Deseret Digest February 2024

THE DIGEST

FEBRUARY 2024 VOL. 2 / NO. 2

Church News

Deseret Magazine

Gallup poll finds ‘strong association’ between religiosity and well-being

How one Wyoming grizzly became the face of her species’ success — and failure

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Private and Charter Schools Perspective: In defense of homework

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From Lego to baseball stadiums: Meet the ‘builder’ at Larry H. Miller Co. CONTINUES ON PG. 6

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2 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

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WARNING - WARNING - WARNING

If Your Hands, Arms, Feet, or Legs Are Numb - If You Feel Shooting or Burning Pain or An Electric Sensation - You Are at Risk

Don’t Let Creeping Nerve Death Ruin Your Life Get The Help You Need - Here’s What You Need to Know...

Pleasant Grove, UT - If you experience numbness or tingling in your hands, arms,legs, or feet or if you experience shooting or burning pain, this is important. Please read this carefully.

Peripheral Neuropathy is when small blood vessels in the hands,arms, feet or legs become diseased and tiny nerves that keep the cells and muscles working properly shrivel up and die.

Early-warning symptoms include tingling and numbness, mild loss of feeling in your hands, arms, legs or feet, inability to feel your feet, which increases your risk of foot-injury and falling.

More Advanced Symptoms Include...

• Loss of coordination & dexterity, which puts you at increased risk of accidents.

• Inability to feel clothing like socks and gloves.

• High risk of falling, which makes walking dangerous, and makes you more dependent on others.

• Burning sensations in your arms, legs,hands or feet that may start mild, but as nerves and muscles die, may feel like you’re being burned by a blow torch.

Ignore the early warning signals long enough and you risk progressive nerve damage leading to muscle wasting, severe pain, loss of balance and a lot of staying at home wishing you didn’t hurt.

When every step is like walking on hot coals, sitting still may be the only thing you feel like doing. But there’s little joy in sitting still all day long.

Now here’s the scary part....

Copyright ©2021 Russell Communication

Drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, & Neurontin are often prescribed to manage the pain. But, damaged nerves and dying cells do not heal on their own.

Pain pills do not restore healthy nerve function. They just mask the pain as the nerves continue to degenerate and cells and muscle continue to die.

• Nerve damage CAUSES cell damage.

• Cell damage SPEEDS UP nerve degeneration

Without treatment this can become a DOWN-WARD SPIRAL that accelerates.

The damage can get worse fast. Mild symptoms intensify. Slight tingling,numbness or lack of feeling can turn into burning pain.

Before you know it, damage can become so bad you hurt all the time.

Unless this downward spiral is stopped and nerves return to proper function - the damage to nerves and cells in the affected area can get so bad your muscles begin to die right along with the nerves and cells.

And that sets the stage for weakness, loss of mobility, disability, and dependence on others.

If you have early warning signs of peripheral neuropathy, (tingling &/or numbness, loss of feeling or pain) it’s CRITICAL you get proper treatment.

It’s critical, because with proper treatment the symptoms can often be reversed. Without it, you are playing Russian Roulette with your health.

Once your nerve loss reaches 85%, odds are there’s nothing any doctor can do to help. The most common method your doctor may recommend to treat neuropathy is prescription drugs

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4 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

EVENTS Ballet WestSwan Lake Feb. 9 - 17 Location: 50 West 200 - South Salt Lake https://www.saltlakecountyarts.org/events/swan-lake

Early Eyes / Trash Panda Feb. 21 | 7pm Location: 741 Kilby Court - SLC https://www.kilbycourt.com

“For the Love of Rats” | Darcie DeAngelo Feb. 1 | 12-1pm Virginia Tanner Dance, 190 Wasatch Blvd, - SLC thc.utah.edu

2023-24 Winter Farmers Market Feb. 10 - 24 | 10am-2pm Location: 400 W 200 S, - SLC https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/2023-24winter-farmers-market-at-the-gateway

Groundhogs Day Treasure Hunt at Solitude Feb. 2 | 8am-4pm Solitude Mountain Resort, 12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd, - Solitude www.nowplayingutah.com

2024 Chocolate Festival Feb. 10 | 6:30pm Location: 15 East South Temple - SLC https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/2024chocolate-festival

2024 SLCC Black History Month: Multicultural Fashion Extravaganza Feb. 22 | 12pm-2pm Location: Redwood Campus 4600 South Redwood Road - Taylorsville https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/2024slcc-black-history-month-multicultural-fashionextravaganza

Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience Feb. 3 | 7:30pm Eccles Theater, 131 Main St, - SLC live-at-the-eccles.com

2024 Valentine's Day Dining Feb. 14 | 4pm-9pm - Snowbird https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/2024valentines-day-dining

2023-24 Trees and Skis Feb. 1 | 11am-12:30pm Alta Ski Area, Highway 210 Little Cottonwood Canyon, - Alta www.nowplayingutah.com

Honoring Black History in Art Feb. 7 - 28 | 6:30pm-8:30pm Location: Op 2531 S 400 E - South Salt Lake https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/honoringblack-history-in-art "GLOW" Garden at Gallivan Feb. 7 - 8 | 6pm-10pm Location: 239 S Main Street - SLC https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/glow-gardenat-gallivan "From Slaves to Enslaved People: Slave Registration and the Emer gence of Identity Documentation in the British World, 1812-34" | Nadja Durbach Feb. 8 | 12pm-1pm Location: 190 Wasatch Blvd - SLC https://thc.utah.edu/research/work-in-progress.php

Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers Feb. 14 | 7pm Location: 301 W South Temple - SLC https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/utah-jazz-vslos-angeles-lakers-2 "Under His Thumb: Storytelling about Staying in Violent Intimate Relationships" | Jenny Andrus Feb. 15 | 12pm-1pm Location: 190 Wasatch Blvd - SLC https://thc.utah.edu/research/work-in-progress.php The Black Excellence Gala Feb. 16 | 7:30pm Location: 335 S 200 W - SLC https://partyfixx.co/event/2024-02-16-the-blackexcellence-gala-tickets-salt-lake-city-ut/

Salt Lake City Jewelry Show Feb. 22 - 25 Location: 9575 S. State Street - Sandy https://www.visitsaltlake.com/event/salt-lake-cityjewelry-show/48861 Banff Mountain Film Festival Feb. 23 | 7pm-9pm Location: 1395 Presidents Cir - SLC https://www.utahpresents.org/events/banff24 Solitude Nordic Nights Feb. 24 | 6pm-9pm Location: 12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd Solitude https://www.nowplayingutah.com/event/solitudenordic-nights-13 “To Make Saints: Mormon Adoptions and Familial Belonging in the Pacific” | Charlotte Hansen Terry Feb. 29 | 12pm-1pm Location: 190 Wasatch Blvd - SLC https://thc.utah.edu/research/work-in-progress.php

*Events and details are subject to change. Please visit the event websites for the most up to date and correct information.

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

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CHURCH NEWS

Gallup poll finds ‘strong association’ between religiosity and well-being

Data released in October 2023 was collected over 10 years, from interviews with 1.5 million people across 152 countries and territories

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Gallup World Poll data released in October 2023 found a “strong association” between religiosity — the importance of religion in a person’s daily life — and well-being. The data was collected over 10 years from interviews with 1.5 million people.

By Kaitlyn Bancroft Church News

Gallup World Poll data released in October 2023 shows a “strong association” between religiosity — the importance of religion in a person’s daily life — and well-being.

Collected between 2012 and 2022, from interviews with 1.5 million people across 152 countries and territories, the data shows that an estimated 160 million more adults worldwide have positive experiences than would be the case if those adults were not religious.

Conversely, nearly 80 million more adults have negative experiences than would be the case if those adults were religious, the poll estimates.

The poll scored various categories on a point system, with each one-point difference representing an effect for an estimated 40 million adults worldwide.

Categories in which religious people tended to have better outcomes are: • Positive experiences (such as enjoyment, smiling and laughing, or being treated with respect). The “not religious” category scored 65, while the “religious” category scored 69. This means that an estimated 160 million more adults worldwide have positive experiences than would be the case if those adults were not religious.

• Social life (satisfaction with opportunities to meet

people, make friends and have people to call on if in trouble). The not-religious category scored 73.7, while the religious category scored 77.6. This means that nearly 160 million more adults worldwide are satisfied with their social lives than would be the case if those adults were not religious, the poll estimates.

• Optimism (how a person feels their life will look in five years). The not-religious category scored 48.4, and the religious category scored 49.4, meaning an estimated 40 million more adults worldwide are optimistic about the future than would be the case if those adults were not religious.

• Community basics (everyday life in a community, including environment, housing and infrastructure).

The not-religious category scored 55.6, and the religious category scored 59.7, or over 160 million more adults worldwide are satisfied with their communities than would be the case if those adults were not religious, the poll estimates.

