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From its founding days, the Canyons District community has invested in its schools with passion, creativity, and a mindset that anything is possible. The winners of the 2023 Apex Awards are among those who have gone above and beyond in CSD’s collective quest to rise above, strive to make a difference, and lift the children of Canyons as they reach for their dreams through education. Each year since 2010, the Board of Education and Administration have recognized stellar employees, volunteers, and business partners with Apex Awards, the highest awards presented by the District. The winners received their lead crystal awards during a Tuesday, Oct. 26 ceremony at Alta High. The Canyons Board of Education and Superintendent, who select the winners, express deep gratitude to this year’s honorees for their excellence, commitment and leadership.
2024
TEACHER of
THE YEAR
Kevin Clyde
2024
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR of
THE YEAR
Colleen Smith
2024
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR of
THE YEAR
Cindy Hanson
2024
EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS of
THE YEAR
Sara Cook
2024
COMMUNITY PARTNER of
THE YEAR
South Valley Chamber
2024
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROFESSIONAL of
THE YEAR
Jen Gerrard
2024
VOLUNTEER of
THE YEAR
Jessica Davies
2024
ELECTED OFFICIALS of
THE YEAR
Molly Hart
2024
LEGACY AWARD
Mont Millerberg
From its founding days, the Canyons District community has invested in its schools with passion, creativity, and a mindset that anything is possible. The winners of the 2024 Apex Awards are among those who have gone above and beyond in CSD’s collective quest to rise above, strive to make a difference, and lift the children of Canyons as they reach for their dreams through education. Each year since 2010, the Board of Education and Administration have recognized stellar employees, volunteers, and business partners with Apex Awards, the highest awards presented by the District. The winners received their lead crystal awards during a Tuesday, Oct. 22 ceremony at Union Middle. The Canyons Board of Education and Superintendent, who select the winners, express deep gratitude to this year’s honorees for their excellence, commitment and leadership.
9361 S. 300 East
Sandy, Utah 84070
801-826-5000
communications@canyonsdistrict.org
IIn military parlance, Eastmont Middle Principal Stacy Kurtzhals charged forward in the role of a lead-from-the-front general when the Sandy school was shuttered in the bitter cold of Winter Recess after crews replacing hallway tile kicked up particles of asbestos. That is never good news, but in the waning hours of the holiday break, decisive leadership and quick wits were required to create and put into place a plan to respond to the emerging facility-condition crisis. With Kurtzhals at the helm, the Eastmont school community did a precision-like pivot to
remote learning for the first few days of January, and when it became apparent the mitigation effort would be so extensive that personnel would not be allowed back into the building within a short timeframe, Kurtzhals and her team went into action to create a temporary new home for the Patriots. With nary a complaint or a break in stride, they converged on a once-shuttered middle school to ready it for Eastmont students, teachers, and staff. In mere days, the classrooms, hallways, commons areas, the gymnasium, and lunchroom of the old Crescent View Middle building, where Kurtzhals once worked as an assistant principal, were spit-shined for students who were anxious to return to in-person learning. It was a heavy lift, for sure, and required a no-job-is-too-big-or-small mentality by not just Eastmont personnel but the District Office departments who lent a hand. By all accounts, thanks to Kurtzhals’ leadership and positive attitude, the sudden and unexpected move was a success. Throughout the tumult, Eastmont students continued to shine. Even as they were forced to move schools mid-year, they earned some of the highest year-end assessment scores in Canyons. In fact, Eastmont’s sixth-grade English Language Arts results were the highest in the District. Parents and employees say they appreciated Kurtzhals’ constant advocacy of the community and steady communications throughout the winter and spring, especially when students were able to return to the building to take last walks down the hallways before leaving Eastmont for their high school years. Says one parent: “She is a fantastic leader, and while she takes her job seriously, she has so much fun doing it. As a result, Eastmont is not only a great educational environment, but also fun and welcoming.” It’s for these reasons, and many more, the Board of Education and Administration are honored to present the 2023 Apex Award for School Administrator of the Year to Stacy Kurtzhals.
Two days. That’s how long Canyons District’s Nutrition Services Department was given to solve the problem of how to serve breakfast and lunch following the Friday March 13, 2020 “soft closure” of Utah’s schools. The COVID-19 outbreak had just been declared a pandemic. Schools were mobilizing to keep students learning from home. But more immediately, knowing that without school meals many students would go hungry, there was the problem of keeping students fed.
