An award-winning administrator and former mathematics teacher and curriculum specialist has been selected as the next director of Canyons District middle schools. 

Mindy Robison, Principal of Midvale Middle, was appointed the School Performance Director over Canyons Middle Schools on Tuesday night by the Canyons Board of Education. She will succeed Cindy Hanson, who plans to retire at the end of the school year. 

“Middle school is such an important time in our students’ lives,” said Robison, who was chosen after a competitive hiring process. “It’s a time when students are maleable and need role models to help them see all they can do to get ready for their future.” 

Robison is no stranger to the classroom, having taught in several schools before moving to a curriculum-specialist position. She then served as principal of Crescent Elementary before becoming the leader of Midvale Middle in 2017. She was the first principal to serve in the newly rebuilt middle school, which was constructed with funds from a $250 million bond approved by voters in 2010. 

“I have loved every second of my time in Midvale,” Robison said. “I have such a deep appreciation for the Midvale community and what they have done for me. It’s a time I will always keep close to my heart.”   

In 2022, Robison’s efforts to bolster achievement, increase attendance rates, and create positive learning environments at the home of the Trojans, were chief among the reasons she was named the Utah Middle School Principal of the Year by the Utah Association of Secondary School Principals.

While at Midvale, she has led initiatives to boost Midvale Middle’s levels of achievement. With extra funding from the Board of Education, Robison reduced class sizes and provided after-school programming three days a week. This resulted in Midvale students maintaining math skills during the COVID-19 year — and increasing their reading-skill attainment.

Robison says she’s excited to focus on the strengths of each CSD middle school. There are unique needs at each middle school community, Robison said, and she looks forward to working with principals and faculty to address those issues.

“Our students need us to celebrate what they can accomplish,” she said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that, by all of us working together, we can help them learn that they can do it.”