Categories in which religious people tend to have worse outcomes are: • Negative experience index (a person experienced worry, sadness, anger, stress or physical pain the previous day). The “not religious” category scored 29.9, and the “religious” category scored 31.4, or nearly 80 million more adults have negative experiences than

would be the case if those adults were not religious.

• Personal health index (a person reports no health problems or physical pain, feels well rested and didn’t experience worry or sadness the previous day). The not-religious category scored 68.6, and the religious category scored 66.9. This means nearly 80 million more adults have good health than would be the case if those adults were religious, the poll estimates.

The poll also found several categories with no meaningful difference in scores between the “not religious” and “religious” categories.

• Life evaluation: thriving (on a scale of 0 to 10, current life rated between 7 and 10 and future life rated between 8 and 10). The not-religious category scored 27.6, and the “religious” category scored 26.6.

• Life evaluation: suffering (on a scale of 0 to 10, current and future life rated between 0 and 4). The not-religious category scored 13.6, and the religious category scored 13.3.

• Local economic confidence (how a person feels about current local economic conditions, how they feel about the local economy getting better). The not-religious category scored 5 and the religious category scored 5.6.

The poll notes that in the most religious or moderately religious countries, where 66% or more of the population says religion is important to them, there are stronger positive relationships between religiosity and well-being.

However, “while the scholarship and analysis detailed in the report illustrate that there is often a positive relationship between spirituality and well-being, the relationship is complex and nuanced,” the poll states, adding, “Countries that are categorized as less religious are often wealthier, and their residents score higher on well-being, regardless of religiosity or economic influences.”

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Spencer, Izzie, Luke, Liam and Mary Thompson pray together at home in Millcreek, Utah, on Monday, July 30, 2018. Gallup World Poll data released in October 2023 found a “strong association” between religiosity — the importance of religion in a person’s daily life — and well-being.

6 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

SPORTS

From Lego to baseball stadiums: Meet the ‘builder’ at Larry H. Miller Co. Steve Miller could become the face of one of Utah’s most prominent businesses

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Steve Miller, chairman of the board of directors for the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, is photographed at Montage Deer Valley in Park City on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

By Dennis Romboy Deseret News

Steve Miller tears up talking about Lego, of all things.

We are seated in high-backed lounge chairs in the library at the posh Montage Deer Valley in October. It’s a high-ceilinged room where one can picture wealthy men in monogrammed blazers smoking cigars and sipping brandy around the fireplace while they pontificate about the state of the world. There’s none of that snootiness with this man. It’s not the sort of thing that suits Miller. He’s more comfortable sitting, perhaps alone, at the fire pit in his backyard, gazing at Lone Peak towering above his east-side Salt Lake Valley home.

But here we are at the Park City resort during the Larry H. Miller Summit, a weeklong event that brings top business leaders together, as well as Miller family members from the oldest to the youngest.

Steve Miller, 52, is the chairman of the board of the company that his father, the late Larry H. Miller, built and that his mother, Gail, has continued to run as the matriarch of the Miller clan. The Miller empire has changed dramatically the past couple of years with the sale of the Utah Jazz and the auto dealerships that for decades were the pillars of one of the state’s most prominent enterprises.

Gail Miller served as board chair for five years before turning it over to Steve Miller in 2021. He has worked in almost every aspect of the business but never as the frontman like, say, Bono, the lead singer of his favorite band, U2. He’s more like Adam Clayton, the bass guitarist laying down the rhythmic and harmonic foundation.

As chairman, Steve Miller oversees a multibillion-dollar portfolio that now includes home construction, health care, soda shops, movie theaters and a minor league baseball team.

The company won’t reveal its assets, but Forbes estimates Gail Miller’s net worth at nearly $4 billion, including the sale of the Jazz at just under $2 billion. Miller philanthropies donate more than $30 million a year. She’s the face of the organization, now No. 758 on the Forbes wealthiest billionaires list, ahead of Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey, among so many others — something Larry Miller never rose to.

In his leadership role, Steve Miller could become the reluctant new face of the Larry H. Miller Company. But before we get into that, I have to ask about his Lego collection.

Building blocks of the future

Lego, the beloved plastic building blocks of childhood that aren’t just for kids anymore, have a place in Steve Miller’s heart, and a role in who he is today. He was hooked on the colored bricks the first time he touched them as a child. He

loved the sound, the feel. Back then, he played with his brothers’ Lego. He chokes up reminiscing about the good times he had building stuff. He’s still building today.

By his own admission, the massive Lego room in his home is “obscene.”

It would take pages to describe the 12 interconnected realms he and a couple dozen Lego enthusiasts have spent nearly two years putting together. It’s his own Legoland.

A western scene featuring Utah’s iconic Delicate Arch runs into an Indiana Jones-Jurassic Park mashup that flows into an amusement park with a moving roller coaster, Ferris wheel and carousel. A concert stage features — who else? — U2.

(Side note: Miller can’t express how much he loves the Irish rock band. He’s seen them in concert 64 times around the world, typically with his family or brothers. “It just brings the best of life together,” he said. He has 576 bootleg versions of his favorite song, “Bad.”) Back to Legoland. There’s a winter wonderland with a tram, gondola and ski lift topping out on the Alps. An arctic research station, Batman cave, Swiss village, industrial park, main street, harbor, Chinatown and castles. A life-size bridge spans the custom-built fantasy world and trains run everywhere. It’s still under construction, and everyone who works on it is sworn to secrecy.

While Miller allowed me a peek at the project (he spared me the nondisclosure agreement) he’s not ready to put it out there for everyone to see until it’s finished sometime next year, which means no photos for now.

Asked if he sees parallels in Lego and his current job, Miller recites a poem he learned from a fellow missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints more than three decades ago: “The Wreckers” by Edgar A. Guest.

I watched them tearing a building down, / A gang of men in a busy town.

With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell, / They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.

I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled, / As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”

He gave me a laugh and said, / “No indeed! Just common labor is all I need.”

“I can easily wreck in a day or two / What builders have taken a year to do.”

And I thought to myself as I went my way, / Which of these two roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care, / Measuring life by the rule and square?

Or am I a wrecker who walks the town, / Content with the labor of tearing down?

“That’s kind of how I see it. We can be builders and we can build people up and we can make things better than we found them or we can be those who are content to sit back and nitpick and complain and undermine and just unravel what everybody else is trying to do,” Miller said.

“It’s not by accident that I signed off to be a builder. I don’t think it’s an accident that Lego is fascinating to me because you can take something that’s just in chaos and you can turn it into something unbelievably inspiring. That’s the work that we’re about at the Larry H. Miller Company is building, building communities, building people.”

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

Lessons from Larry and Gail

Steve is the third of the Millers’ five children. “I don’t want to say he was my favorite, but he was my easiest,” his mother told me.

But growing up a Miller wasn’t easy. They were young and impressionable when their dad bought the Utah Jazz. They didn’t know how to be in the public spotlight. Expectations were high not because of who they were, but because of who people thought they were.

“We really try to teach them that being yourself is enough. You don’t have to be who you’re not, you don’t have to be somebody else to impress anyone,” Gail Miller said.

Steve Miller took that advice to heart. He’s comfortable in his own skin. He also learned what service, compassion and patience look like from his mother. “She was always there regardless of the time of day,” he said.

The same can’t be said of Larry Miller. He was never there.

Calling him a workaholic might be an understatement.

“A lot of the lessons I learned from my dad, unfortunately, are lessons of omission. I think his heart was in the right place but I will tell you that I parent totally differently than my dad parented. I’m present for my kids, almost 180 degrees on the other end of the spectrum,” Steve Miller said.

In 22 years, he and his wife, Jen, never missed a parent-teacher conference for all four of their children, the youngest of whom just left on a church mission. He was there for recitals and daddy-daughter dates. “I learned that from my dad, but it’s not because he gave it to me. It’s because he didn’t give it to me,” he said.

“I don’t say that to cry or to complain,” Steve Miller said, “because the sacrifice he was making and doing set the stage or platform for me and my family to have what we have.”

He also credits his dad for teaching him to think big and believe that if there’s something you’re passionate about, you can find a way to get it done. From an auto parts runner to a dealership mogul, Larry Miller was proof of that. Steve Miller said he recognizes

Photo provided by Miller family

A portrait of Larry H. Miller, his wife Gail, and their children taken in 1978. The children are, from top left, Roger, Greg, Steve, Brilliant and Karen.

that it wasn’t in vain and that the Millers are using the resources they’re blessed with to bless their own family as well as the lives of families around them.

“It’s just trying to make the best out of what maybe was not the best situation,” he said.

Working in the family business

Since Larry Miller founded the company in 1979, it has built a hugely profitable portfolio of operating companies in the automotive, finance/lending, sports and entertainment, and real estate spaces.