“It was a scary time, because we didn’t really know much about the virus,” recalls Nutrition Services Director Sebasthian Varas. But his team jumped into action and by Monday, they were ready. While most Utahns were working from home and heeding orders to avoid exposure, CSD’s cafeteria workers masked up and showed up to prepare and package sack meals and deliver them into the hands of families at grab-and-go sites throughout the District. With worker shortages, every one played a role, from securing increasingly scarce supplies to meal planning and prep. It wasn’t easy. But there’s pride in knowing not a single school day went by without meal service, which Varas credits to the courage and heart of his employees who served nearly seven million meals during the pandemic. “This is not just a meal service program. This is a people-oriented program,” Varas said. “We care about what we do and we care for each other.” For the essential connections they maintained with students during the pandemic, and continue to nurture every day, the Canyons Board of Education and Administration are honored to present the 2023 Apex Award for Education Support Professional of the Year to every worker in CSD’s Nutrition Services Department.
They say the way to the heart is through food. It should be no surprise, then, that Tacos El Cuñado has earned the affection of thousands throughout the Salt Lake Valley for its savory Mexican cuisine served with a smile. The bright orange and red taco trucks, which quickly have become a favorite of Canyons District families, have become a familiar sight at school and community events. After the taco truck operators served food at Midvalley Elementary’s annual World Night, they approached then-Principal Jeff Nalwalker with an offer to sponsor a free taco activity at the school.
Since that event 10 years ago, owners Gabby Arreola and her husband, Josue Onofre, have fed students across the District, and they are dishing up more than food. With every dash of spice, the family pours their heart and soul into providing the best possible service to the community, especially when they roll up to a school for an activity. Josue Onofre’s brother and part-owner, Ever Onofre, says it’s important to encourage children to get an education — an opportunity he did not have in his formative years. Gabby’s daughter, Karla Farias, who attended the original Midvale Elementary, lights up when she talks about the family business and the chance to give back to the community. Like her parents, she loves to contribute to the growth and success of the District, one delicious taco at a time. For all these reasons, and many more, the Canyons Board of Education and Administration are proud to present Tacos El Cuñado with the 2023 Apex Award for Community Partner of the Year.
If you ask Gretchen Zaitzeff what keeps her up at night, she’ll say, “the next chapter.” She was the kind of kid you’d catch late at night reading under the covers with a flashlight, unable to sleep without knowing what she’d find on the next page and the next — and it’s with that same curiosity and drive she approaches her job today. Like the deus ex machina of ancient Greek theater, Zaitzeff came on board as Canyons District’s library and media specialist at just the right time and with just the right attitude to resolve the growing problem of book challenges. She’s
proud of Canyons’ library policy, a legally sound solution that grew from collaborating with parents, librarians, administrators and members of the Board of Education. But she’s more preoccupied with “what’s next.” While navigating policy changes and book reviews, Zaitzeff also advocated to overhaul the outdated library collections at 30 schools. She expanded the “Book Blitz” reading competition to involve elementary students, updated school library websites to be more transparent and parent-friendly, and worked with her Instructional Supports Department colleagues to land a News Literacy Project grant to train teachers to teach students to be smart consumers of information. Librarianship, for Zaitzeff, is about helping “students learn to love reading and become conscientious consumers of information.” Preserving democracy, she says, depends on it. For her tireless efforts to build leaders from readers, the Canyons Board of Education and Administration can think of no one more deserving than Gretchen Zaitzeff to receive the 2023 Apex Award for Student Support Professional of the Year.
Rebecca Martin is the rare breed of volunteer who is in it to help everyone’s kids, not just her own. For the past 15 years, Martin, the Parent Teacher Student Association president at Hillcrest High, has invested countless hours in Canyons schools and the students who attend them. Her fellow volunteers are in awe ofat her ability to embrace every volunteer project, even those outside her comfort zone, with verve and positivity. From hauling supplies and cleaning up after student activities to wielding power tools and reconciling band records, she doesn’t shy from doing
what needs to be done to make experiences special for children. Other parents don’t hesitate to laud her work ethic and enthusiasm, saying she’s one of the greatest examples of effective and dedicated local PTA leadership they have ever encountered. Martin began her District-related voluntarism helping with the PTA’s annual Reflections contest. She jumped in with both feet — and never looked back. She served for two years as PTA at the elementary level, two years at the middle school level, and is now in her third year as PTSA president at Hillcrest High. True to form, Martin is soft-spoken when it comes to speaking about herself — but her passion shines through when she is advocating for students at every level, from individual schools all the way up to Utah’s Capitol Hill for PTA Day. Her heartfelt care for students, teachers, and public education is evident every time she walks into a school, and it’s easy to believe her when she says her work is all about ensuring the strength of public education for generations to come. In recognition of her selfless devotion to students across the years, the Canyons Board of Education and Administration are proud to honor Rebecca Martin with the 2023 Apex Award for Volunteer of the Year.
