Davis School District has been recognized by the Sutherland Institute for excelling in fostering transparency and collaboration with parents by providing accessible curriculum links and relevant resources on its website.
In a news release provided to the media, the Salt Lake City-based independent non-partisan public policy think tank listed the district as meeting all requirements to receive its newly-established Partners in Learning Certificate.
The commendation, the Institute explained, “Provides public recognition to school districts that excel in fostering openness, trust, and collaboration between schools and families through ease of parental access to information about curriculum on district websites.”
The rubric for receiving the certificate required the district to fulfill each of the following eight criteria on its main website:
• The district website includes information, pursuant to state code, about how to access instructional material used by the district.
• The district website has a policy online dealing with instructional material, library material and/or sensitive material.
• The district’s policies are easily accessible.
• The district website has a dedicated website with curriculum information displayed.
• The website with curriculum information is easily accessible.
• Curriculum displayed on the website is organized by grade and/or subject matter.
• The curriculum website works well for users without broken links or errors.
• A link to Canvas found directly on the district website homepage.
The program was initially announced by Sutherland in mid-April, and with its recent announcement to the media, also offered analysis in an Impact Analysis report.
Sutherland Policy Outreach Manager Amaya Mueller congratulated Davis School District Superintendent Dr. Dan Linford in an email.
“Thank you for your great work, being excellent partners in learning with parents by offering openness and access to curriculum information on your website,” she wrote.
Upon receiving the recognition, Linford commented, “We are honored by this recognition that reflects our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability to our families and community.”
Davis was one of 16 of Utah's 41 school districts recognized by Sutherland.