Steve Miller has worked in the family business for more than 25 years in various positions, including as president of Mill-

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er Sports Properties, president of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, general manager of Larry H. Miller Fleet Lease, general manager of Larry H. Miller Subaru and director of New and Used Car Operations for Miller Automotive Operations.

Now, he is the chairman of the 12-member board of directors.

The Tour of Utah ranks high on his list of achievements. He turned a small regional event into an internationally recognized multiday professional cycling race that attracted world tour teams and riders.

He loved everything about what was billed as “America’s Toughest Stage Race,” but the COVID-19 pandemic and the sale of the Jazz sounded its death knell because the backbone for organizing the race was on the company’s sports/entertainment platform.

“It was a super-cool event because I met a lot of really cool people,” he said, adding he still gets emails urging him to bring it back.

A cyclist himself, Miller rode Lotoja, the one-day, 200-plus mile race from Logan, Utah, to Jackson, Wyoming, five times.

But he hung up his bike after realizing that hours and hours of training cut into his family time and seeing friends go down in bad crashes. He said he values other interests more, including hiking and hunting, and ”if I can’t walk, I can’t do either.”

Home on the ranch

Steve Miller wanted to be a forest ranger coming out of college, though he graduated from the University of Utah in consumer studies and family economics. His dad told him he wouldn’t be able to raise a family or do the things he wanted in life on a ranger’s salary. He satisfies his passion for the outdoors on the Millers’ 20,000-acre ranch in southeast Idaho. “This is a really, really special place,” he said.

CONTINUES ON PG. 8

8 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024 who brings people together.

Older brother Greg Miller said he recently told Steve that one of the things he’s most impressed by is that Steve reads every word.

“It’s sort of metaphoric for being really prepared for any assignment he’s given,” he said. “He’s doing a great job representing the family. I think he understands the values that this company is built on as well as anyone.”

Steve Starks, Larry H. Miller Company CEO, said formality helps guarantee that in future generations “you don’t have somebody in the family that wants to go rogue or make a decision that takes the company off course.”

New directions

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Steve Miller, chairman of the board of directors for the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, speaks with JT Taylor at Montage Deer Valley in Park City on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

The family bought the initial piece of ground in 1985 and snapped up additional property as it became available. Cattle grazed on some of the land for years to the point that Miller said it looked like someone “dropped napalm” on it. It hit a tipping point for him around 2011. He couldn’t take it anymore and took over management of the land. He immediately had the rancher remove the cattle and started a habitat restoration project.

“I didn’t realize Mother Nature is as resilient as she is if you just give her a break. If you give her a little love, she can come back,” he said.

More than 60 water sources returned and springs are flowing like they never flowed before. Nonnative junipers were removed and noxious weeds are under control. Nearly extinct aspen stands are growing again. Beavers were reintroduced and the deer and elk populations thrive.

Miller works with two full-time biologists to restore the land, though he said he learned a lot through trial and error.

He and a botanist identified 390 plant species on the property, which he is compiling into a book called, “The Plants of the Meadowlark.”

“This is the opportunity for me to live the life I otherwise might have had. It’s effectively a full-time job,” he said, adding with Jen’s indulgence he has spent as many as 100 nights a year at the ranch. “It’s never enough.”

Every year around Veterans Day, he brings in two groups of male and female veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, even Vietnam, some with missing limbs or traumatic brain injuries, to hunt elk. No one leaves empty-handed.

“It is so humbling, so humbling to be with them,” Miller said, “We’ve had a lot of really tender moments around the campfire.”

Miller told Jen that when he dies, he wants to be cremated and have his ashes spread on the ranch.

Planning for the future

Larry Miller did a lot of work to stabilize and prepare the company for the future. He talked about creating a board of directors but never got around to it. About eight years ago, Gail Miller started looking into restructuring the company’s governance. She consulted with Dennis Haslam, an attorney and

former president of the Utah Jazz, and other business experts, including some at Harvard.

“The big challenge was we were a really good company. We have always been a really good company. Nothing was broken.

And here I come in having never worked in the company and say we’re going to change the governance structure,” Gail Miller said.

“And people thought I was crazy because they liked the way it was working and it was working well. But it wasn’t because I didn’t have confidence in it. It was because I was looking to the future.”

That future includes the next generation of Millers, who are now in their 20s and 30s, some of whom will take on leadership roles when they graduate from college, including some earning MBAs. She settled on creating a board of directors that included representatives from inside and outside the Miller family and from around the country. Each one brings professional experience and a skill set the company didn’t have before.

“They’ve just helped us mature and grow up and see opportunities, and do them in a very professional way. I’m very happy with the way it’s turned out,” Gail Miller said, though she admits it took a while for the concept to gel with the executive team.

“I think everybody’s on board now,” she said. “We have no naysayers, not even in the family.”

Steve Miller echoes that. Though his dad had the company rolling through his sheer force of will, Miller said it became clear after he died that the way the businesses operated from a management standpoint was not sustainable. It needed some sort of governance, which was completely opposite to the way it had always been run.

The transition to a “more professionalized” model wasn’t easy but “absolutely the right thing to do, no question about it,” he said.

Steve Miller’s brothers, both of whom serve on the company’s board, say he’s the right person to head the board.

Brilliant Miller, Steve Miller’s younger brother, said, ”If I were to describe him in one word it would probably be conscientious.” Growing up, he said, Steve didn’t push him off as the little brother but included him when he had friends over or went skiing. He said he continues to be a good listener and someone

The Larry H. Miller Company has dramatically changed course in the past few years, first selling the Jazz and then the auto dealerships. It bought the Daybreak community in South Jordan, Destination Homes, the Swig soda shops and Advanced Health Care, among other businesses. It maintained ownership of the Megaplex theaters and the Salt Lake Bees Triple-A baseball team. It broke ground last month on a new Bees stadium in South Jordan.

The company’s next big endeavor is an effort to land a Major League Baseball team for Salt Lake City. It already has a stadium site picked out just west of downtown.

Steve Miller said a major league franchise would be a “massive” undertaking. “I don’t think that we can really comprehend all that’s going to go into that,” he said. But, he said, it would be a “fun” project if Utah is fortunate enough to get it, and he thinks there’s a “pretty good” chance it will happen.

“We’ve got a really, really compelling story to tell,” he said.

“I’m hopeful that we get that because that would keep us busy for a long time.”

Gail Miller said she is optimistic about the prospects of bringing a team to the state, noting the stadium would be built on the same site where Larry played fastpitch softball. “We’ve done everything we can to prepare. We’ve done studies, created groups of coalitions, met with government, talked with the league,” she said. “We just feel like we’re in a really good position and Utah is a prime place.”

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Steve Miller talks about the announcement that ownership of the Utah Jazz will be transferred into a legacy trust to ensure the Jazz stay in Utah at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Jan. 23, 2017.

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

The face of the Larry H. Miller Company

Until his death due to complications from Type 2 diabetes at age 64 in 2009, Larry Miller was the face of the Larry H. Miller Company. Gail Miller, who turned 80 in October, assumed that role and continues to maintain it. But who is next in line?

If Steve Miller has his druthers, it won’t be him — or anyone, for that matter. He doesn’t think there needs to be a face for the company. He thinks it would be forced or trite for it to be someone who isn’t Larry or Gail. “I think it would be, I don’t know what the word is, not presumptuous. Something in that vein,” he said.

“Larry was Larry. There will never be another one. And Gail is Gail. And she is so much different than Larry. Two totally different bolts of fabric,” he said. “You’d have to have a pretty big ego to try and fill either one of those shoes.”

Steve Miller is content to let the company’s well-recognized logo — Larry H. Miller’s actual signature — become the face of the company.

“My dad put everything on the proverbial line with that signature when he bought the Jazz. Anytime you sign a contract it was literally putting the family name on the line,” he said as he teared up. “So I think out of respect to our mom and dad when they’re gone, our family will just be totally content to let his signature be the face of the company.”

Gail Miller agrees with her son, sort of.

“What Steve says is right. But somebody still has to be out there, whether it’s him or a different spokesman because you can’t hide behind a name. You have to have a personality and a set of values and a vision and mission,” she said.

“Somebody has to do that, whether he wants to or not, he probably will. It’s just inevitable.”

Starks said Steve Miller is prepared to fulfill the mission of the business, and doesn’t feel any pressure to become a public figure. “That would be unnatural for him,” he said.

during the difficult family and company discussions about selling the Jazz — the first big decision on his watch as chairman of the board.

The conversation about selling the basketball team started small, just Steve Miller and Starks. It was a tight circle for a long time until they brought it to Gail and Steve’s older brother, Greg, and younger brother, Brilliant, and a few key company executives. (Gail Miller said her son didn’t realize she was talking to Starks at the same time.)

“I had to lead my family through the emotional decision of getting there. I wasn’t necessarily there. I really pride myself on trying to stay in an objective space,” Steve Miller said, adding he prefers to get all the facts before stating an opinion.