In the 2023 General Session of the Utah Legislature, the Canyons District-area legislative delegation of Sen. Kathleen Riebe and Reps. Gay Lynn Bennion, Steve Eliason, and Andrew Stoddard stood valiantly in the battle to support public education. These four elected officials — three Democrats and one Republican — cast brave votes against HB215, which in effect created Utah’s first voucher system. The surprise House bill was rushed through in the first week of the session under suspended rules allowing lawmakers to approve it without the required wait time.
The four CSD legislators, who have been longtime supporters of not just Canyons District but the advancement of public education in all parts of the state, were among the few who represented the will of the vast majority of Utahns who have repeatedly repudiated proposals to funnel public money to private ventures. They stood with the generations of parents who have consistently chosen their local public schools as their preferred choice of education for their children. They raised their voices in favor of public schools as the engines of economic prosperity, launching pads for innovation, and centers for community unity. Public schools, after all, turn no one down, turn no one away, and turn up for the students who need just a little help to do big things. Looking back at the most recent legislative session, it’s hard to recall another year when public education was placed in so many crosshairs. Still, Riebe, Bennion, Eliason, and Stoddard stood strong in favor of supporting public schools. The political valor shown by these leaders on many education-related issues, including the vote against the voucher bill, is chief among the reasons the Canyons Board of Education and Administration are presenting them with the 2023 Apex Award for Elected Officials of the Year.
It makes sense that Bob Dowdle has lived at the base of Mount Olympus for most of his life. After all, Dr. Dowdle has been a titan in Salt Lake Valley public education for 35 years. In particular, the influence he’s had in Canyons District schools, where he served as one of the founding administrators, has been Herculean. Dr. Dowdle, the first-ever Assistant Superintendent in CSD, considers pursuing a career in education and working with children, their families, and fellow educators to be “one of the best life decisions I have made.”
In response, it’s not hyperbole to say the entire Canyons community has certainly benefited from that decision. Utah history books will undoubtedly recount Dowdle’s major role in helping to build up the first new school district to be created in Utah in nearly a century. Leaving a solid principalship behind, he put his trust in building the future of Canyons as a member of the nimble and energetic start-up team. With nary a blueprint to follow, Dowdle was tasked with recruiting and hiring directors for nearly every department, serve as a stabilizing factor for employees uneasy about the future of the fledgling District, and speak truth to power in the legal battles regarding the vote to form the new school district. His was a heavy lift that could have carried a huge personal toll, but Dr. Dowdle pressed forward in his quiet but firm leadership style. Throughout Dowdle’s tenure as a top administrator in Canyons, CSD solidified its reputation as an innovative and responsive school system that takes seriously its charge to ensure all students graduate college- and career-ready. Under Dowdle’s watchful eye, graduation rates ticked upward, Canyons students outperformed their peers on year-end exams, and employees reported high rates of satisfaction and feelings of support. Dr. Dowdle is not one to take credit for such accomplishments and instead points to the hard work of his team for finding solutions, building bridges, and brainstorming the best ways to make once-impossible tasks very much possible. For his dedication to the vision and mission of Canyons District since its very first days, the Canyons Board of Education and Administration are honored to present the District’s highest honor — the Legacy Award — to Dr. Robert M. Dowdle.
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If a movie about super teachers were ever made, Lucie Chamberlain would be a prime candidate for a leading role. Fortunately for her kindergarten students at Alta View Elementary, she already thrives in a supporting role for them. Parents thank her for being a “super teacher.” She is also described as an “amazing colleague.” Whether students need help in the classroom or from home while sick, Lucie goes above and beyond to help them learn, overcome fears, and feel important and cared for. Lucie is the reason a number of kids went from hating school to loving it, according to parents. The way she exudes patience, sweetness, positive energy, and love for her students with special needs melts is appreciated and admired. One parent noted: “Both my kids wish she could be their teacher forever.” Another added: “She treats every student like their learning and their feelings are her priority.” Super teacher, indeed!
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