Oquirrh Hills Middle

Oquirrh Hills Middle School opened its doors to a welcoming community in the fall of 1979, laying a foundation of educational excellence and community involvement.  Located approximately 15 miles south of Salt Lake City, Oquirrh Hills Middle is home to over 1,300 students from the Riverton area. The community has seen rapid growth since Oquirrh Hills opened its doors, yet the support and involvement of the parents and community have been constant throughout the history of the school.

All of the performing arts have a robust presence at Oquirrh Hills.  Our instrumental music programs provide opportunities for students at all skills levels.  Orchestra, Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble and Symphonic Band classes are available for students. If you have always wanted to play the ukulele, OHMS has a class for you.  In addition, our choral music program has opportunities for students of all abilities.  With classes in beginning, intermediate, social dance and Dance Company, our dance program is one of the most extensive at the middle school level. Students who enjoy theater can participate in our fall play or our spring musical, both of which draw capacity crowds for their performances.  All of our performing arts programs offer opportunities to showcase student accomplishments and talents.

Students at Oquirrh Hills are involved in many electives and after school activities.  Our elective options range from World Languages -Chinese, French and Spanish – to Career and Technical options such as Digital Design, Foods, Sewing, and Technology and Engineering. Our students’ artwork has been featured in numerous art shows and competitions.  Students interested in ceramics, drawing or painting can find great classes here.

Many of our after-school programs reflect our commitment to STEM activities.  For instance, we have a First Robotic Competition – the only one in our District at the Middle School level – a Lego League, Science Olympiad and MESA organizations.  In addition, any student wanting to join can participate in chess, our gardening group or even a Dungeons and Dragons group.  Our programs and electives are offered based on student need and interest.

With so many outstanding students, we enjoy celebrating their accomplishments.  Students may be chosen as Eagle of the Day (teacher directed awards), Eagle of the Month (from student nominations) or Eagle of the Quarter (nominations that go through a committee).  In addition, students can earn other recognition from teachers at the end of the year when our outstanding students are recognized.

We know that our students will someday be the leaders in their families and communities.  With this in mind, we provide numerous leadership opportunities for our students.  Students can be elected to be a Student Body Officer, or a member of H.O.P.E squad.  Those students who wish to volunteer, can be part of our PTSA or our SOAR leadership teams.  Anyone desiring to have a leadership opportunity can participate in some facet of leading our school and contributing to our culture and activities.

Oquirrh Hills is the home for two Special Education cluster classes.  Both classes offer students educational experiences tailored to their needs.  In addition to helping these students individually, mainstream students can volunteer to be Peer Tutors.  Peer Tutors are trained to meet the needs of their differently-abled peers, helping them enjoy school more. Both our Special Education and Peer Tutoring students benefit from the chance to work together.

School lunch is very popular here at Oquirrh Hills Middle School.  Our Nutrition Workers are able to create enjoyable daily menus our students are willing to stand in line for.  In particular, Thursdays are very popular because it’s Asian Day when it seems that every dish is a favorite.

The Chinese Dual Language Immersion has a home in our school.  Students participating in the DLI program enjoy being fluent in second language that will help prepare them to take the Advanced Placement test as 9^th graders, and to earn college credits in high school.  Our successful DLI students will have exciting career options that will be international in scope.

Oquirrh Hills has an eight-period day, with second period serving as a Teacher Advisory period.  This 30-minute period Monday through Thursday offers teachers a chance to provide interventions for students who are struggling in their classes and extension activities for those who are exceling.

Oquirrh Hills has met accreditation standards, earning full accreditation status since opening its doors. The administration, faculty and staff work diligently to meet the needs of our individual students while providing an excellent educational experience for all. Our teachers are certificated in the areas they teach and many have earned post-graduate degrees.

Our students, staff and patrons frequently comment on the warm and welcoming culture found at OHMS. This is a place for students who enjoy learning and associating with their peers in positive ways.  The students are respectful, the parents are involved and our faculty is professional and caring about their students and colleagues.  Oquirrh Hills Middle School is a great place to learn and teach.

Utah Aspire Plus

The Utah Aspire Plus Summative assessment is administered to students in grades 9-10 as an end-of-level assessment.  Operating under a legislative mandate, the UA+ test provides a predictive ACT score range to individual students as well as a proficiency score at the school level and for individual students in English, Math, Reading and Science as they prepare to take the ACT college entrance exam in 11th grade.  UA+ question items assess students’ capacity to think analytically, make inferences, and connect learning and concepts across subjects.  Utah Aspire Plus assessments provide information to assist in determining students’ educational progress towards being ready for college and careers upon completion of secondary school. Due to the school soft closure in March 2020, scores are not available for the 2019-20 school year.

Test Subject	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Language Arts	51.2%	N/A	43.7%	49.3%	56.1%
Mathematics	58.5%	N/A	45.6%	46.2%	36.5%
Science	49.6%	N/A	55.1%	48.8%	43.3%

RISE

RISE is a collection of computer-adaptive assessments given to Utah students beginning in grade 3 (science in grade 4) in English language arts (ELA), math and science. RISE assessments provide questions that assess students’ ability to apply higher-order thinking skills and better emulate real tasks students may encounter in education and in life.

RISE assessments were developed through a joint effort on the part of Utah teachers, parents, test development experts, and the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). The RISE assessment, together with the state’s suite of assessments in grades K-12, provide information to assist in determining students’ progress towards being prepared for college and careers upon completion of secondary school. Due to the school soft closure in March 2020, scores are not available for the 2019-20 school year.

Test Subject	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Language Arts	52.8%	N/A	45.7%	35.6%	45.5%
Mathematics	57.4%	N/A	38.2%	34.1%	41.6%
Science	52.4%	N/A	48.6%	33.6%	41.1%

School Accountability Report Cards

School Accountability Report Cards are issued for each public school once a year by the State of Utah. Elementary and middle school report cards have four main grade categories: achievement, growth, English learner progress, and growth of the lowest 25%. High schools have one additional grade category entitled postsecondary readiness. Achievement and growth was calculated from the new Readiness. Improvement. Success. Empowerment. (RISE) assessment for grades 3-8 and the Utah Aspire Plus assessment for grades 9-10. The English learner progress category score is calculated from the annual administration of the WIDA test, which assesses students’ language proficiency in English. For high schools, the postsecondary readiness score is calculated from 11th grade performance on the ACT, advanced coursework performance, and graduation rates. The state’s School Accountability Report Cards are intended to inform educators, parents, and community stakeholders about school performance as they work collaboratively to improve student outcomes. Due to the school soft closure in March 2020, scores are not available for the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 school years.

CATEGORY	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Achievement	31	N/A	N/A	22	25
Growth	26	N/A	N/A	31	36
ELL Progress	N/A	N/A	N/A	5	3
Growth of the Lowest 25%	16	N/A	N/A	14	18