“That’s what I applied in the Jazz space but there were a lot of signs that the alignment probably wasn’t really for our family anymore.”

Gail Miller said Steve is not affected by glamor or notoriety or fame or fortune.

“He didn’t let the fact that we’d owned the Jazz for 35 years

9

get in the way. It was an identity that we had, but it’s OK if we don’t have it anymore. We’re still who we were and we can go on to do other things,” she said.

Steve Miller said he would like to believe his leadership style is understated. He’s content to let others lead the way. “That’s almost an oxymoron when it comes to leadership but I think that there’s something proud about a leader knowing when others can kind of step forward and allowing them the space to do that,” he said.

He likes to hear where people are coming from and understand whatever issue is on the table. And when it’s something monumental like selling the Jazz or the auto dealerships, he’s not going to be quick to the trigger. He considers every conceivable angle.

He builds one brick at a time.

FIND MORE COVERAGE AT DESERET.COM

Chairman of the board

Getting along and making decisions is challenging for any family enterprise, particularly one as big and as public as the Miller family has been for 45 years.

By all accounts, Steve Miller is measured, thoughtful and a pragmatic leader. He listens, he’s collaborative and doesn’t speak in a meeting unless he has something to say, Starks said.

People just naturally like to be around him because he is so friendly and down to earth.

“Steve has native wisdom that is really evident to anyone who works with him,” said Starks, who has spent 17 years at the company.

Jen Miller described her husband as even-toned. He doesn’t fly off the handle or have a temper. And, she said, he never talks behind someone’s back because he knows what it’s like to have people do that to him.

“If I want to gossip, I call a girlfriend,” she said.

Some of Steve Miller’s leadership qualities became evident

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Steve Miller joins with other members of the Miller family, Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment employees and select Salt Lake City Stars players to serve food at the 19th annual "We Care — We Share" Thanksgiving Dinner for local homeless and low-income individuals at Vivint Arena on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017.

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10 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

DESERET MAGAZINE

A bear’s life

How one Wyoming grizzly became the face of her species’ success — and failure

Joanna Lisowiec for Deseret News

By Julie Brown Davis Deseret Magazine

Jim Laybourn was up before the sun. It was springtime, around 5 a.m., and the birds were lively, but otherwise, Grand Teton National Park was all quiet and most people staying at the historic Jackson Lake Lodge were still asleep. This was 2006, when pre-dawn starts for a day’s outing in the national park weren’t the requirement they are today. Laybourn’s groggy-eyed clientele wondered why they were leaving so early. They wanted to see grizzlies, though, and back then, if you wanted to see a grizzly, you drove north to Yellowstone.

The Tetons have always been a rich habitat for wildlife — elk, bison, black bears, moose — and grizzlies once roamed these mountains, too. But by 1975, when the grizzly was add-

ed to the endangered species list, the bears had disappeared from the Tetons altogether. At the time, biologists in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem counted only 136 of them, all in Yellowstone National Park. That’s why Laybourn, a wildlife guide, was packing his brown 1997 GMC Suburban so early that spring morning.

After everyone on the wildlife tour had buckled their seatbelts, Laybourn slid into the bench seat behind the steering wheel and drove out of the lodge’s covered parkway. But just as he turned onto the highway junction, Laybourn saw something move. Out of the darkness, a mother grizzly and three cubs stepped onto the road. Laybourn was stunned. He had no idea grizzlies were living in Grand Teton National Park, let alone a mother with three cubs.

“I knew that was something special right there,” he says.

The grizzly Laybourn saw that morning is often said to be the most famous grizzly in the world. She’s easily recognized by the millions of people who visit Grand Teton National Park.

Over the years, her many fans and admirers have followed her story through its highs and lows, celebrating when she emerges from hibernation in the spring with a new litter of cubs, mourning her losses, and awaiting with suspense in moments of uncertainty. She’s a beautiful bear, with a streak of blonde fur hugging her shoulders. But the official way to identify her is by the number on the tag that biologists gave her when she was five years old. She is known as Grizzly 399.

The reason why 399 is so famous is that she has lived close to humans for most of her life, giving the public a rare glimpse of her day-to-day routines, allowing us to watch as she’s raised generations of cubs — teaching them how to forage for food

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024 and navigate across the landscape. As far as biologists know, she’s birthed 18 cubs in her 27 years. Last spring, she made headlines when she emerged from hibernation with her newest cub, making her the oldest known female grizzly to reproduce in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

Conservationists call her an ambassador for her species.

She was among the first grizzlies to return to Grand Teton National Park, becoming the face of the Endangered Species Act’s success. To some, she’s now the face of its shortcomings during a pivotal moment for grizzly bears in America.

After 49 years, state officials in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho are now seeking to remove grizzlies from the endangered species list and lift their protections. This February marks the end of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s one-year review period for considering the delisting, and a decision will be made.

The overall grizzly population remains under 2,000 today — an impressive recovery from 136, but a far cry from the estimated 50,000 that lived in North America, with habitat stretching from Alaska to Mexico in the early 1800s. In an attempt to restore some of that original habitat, federal agencies drafted and released a plan in October to reintroduce grizzlies to Washington, near North Cascades National Park. Tangled among stories of bear attacks, increasingly small buffers between urban areas and wilderness, and hopes to return fragile ecosystems to their healthiest states, both proposals have been met with controversy on all fronts.

The paradox for 399 is that while her story has helped drive worldwide attention for grizzly conservation, every step she takes in front of a crowd is a huge risk to her life, and — as the face of a species — the reputation of all grizzlies.

Laybourn says that day he saw 399 for the first time was the day his life changed. The encounter was so unusual, he knew he wanted to find her and her cubs again. He became so occupied by 399 that he quit his seasonal jobs building homes and guiding wildlife tours to become a filmmaker so he could spend

more time looking for her. Eventually, he produced a short documentary about her story, about the fine line she walks teetering between wilderness and human development. He filmed 399 threading a path through the forest with her cubs running ahead, and leading her cubs through a gauntlet of parked cars and people. One shot pans behind a wall of people standing along the road, watching her hunt down an elk.

“The celebrity was unavoidable because she’s so visible,” Laybourn says. “But I think it’s a conscious trade-off that she has made. That she can put up with hundreds of people watching her, making all sorts of noise, acting stupid. She still just

erally speaking. She’s very smart, intelligent.”

It’s easy to project humanlike qualities onto 399. She’s a mother. Watching her lead her cubs, looking both ways as she crosses a road, is so easy to relate to. Humans anthropomorphize animals and assign them human qualities to relate to, and have empathy for, them. There might also be a deep, innate part of us that wants to believe we are still connected to wild places and creatures, despite the ways modern development buffers us from that world. If we can relate to animals, it makes it easier to believe that we can coexist alongside them. That’s part of 399’s allure, why so many people are so drawn to her.

“The visitors that are coming to see these bears, I mean, we’re all human. We want to know the story,” says Justin Schwabedissen, Grand Teton National Park’s bear biologist.

“We want to make those connections to these animals.” But 399’s relatability can be deceiving. It’s all too easy to forget that she is wild, unpredictable and has limits to her tolerance. “I think that a lot of times we do forget some of the biology behind these animals,” he adds.

In June 2007, a teacher, Dennis VanDenbos, was hiking at Jackson Lake Lodge when he encountered 399 and her three cubs. After rounding a corner on the trail, he surprised the family as they were consuming the carcass of an elk calf. VanDenbos was too close. Grizzly 399 reacted and bit VanDenbos in the back.

At that time, bear biologist Chris Servheen was the grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Part of his job was deciding the fate of bears when they got into a conflict with a human. When a problematic bear is “removed,” wildlife officials can relocate the bear, place it in captivity or euthanize it. When the case of 399’s attack on VanDenbos came to Servheen, however, he decided to leave her

“We want to make those connections to these animals.” goes on about her business. It’s not like she spends her time staring back at us. She’s foraging. She’s teaching her cubs different food sources. And just living her life.”

Others caught on to 399’s presence in the park around the same time as Laybourn. Tom Mangelsen, a wildlife photographer, first saw 399 and three of her cubs near Oxbow Bend, a well-known site in Grand Teton National Park to see wildlife.

He still spends countless hours searching for 399 and taking photographs of her. One year, he counted the days in the field he spent looking for her: 150. Grizzly 399 is Mangelsen’s muse.

“She’s beautiful in ways we think the classic grizzly bear might be described,” Mangelsen says. “Her personality is calm, gen-

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12 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

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DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024 and her cubs alone. It came down to this: He believed 399 was acting as a bear should act, hunting for food with her cubs in her natural environment. And VanDenbos, though he was injured, survived.

Servheen calls the mauling a “natural aggressive incident.”

