If the walls of Midvale Middle could talk, they would tell tales of puppy-love crushes, pop quizzes, perfect scores on algebra tests, and poems written in iambic pentameter. And they would likely say that times – and teenagers – have changed a lot in 60 years.

Canyons District is giving the community a chance to re-live six decades of adolescent memories at an Open House on Friday, May 29.  The 4-7 p.m. event at the school, 7852 S. Pioneer St., is being held to provide former students and employees a chance to bid farewell to the building before its scheduled June demolition.

At the Open House, folks can reminisce, walk the long hallways, and make visits to classrooms, cafeteria and gymnasium. Designs for the new building, which is being built with proceeds from the voter-approved $250 million bond, also will be available for public viewing.

Sheradee Bradfield, who has taught more than two decades at Midvale Middle, is helping plan the Open House.  She says that working at Midvale Middle – which has a feeder system made up of Title I schools but also is home to a program for advanced learners – can be “absolutely exhausting and incredibly rewarding all at the same time.”  But, more importantly, she will definitely miss “the feeling of tradition and that you are a part of something bigger than yourself.”

“Students who go to Midvale carry a little bit of the community with them at all times.  I have students that come back, just to visit, to keep them grounded, remember where they came from, and to just be ‘home’ for a little while,” she says.

Bradfield enjoys the diversity of Midvale Middle’s student body and the tight-knit and inclusive culture that has been created within the school. “When I run into former students, whether they were part of the gifted-and-talented program or live in the community, they can always tell me how everyone is doing,” she says. “I love watching the friendships grow with students of different backgrounds and watching it turn into lifelong friends.”

With such a lengthy tenure at Midvale, it’s no surprise that some of her students are children of the students she taught in her first years at the school.  “I love seeing my former students all grown up and being good parents,” she says.  “I also know that I have an immediate ally at home … The (kids) know that they need to toe the line in my class because mom and dad will always have my back.” 

For the last 23 years, she says, the families of Midvale have allowed her to be a part of their robust and vibrant community. “They are survivors, and I am honored and grateful to learn and grow from them,” she said. “This school has helped me become a better person, and I only hope that I can return the love and respect that Midvale has always shown me.”