Diamond Ridge High School’s growth in enrollment is matched only by its track record of success. Combine that with an upcoming move to a new location, and the future is even brighter.

Demand to enroll at Diamond Ridge and its sister school for adult education, Entrada High, has become so great that they’ve outgrown their current home on the Canyons Technical Education campus. The two schools will relocate this fall to the former Bell View Elementary School, which is being remodeled.

In celebration of this transition, a special evening for the public will take place at the Bell View building on Wednesday, Aug. 10 (9800 S. 800 East, Sandy). A reception kicks things off at 5:30 p.m. followed by a ribbon-cutting program (6 p.m.) and Open House tour of the new location.

Moving into Bell View, whose students will attend the new Glacier Hills Elementary, will provide both schools room to grow. Diamond Ridge is hoping to double its enrollment this coming year to 170 students with a five-year goal of eventually serving up to 500 students.

Diamond Ridge opened in August 2015 as an alternative to large, comprehensive high schools. In its eight years, the small, tight-knit home of the Raptors has, in Principal Amy Boettger’s words, “become the school of choice” for a growing number of students.

“We play an important role in Canyons District. Diamond Ridge is the school of choice for students who need a different kind of atmosphere,” Boettger said. “Education is not a one-size-fits all endeavor, and it’s important that all of our students feel like they have a place to belong. We are customizing education to fit the needs, learning styles, and aspirations of our students.”

Even as demand for its services has grown, Diamond Ridge has managed to get more and more of its students across the K-12 finish line. In four years, the school’s graduation rate has grown 36 percent to reach 87 percent in 2021, gains sustained even in the throes of the COVID-19 health crisis.

There are few “alternative” high schools in Utah with a graduation rate to match.

The remodeled Bell View building will also be a more functional and student-friendly space. The vast majority of Diamond Ridge and Entrada classes now are in portables.

“For Entrada students, the move to our new campus will be an amazing opportunity,” said Mark Mataya, Canyons’ Adult Education Program Manager who oversees Entrada’s day-to-day operations. “Their classes will no longer be in portable buildings spread about campus, but will be in a dedicated building in a centralized area.  They will also have use of other facilities such as a gym, media center, green spaces and outdoor fields.”

The Bell View remodel, which is being overseen by Curtis Miner Architecture and Warner & Associates Construction, includes two phases:

• Phase 1: Create an office for Entrada and a counseling suite.
• Phase 2: During the school year, renovations will be made to create new science labs, an art room with a kiln, a classroom for family consumer science and a teen parent program. Additional office space will be made for outside services, so vocational rehabilitation and the Division of Workforce Services can meet with students and their families.

“We want to be a resource for students and their families,” Boettger said.

Added Mataya: “We are all grateful to the Canyons School District leadership team for dedicating the resources to help the adult education students at Entrada.”

For those who can’t attend in person, the event will be broadcast live on CSDTV.