Famous or not, Servheen says he made no exception for 399, gave her no special treatment. “Natural aggression is defense of food, surprise encounter or protecting cubs,” he says. “Bears that are aggressive in one of those three types of incidents, we tend to give a lot more leeway to.”

Joanna Lisowiec for Deseret News

Still, it was a close call. If 399 ever went further, the outcome would be a different one. “It’s remarkable that she’s lived as long as she has, considering the hazardous area that she lives in,” Servheen says, noting that biologists don’t want to see grizzlies spend as much time so close to humans as 399 does. She’s not the model example of grizzly behavior — even though somehow, to many, she is just that.

To a grizzly bear, the concept of Grand Teton National Park doesn’t mean much. Schwabedissen says all grizzlies leave the park’s boundaries from time to time. Once bears cross the park’s boundary line, they enter the jurisdiction of a handful of federal, state and local agencies, as well as private and public lands, ranchers and hunters, tourists and second homeowners. Whenever 399 ventures beyond the park, law enforcement and wildlife officials are on alert. When she mauled VanDenbos in 2007, Grizzly 399 was still relatively unknown. She may not have gotten special treatment then, but she does now. Last year, 33 wildlife brigade volunteers logged more than 12,000 hours in the park, working from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week during peak season, to monitor wild animals like 399 and ensure encounters with humans are avoided.

“There’s been a lot of effort that’s gone into maintaining her and keeping her alive,” Servheen says. “I want you to know that. A lot of state management agencies, park management agencies have gone to great lengths to try to secure her life and make sure that she stays out of trouble.” That may be so that the species can stay out of trouble at a vulnerable time, too.

As grizzly populations become denser, young grizzlies, especially the two- and three-year-olds newly independent from their mothers, have to disperse farther away from the park to find the resources they need and establish a home range, Schwabedissen explains. Almost all of those younger grizzlies are pushing south or southeast — toward town. On a dark November night in 2021, Grizzly 399 and her four cubs

13

were caught on security cameras roaming the empty streets of downtown Jackson. Footage shows the five grizzly bears walking right past the police station, the county jail, the courthouse. “She was in neighborhoods where people don’t really think about bears,” Luther Propst, Teton County Commissioner, says. “It was hair-raising.”

Of 399’s 18 cubs, 10 have died, all but two from human-related causes. Five of her offspring were euthanized by wildlife agencies because the grizzlies were getting into human foods or other human conflicts. Two were struck by vehicles.

One was shot and killed by a hunter outside the boundary of Grand Teton in self-defense. These instances, in part, are some of the reasons why there are current efforts to delist grizzly bears, as well as resistance to reintroducing them in northern Washington.

Most everyone hopes that 399 will live the rest of her life in peace and that she’ll have a natural death whenever that time comes. The reality is that the odds of that kind of peaceful ending to her story are slim. Adult grizzlies have a much higher likelihood of dying at the hands of a human. So these days, Laybourn stays away and doesn’t go looking for 399 anymore.

“Her celebrity is too much,” he says. Instead, he channels his passion for grizzlies into his work at Jackson Hole Bear Solutions, which gives Jackson residents bear-proof trash cans, helping to keep bears and people safe from each other.

At the same time, he doesn’t fault people for wanting to have their moment with her. People want to connect with American nature and experience those imitable moments of awe. For decades now, 399 has given them that. She gave Laybourn the same gift on that dark morning in 2006. “When you drive into Teton Park and all of a sudden there’s a grizzly bear with her three cubs on the side of the road, you realize you’ve reached wild.”

This story appears in the January/February issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.

14 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

POLITICS

Most Republicans think Donald Trump is a person of faith. We asked why More Republicans see Trump as a ‘person of faith’ than as ‘religious’

Michelle Budge, Deseret News / Source: Getty Images (Biden) and Associated Press (Trump)

By Brigham Tomco Deseret News

Most Republican voters consider former President Donald Trump to be a person of faith, putting him ahead of other more vocally religious individuals, like his former Vice President Mike Pence, according to a national poll conducted by HarrisX for the Deseret News.

But Republicans are less likely to say Trump is “religious” — pointing to his support for religious people, not his personal religiosity, as their reasoning for saying he is a man of faith.

Registered voters were asked whether they considered a list of political figures to be people of faith, including Trump, President Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence and Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney. Trump was the top choice for Republicans, while Biden was the most common choice for Democrats.

Pence topped the list for independents.

Sixty-four percent of Republicans said Trump was a person of faith, up from 53% in October. Pence, at 56%, came in second.

More Republican voters said Trump was a person of faith than several of his opponents in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, including Nikki Haley (44%), Ron DeSantis (34%), Vivek

Ramaswamy (22%) and Chris Christie (22%). Haley was raised Sikh, but converted to Christianity. DeSantis is Catholic and Ramaswamy is Hindu.

The poll was conducted Nov. 21-22, 2023, among 1,012 registered voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points.

The results added context to a similar Deseret News/HarrisX survey conducted in October, where Trump was also the most likely politician to be called a person of faith by Republicans.

In the latest survey, voters were also asked whether they considered a list of politicians to be religious — separately from being a person of faith — and why.

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024 Most Republicans — 62% — said Pence was religious, while only 47% said Trump was. And while only 13% of Republicans said President Joe Biden was a person of faith, 26% acknowledged he was religious.

Sixty-nine percent of Democrats said Biden is a person of faith; 72% said he was religious.

When voters were asked why they considered Biden to be a person of faith or religious, most pointed to beliefs about his character: he has a strong moral compass (52%); he is honest and trustworthy (48%); and he makes ethical decisions (47%).

In contrast, those who said Trump was a person of faith or religious point to their perception of him as a defender of religious people or policies. Sixty-seven percent said Trump defends people of faith in the U.S.; 60% said he supports policies that focus on families; and 54% said he “cares about people like me.”

The least common reason for saying Trump is a person of faith or religious, expressed by only 26% of respondents, is that he is “actively involved in religious and faith communities.”

More GOP voters view Trump as a person of faith than view him as religious. When justifying calling him a person of faith, voters more frequently pointed to his actions on behalf of religious people, such as defending people of faith and supporting

family-focused policy. Those who called him religious, however, were more likely to say he “openly expresses his religious beliefs” (57%) and is “honest and trustworthy” (53%).

Trump was the first U.S. president since Dwight Eisenhower to change his religious affiliation while in office. Though he was raised Presbyterian, Trump now identifies as a nondenominational Christian.

Trump boasts massive support from evangelical Christians, who make up a significant portion of the Republican electorate.

Many evangelicals credit Trump for nominating three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who overturned Roe v. Wade.

“No president has ever fought for Christians as hard as I have,” Trump said at an event in June. “I got it done, and nobody thought it was even a possibility.”

Faith has become a central issue in the 2024 election. Trump’s new position on abortion — backtracking from his former support for a federal ban — has caused some discomfort among evangelical voters. And he

faces a religiously diverse group of GOP challengers.

Many conservative Christian voters seem to value a candidate’s positions on key issues over their religious affiliation or practice. “I think Donald Trump changed a lot of that, frankly,” Jake Chapman, one of the Ramaswamy campaign’s co-chairs in Iowa, said.

“I think some Christians (in 2016) probably were questioning whether or not they could vote for Donald Trump,” Chapman continued. “And yet, you have Donald Trump who who did a lot for religious freedom, who did a lot by putting good conservatives on the courts that helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Give credit where credit is due.”

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FAMILY

Get your dog out of here!

Where can service dogs go?

There’s confusion about the rules when it comes to service animals. Here’s what the law says and why

By Lois M. Collins Deseret News

Jefferson the corgi is well-behaved and well-traveled. He’s flown on commercial planes — in the cabin under a seat — to Seattle and to the Northeast a number of times. He’s also been to the symphony, the opera, the theater and scads of movies.

But recently, his mere presence created a stir in a Salt Lake City restaurant, where the manager told Jefferson’s owner, Kathleen Sykes, to “get your dog out of here” or he’d call the police.

It didn’t matter that Jefferson was wearing a vest that identified him as a service animal or that Sykes offered to tell what the dog was trained to do for her — tasks that include picking up items for her since she can’t do it herself because of a serious back injury.

The dog’s presence in the restaurant didn’t violate state or federal law. Service dogs are permitted to go where the public is allowed, with a couple of exceptions. The restaurant manager’s response might have violated both, though the complaint is civil, not criminal.

Nate Crippes, public affairs supervising attorney for the Disability Law Center of Utah, said the center takes a lot of calls from people who feel they are being discriminated against regarding their service animal. Over the years, it has written many letters telling businesses and others what the law says. But the center also gets calls from businesses that want to understand the laws around service animals or want help training their staff, since violations could result in a business or entity being sued in federal court.

Utah law echoes the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which says qualified service animals are allowed on public transportation, public streets and in shops, restaurants, hotels, theaters and other places the public can go. Religious buildings and private clubs are exempt, though if the latter lets nonmembers in to use some of its facilities, it has to offer someone with a service dog the same access.

