to support these goals:
- Students at Early Light Academy will demonstrate a year of academic growth on state end of year Language Arts summative assessments as compared to the previous year by increasing proficiency percentages a minimum of 1%.
- Students at Early Light Academy will demonstrate a year of academic growth on state end of year Mathematics summative assessments as compared to the previous year by increasing proficiency percentages a minimum of 1%.
- Early Light Academy will enhance school culture and support our mission by encouraging community participation in our annual school culture and history events