A service animal is not the same as an emotional support animal — the federal disabilities act doesn’t protect those — though people often conflate the two. Crippes agreed there’s likely some confusion since a proliferation of websites promise for a small fee to “certify” an emotional support animal, creating an expectation that service animals have paperwork that documents the need for them.

Rules for service animals and emotional support animals are not the same — and neither are the purposes they serve.

Nolo.com writes that “under Utah’s disability rights law, public accommodations must allow you to be accompanied by your qualified service animal.” Qualified means a dog “that has been trained or is being trained to do work or tasks for the benefit of someone with a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or mental disability.” Animals other than dogs are not service animals under Utah law.

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act says a service animal is usually a dog trained to perform tasks or do work that benefits someone with a disability. The task or work must relate directly to the person’s disability. ADA, as the law is usually known, specifies that in some cases a miniature horse can qualify as a service animal. Crippes notes that federal law trumps state law.

ADA “encourages” but doesn’t require a service animal to wear a vest or have a laminated card or other ID that makes it look official.

Utah is among states that exclude from its definition of service animals those used “solely for emotional support, companionship, comfort, well-being or crime deterrence,” as Nolo.com puts it. ADA doesn’t cover emotional support animals, either.

Disbelief doesn’t matter

Part of the challenge facing those who use service animals is that a disability may not be readily apparent. Guide dogs are easily recognizable as they work with individuals who are blind or visually impaired. But a hearing dog that alerts his handler to alarms, doorbells and other signals might be challenged because a hearing impairment isn’t visible.

Still, a dog trained to hear for someone as a service dog can legally go where the public goes, as long as the dog is housebroken, well-behaved and doesn’t pose a danger to others. That someone else in that public place has a dog allergy or doesn’t like dogs does not change that entitlement.

Dogs have become psychiatric service animals to help their handlers with specific tasks related to emotional and mental disabilities. Seizure-alert service dogs can let their handlers know of impending seizures or guard them during one. Allergen-alert service dogs can ferret out and warn of allergens that could be dangerous or even deadly to their handler.

While a skeptic may crave a certification of some sort, it doesn’t exist. And the law does not require it because of the wide range of disabilities and tasks that a service dog might undertake and the wide range of training that makes that possible.

The person who uses a service animal need not satisfy all curiosity or disclose personal information, including the nature of

his or her disability. The two questions that can be asked are whether the dog is a service animal needed because a person has a disability and what tasks it has been trained to perform related to that disability.

Sykes, a former Deseret News employee, said strangers sometimes get quite pushy, though she’s never had an encounter that felt as serious as the recent one in the restaurant. At a fruit stand in northern Utah, she was told she had to put her dog in the shopping cart. She ignored the request, since Jefferson would not be able to perform the tasks for which he trained from a shopping cart. Employers have sometimes questioned her use of a service dog, at least initially.

Nationally, encounters regarding service dogs have been posted with some frequency on social media: A woman who posts on social media as @serviceaussiebailey was shopping when she was accosted by another customer who demanded to see her paperwork or at least know what her disability is, before saying she was going to get the manager “because I don’t believe you.”

Such stories are plentiful. Another recent post showed a store employee telling a woman, “Your dog is a pet. Get it out of here,” despite her efforts to explain what the service dog was trained to do and what the law says.

Utah’s Disability Law Center sometimes gets complaints that law enforcement was called and told the individual with a service dog to leave, Crippes said, so sometimes the center has to educate law enforcement.

That doesn’t happen when the police department knows the law and has policy in place —which is the case, for instance, with the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The Deseret News asked a Salt Lake police spokesman whether the department gets many calls regarding challenges to service dogs. Sgt. Mark Wian said he hasn’t personally had such an

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Kathleen Sykes works with her service dog, Jefferson, at her office at Kiln in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Because of a back injury to Sykes, Jefferson has been trained to retrieve items for her, among other tasks.

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024 encounter, but he said the department’s policy manual explains the law and what the police response would be.

The manual states that “if an animal exhibits vicious behavior, poses a direct threat to the health of others or unreasonably disrupts or interferes with normal business operations, an officer may direct the owner to remove the animal from the premises.”

Barking alone is not a threat and if the person with the service animal promptly controls the animal, there’s no direct threat either.

Further, “removal of a service animal may not be used as a reason to refuse service to an individual with disabilities.”

Fear that a dog’s owner will not control it is not enough to exclude a service animal. There has to be an actual disruption that is not easily corrected by the animal’s handler, Crippes said.

Police, too, will only ask the two legal questions. Per the manual, “If the individual explains that the animal is required because of a disability and has been trained to work or perform at least one task, the animal meets the definition of a service animal and no further question as to the animal’s status should be asked. The person should not be questioned about his/her disabilities nor should the person be asked to provide any license, certification or identification card for the service animal.”

The police are supposed to be neutral peacekeepers, explaining the ADA requirements and that businesses must allow service animals to accompany their owner wherever other customers or members of the public can go. But they don’t enforce the ADA requirement, as long as there’s no violation outside of ADA. The manual says if the two parties can’t work things out, police can refer the individual with the disability to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to make a complaint.

Both local and federal law protect property owners and businesses in the unlikely event a service animal does damage. While housing discrimination is illegal, landlords can, for instance, charge a security deposit for wear and tear, as long as it also charges others, not just the person with the service dog. Crippes

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likens it to what happens if someone using a wheelchair inadvertently damages a hotel room. That person would have to pay for it; it’s not free just because someone needs a wheelchair.

Rules for flying

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Kathleen Sykes greets her service dog, Jefferson, at her office at Kiln in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Because of a back injury to Sykes, Jefferson has been trained to retrieve items for her, among other tasks.

Airlines rely on a different, but similar set of rules, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Air Carrier Access Act allows a dog as a service animal, “regardless of breed or type, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Animal species other than dogs, emotional support animals, comfort animals, companionship animals, and service animals in training are not service animals.”

Airlines can refuse to transport the service dog if it violates safety requirements, poses a direct threat to someone else’s health or safety, causes significant disruption on the plane or at the airport gate area, or violates a destination’s health requirements.

Sykes said when she and Jefferson fly, she has to provide advance notice that she uses a service animal and fill out a form regarding Jefferson’s training, health and behavior. She also has to “attest” that he won’t relieve himself on the plane or can do so in sanitary fashion on long flights.

But the act makes clear that an animal cannot be denied the right to fly just because it “makes other passengers or flight crew uncomfortable.” As long as the animal behaves properly and the paperwork is in place, a service dog is welcome on commercial airlines.

There’s an unwritten rule worth mentioning, as well. Because service dogs are working animals, not pets, people should refrain from petting or interacting with them without specific permission. Even if, like Jefferson, the dog is cute.

18 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

PRIVATE AND CHARTER SCHOOLS

Perspective: In defense of homework Requiring that children do reasonable amounts of homework can address both our academic decline and increasing fragility

By Elizabeth Grace Matthew For the Deseret News

As Gen Z enters the workforce in greater numbers, employers, colleagues and consumers are noticing a pervasive decline in work ethic that transcends demographic and political divides. Tales of “quiet quitting” (a conscious determination to do the bare minimum at work) and complaints about the reality that work is not always fun, lucrative or logistically easy pervade social media, where today’s young adults spend so much of their time.

Although some older Americans applaud these developments, saying that Gen Z is prioritizing mental health and the examined life over the rat race, many of my fellow millennials and our elders are alarmed and perplexed about this devolution in professional standards. It is especially worrisome because the decline in young Americans’ productivity is happening in conjunction with worsening mental health and academic achievement.

Is there any simple way to reverse this tide for the next generation, and bring back a culture of professionalism alongside improved mental health and academic competence?

Here’s one thing we could try: Assign homework to primary and secondary school students, and expect that homework to be done correctly and on time.

Today, a bias against homework is brewing among educational researchers at universities and ideological activists in elementary and secondary schools.

Critics of homework say it increases disparities in educational outcomes between socioeconomic and racial groups because children with familial and economic resources benefit from homework the most and need reinforcement the least.

In other words, those with an attentive adult at home in the afternoon or evening tend to do their homework and enjoy the academic benefits of doing so, while children whose parents are working outside of school hours may not have parental encouragement, fail to complete the assigned work, and thus fall further and further behind.

Additionally, those concerned about the mental health crisis among children and teens contend that homework contributes to kids’ anxiety — both as a source of stress in itself and as an opportunity cost compared to emotionally and mentally restorative activities such as spending time with friends and family.

Each of these concerns has merit.

But eliminating homework, as many school districts around the country are doing, is unconscionably counterproductive.

The poisonous logic of equity is to pursue equality of outcome between groups at the expense of individuals. As we demand less from students across the board, we lower the ceiling without raising the floor. So, yes, it’s true that the gap between higher-achieving and lower-achieving students may shrink when we cease to offer students the incentive to improve their academic performance through the repetition and reinforcement of assigned homework. But, as plunging test scores across the country suggest, shrinking achievement gaps in response to equity measures are mostly the result of higher-achieving students doing worse, not of lower-achieving ones doing better.

This is not just true academically, but in terms of executive function, including the expectation of individual responsibility for universally mandated, nondomestic deliverables for which there are no regularly accepted excuses. If we no longer seek to inculcate the habits of impersonal, clinical accountability in our nation’s children and teens, can we really be surprised when those habits are missing in so many young professionals of every demographic?

Closing academic and professional achievement gaps should entail measures like mandating an after-school study hall with academic attention available for those who are not getting their work done at home, not eliminating the work itself. Sacrificing the pursuit of academic and professional excellence on the altar of ideology is unparalleled in its perverse capacity to foster both educational mediocrity and personal fragility.

Meanwhile, concerns about the toll that homework takes on students’ mental health are concentrated among middle- and upper-middle-class families.

Middle- and upper-middle-class children tend to be the simultaneous beneficiaries and victims of today’s norms of “intensive parenting,” in which scheduled af-

ter-school activities crowd out free play in primary school and paid work in secondary school, foster intense anxiety about academic achievement en route to college, and rob kids of needed sleep.

Excessive amounts of homework can contribute to children’s stress levels in ways that are counterproductive. Yet, drastically reducing or eliminating homework in deference to concerns about kids’ stress can contribute to their inability to manage life’s demands effectively as adults.

The disposition to fragility that is so concerning among today’s young people does not come about because we demand too much of them as kids and teens. It comes about because we demand far too little.

Many parents and educators now manage children’s challenging behaviors with kind redirections rather than no-nonsense reprimands. They also respond to students’ complaints of stress with appeals to reduce work loads, and emphasize kids’ feelings over their interpersonal skills.

In this infantilizing climate, requiring that children do reasonable amounts of homework is one way to push back on both our academic decline and our professional and interpersonal fragility.

Elizabeth Grace Matthew is a visiting fellow at Independent Women’s Forum and a regular opinion contributor at The Hill. Her work has appeared in USA Today, America Magazine, Law and Liberty, The Bulwark, Fairer Disputations and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

At Spectrum Academy we meet educational challenges using our research-based curriculum as teachers seek to blend the requirements of the Utah State Core and Common Core Curriculum, social skills instruction, and sensory integration with identified behavior-based instructional practices for children with autism.

spectrumcharter.org Illustration By Eliza Anderson

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

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Rowland Hall Shaping the Future of Education

DEVELOPING PEOPLE THE WORLD NEEDS Rowland Hall offers a transformational education that gives students agency and purpose, connects them to their global community, and empowers them to make the world a better place for all.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL | PreK-12 | SALT LAKE CITY | TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE | ROWLANDHALL.ORG

Rowland Hall has long provided students of all ages with flexible, transformative educational experiences that equip them with the skills they need to thrive in our dynamic world.

As a leader among independent schools, we are committed to building on our legacy of excellence to shape the future of education—to Develop People the World Needs.

We believe students of all ages can create knowledge, not just learn knowledge.

With investments in areas such as applied mathematics, engineering, environmental and research science, computer science, and entrepreneurship, we’re preparing students to find solutions to real-world problems.

We believe students are the problem solvers, communicators, critical thinkers, and creators the world needs, and we’re expanding opportunities for deep learning and leadership that will continue to build these identities.

We believe in the benefits of coming together in partnership. By embracing collaboration, we enable meaningful learning and connections that expand perspectives, foster understanding and creativity, build and strengthen community, and shape empathetic, ethical global citizens.

Learn more at rowlandhall.org.

ROWLAND HALL STUDENTS IN ACTION Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign Inspires Upper School Action.

Rowland Hall’s climate science class helped lead the recent urban heat island mapping campaign, designed to identify where life-saving heat mitigation resources should be prioritized.

Seventh Graders Provide Real-World Support to Great Salt Lake Institute.

Rowland Hall seventh graders engaged the Great Salt Lake Institute (GSLI) on a student-led project designed to expand the GSLI’s outreach to younger audiences so more people understand and prioritize the local impact of the Great Salt Lake.

Can 10-Year-Olds Change the World?

You Bet They Can! Rowland Hall fifth graders recently got firsthand experience with the deceptively lovely puncturevine weed when they designed their own puncturevine removal tools.

Read these stories and more at rowlandhall.org/fineprint.

20 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

Utah Virtual Academy Empowering School Choice: Utah Virtual Academy Unleashes Educational Freedom In the dynamic landscape of education, school choice has become a rallying cry for parents seeking personalized and flexible learning options for their children.

Enter Utah Virtual Academy (UTVA), a tuition-free online public school offering a transformative educational experience for students in grades K–12.

Providing a robust platform where students can flourish academically within a safe and supportive environment, the team of Utah-licensed teachers at UTVA ensure a high-quality education that prioritizes individual growth and success.

We recognize the diverse needs of students and offer comprehensive support to address them. Whether students require assistance with credit recovery, aspire to excel in college prep courses, or seek guidance in preparing for their future careers, UTVA stands as a beacon of choice. Parents can tailor their child’s education journey to match their unique aspirations, fostering a sense of ownership over their academic destiny.

Beyond academics, UTVA values the im-

portance of socialization, club participation, and family engagement. Students not only thrive academically but also develop essential life skills and form connections that extend beyond the virtual classroom.

This commitment to a holistic educational experience aligns seamlessly with the ideals of school choice, providing families with the flexibility to choose an educational path that suits their values and priorities.

For students in grades 6-12, UTVA further enhances school choice by offering part-time enrollment through the Statewide Online Education Program (SOEP). This flexibility allows families to strike a balance between traditional and online education, providing an optimal solution for those seeking a tailored approach to learning.

Embrace the power of online learning with Utah Virtual Academy and redefine the possibilities of education for your child.

Attend our virtual open house on Feb. 15th at 3:00 pm to meet staff, ask questions, and receive enrollment support! Register here: http://tinyurl.com/utvaopenhouseregister

Summit Academy Schools www.summitacademyschools.org - 801-572-9007

You Belong!

Join our learning community as we create a challenging, individualized educational journey for your child! In a day when families aren’t sure what to trust in schools or where their child’s needs will be met, Summit Academy’s educators are here to partner with families on a journey to reach each student’s individual summit.

Summit Academy values each child’s unique personality and strengths.

SUMMIT ACADEMY K-12 • German / Spanish Immersion

• Middle School Sports Teams

• Full/Half Day Kindergarten

• New E-Sport Arena

• Extra Curricular Activities

• Free Public Charter

Summit Academy excites a student’s desire to learn and succeed now and in the future, Our dynamic student-teacher-family community sees each student as a whole person and together creates a challenging individualized educational journey toward intellectual success and personal well-being.

Call today to learn more about Summit’s four campuses serving students at the south end of the valley in Bluffdale and Draper.

Tuition Free Charter Serving Utah Students for 20 years In the fall of 2003, a small group of parents came together to build a charter school that would provide a quality education emphasizing strong academics, dynamic student-teacher interaction, and the discovery of each student’s unique talents and interests. Come and see how we are doing that today!

German and Spanish Immersion Options E-Sport Arena and Broadcast Media Courses Member of the UHSAA

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

An education with substance.

History ᐧ Geography ᐧ Classic Literature ᐧ Art ᐧ Music ᐧ Character

West Valley City West Point

Students who succeed. #1 ranking in reading and math.

Apply here

Monticello Academy Ever felt like there’s a missing piece in American education?

The Problem

The Solution

When No Child Left Behind was passed over twenty years ago, it required every 3rd-8th grader to take a yearly standardized test in math and reading. Predictably, many schools started organizing their curriculum around these tests.

So, what’s on them?

To start with, they are tests of “skill,” not knowledge.

On the reading test, students will read a passage and answer questions about it. What’s the passage about? Doesn’t matter. It could be anything because—as the theory goes– knowledge isn’t so important; skills are.

What followed was a public school curriculum that replaced substance with bland worksheets and online programs.

Most schools began to neglect (if not abandon) one of the most basic, traditional aims of education: building students’ knowledge of the world. What happened to history and geography? Science? Great works of art and music? Poetry and classic literature?

They mostly disappeared, even as student test scores have stagnated or gone down nationwide. What researchers have discovered is that when students are lacking background knowledge, it is very difficult to read and succeed at high academic levels.

At Monticello Academy, a tuition-free, public charter school with two campuses, we do things differently. Our students get the good stuff: classic literature, American history every year, world history and geography starting in kindergarten; a study of the great works of art and music.

When you ask Monticello students, “What did you learn about at school today?” instead of a shrug of the shoulders (“I don’t know; we did some worksheets”), you are likely to hear genuine excitement for learning: • “We learned about King Tut!” (1st grade) • “We learned about Julius Caesar and Cleopatra!” (3rd grade) • “We learned about the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution!” (6th grade) Isn’t this the way school is supposed to be?

A Well-Rounded Curriculum The great thing about a knowledge-rich curriculum is that we don’t have to sacrifice other goals.

• While diving into rich content, students build skills that enable them to outperform all surrounding schools in math, reading, and on Utah’s School Report card.

• While exploring American history, they learn principles of character: respect, humility, work, service and friendship, and five other principles drawn from the writings of the Founding Fathers. Students are taught to aim high and are then held to high behavioral expectations.

• While studying the great works of art and music, they become artists themselves, with all students learning musical performance and progressing in a visual arts curriculum developed by the Utah Art Educator of the Year.

Our whole-child education extends to physical health as well, with more PE, recess, and extra-curricular opportunities than comparable schools, including multiple state champion teams.

Finally, while much of our curriculum looks to the past, we’re also looking to the future, with all students getting a Computer Science education, from robotics to programming in Python.

Monticello Academy was founded by parents who wanted more than the typical public school provides. For eighteen years, it has fulfilled that dream for thousands of students.

Apply today for a spot at our K-8 campus in West Valley City or our K-6 campus in West Point.

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22 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

Learning how to think, not what to think.

ENROLL NOW FOR 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR Liberal Arts Education | Grades 7-12 | Homeschool Friendly

Join us for our School Open House!

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | 4:00-6:00 pm

PARADIGM SCHOOLS A Utah Public Charter School Serving Grades 7-12

11577 South 3600 West, South Jordan, UT 84095 801.676.1018 | paradigmschools.org

Paradigm Schools (801) 666-2981 | www.paradigmschools.org

I am a Paradigm Patriot. I am a free soul with the capacity to learn and grow.

I am a scholar and a servant leader. I have gifts that make me unique and powerful. I engage in the great conversation of ideas.

I can overcome hard things and persist in my learning no matter how challenging. I take responsibility for my actions. I live in gratitude. I honor the nobility in every person. I seek the true, the good, and the beautiful. I accept my shared responsibility to create a free society and a better world.

This is the Paradigm Declaration, recited daily by our scholars and staff. It reflects our values and role in our society.

Paradigm Schools, centered on principles of freedom and classical education, was founded in 2006 by a group of families who homeschool their children.

Paradigm holds that parents are the primary educators for their children and that schools are to serve as a resource to families to meet and fulfill a family’s educational goals and work in partnership to provide the best learning and growing ex-

perience. It is a parent’s responsibility to teach their children math, science, reading, art, music and so on, but because parents can’t do it all, this is where a school comes in to assist. This is what we do!

We teach scholars to learn how to think and not what to think through a classical liberal arts education, applying the Socratic discussion method. We believe this is the key to becoming well-rounded and productive individuals.

If any of this sounds appealing to you or you think your child could benefit from a school with a safe environment, with a challenging educational experience, please visit our website: www.paradigmschools.org, to sign-up for a tour or to apply for enrollment.

Arches Academy Voted Best Private School in Utah Valley Since 2013

NOW ACCEPTING VOUCHERS Arches Academy is the only school in Utah Valley that provides interactive, Gifted & Talented educational experiences for all students. We follow gifted and talented models with every student, not just a few who “test in.” Thanks to the Utah Fits All Scholarship, all families can afford the best educational opportunities for their students.

We believe that every student is equipped with innate learning strategies and talents. Through our non-traditional, project-based approach, we empower students to think innovatively, engage in collaborative groups, create meaningful connections through an inclusive global mindset, and develop their innate creative and curious energy. Our well-rounded integrated curriculum includes: Classical Education Core Subjects, World Cultures and Languages, Drama, Music, Physical Education, Art, and STEM classes.

All students are encouraged to follow their passions and pursue projects that

excite them, even topics that go beyond a state curriculum. Each History and Science unit is built around an interactive class project: students create art galleries, write puppetry plays, re-enact Civil War battles, build a railroad, wear hand-made armor to a Viking feast, or so much more!

Students participate in MISSIONS which are short classes based on students’ passions. Topics are as diverse as our students, ranging from mummies, rock band performance, weaving, and cooking, to survival skills, archery, explorations in science, technology, engineering, math, skiing, architecture, and more.

Another Gifted and Talented belief is that learning occurs outside of the classroom! Students go on monthly field trips, including overnight camping trips and out of state trips for our older students.

Schedule a tour today to empower your student and reserve a seat while vouchers and seats are still available! www.archesacademy.com or 801.374.5480

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

SALTLAKEACADEMY.ORG

Salt Lake Academy (385) 474-9052 | SaltLakeAcademy.org

At Salt Lake Academy, we believe in the power of academics and athletics, to maximize the potential of each individual. We are here to develop students who are lifelong learners, responsible global citizens, and champions of their own success.

CHAMPIONS START HERE

SALT LAKE ACADEMY CHECK US OUT AT OUR

OPEN HOUSE FEBRUARY 7TH FROM 5-7:00 PM Glenn J.

Kimber Academy Aiming to Serve God, Family & Country

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Feb.29N A R th 7 PM

UTAH’S ORIGINAL MICROSCHOOL Religious studies Learning how to apply scriptures to everyday life.

Language Arts Learning how to lose oneself in academic service.

Math

Learning how to self-govern using correct principles.

History

Learning how to ponder in one’s heart.

Science Learning how to search the scriptures to understand how and why God creates.

135 S State St. #12, Lindon, UT | (801) 382-7158 | KimberAcademy.com

We do this, by utilizing our four pillars of success, the first of which is purpose.

Students Identify & achieve lifetime goals. When students know their purpose, they are more successful in the classroom & in competition. Clearly defined goals, expectations and measurables help our student-athletes develop to their full potential.

we are. Training every day helps your student-athlete create those habits and routines. Your student will receive more than 150 trainings, in world-class facilities, with licensed and highly qualified coaches.

The final pillar is excellence. Excellence is a standard, and a mindset. We strive for excellence in everything we do. We create an environment that fosters excellence through purpose, honor, and discipline, to fulfill the mission of Salt Lake Academy.

The second pillar is honor. Our smaller school size means more respect, honesty, meaningful relationships and acceptance of all. Smaller class sizes means a direct individual relationship with the teacher to provide an individualized approach to education.

We take these pillars, and apply them to all areas, in the classroom, on our athletic teams, and in their lives. We offer a robust curriculum of concurrent enrollment classes through the brand new Salt Lake Community College campus across the street. Our campus boasts one of the greatest training facilities in the nation, and our faculty are committed to providing your student with every opportunity to be successful.

Pillar three is discipline. We understand that daily training creates habits, habits make routines, and routines become who

Join us at Salt Lake Academy and see why Champions Start Here. Discover more at SaltLakeAcademy.org.

Kimber Academy An Original “Microschool”

Our country has gone through many cycles in education. From home tutoring to little red school houses, to state schools and our current cycle with active government control in classrooms, policies, curriculum, etc. However, great minds of early America were molded within their homes, tutoring or community schools, fostering a moral environment and love of learning.

Modern microschools closely resemble Little Red Schoolhouses of America’s golden educational age. Only one survives teaching original core fundamental values for mankind: • Finding true and correct answers in God’s word and nature.

• The ability to effectively self-govern.

• Identify patterns of God’s dealing with mankind to understand the world around you.

• Foster love for family and community through service.

• Understanding where you come from, finding your life’s purpose and being prepared to lead in building the Kingdom of God.

The Glenn J. Kimber Academy is a place where parents come together, sharing their time and talents in educating children in these values, using academics as a tool. Modern education stresses parents, leading them to believe children’s successes are based on academic accolades. Kimber Academy’s mission is for students to master a love of learning, then academic mastery becomes natural and enjoyable.

“It really does work”, says Jessica Bianco, the Academy’s National Director, and local Lindon Academy owner. Jessica has been at Kimber for nearly 6 years where all 4 of her children attend. “I was looking for a place where biblical morality mattered; that really was my priority. When I was invited to teach, it blew my mind!

The curriculum testifies of truth in every subject. To me that is priceless.”

Currently, Kimber Academy has an affordable model and is ready to expand.

Jessica urges: “We need parents who believe in the fundamental values.” For more information call (801) 382-7158.

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24 DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

Kindergarten - 8th Grade

Why Choose Redeemer Lutheran?

1. Best practice in education: • Project Based Learning • Extended Recess Time • Art/Language • Music • STEM • PE • Service Projects 2. Year over year in above average national testing scores

3. Family-oriented environment 4. After-care available 5. Exceptional education with an affordable tuition

In the heart of Sugarhouse!

What We’re About • • •

Christ Centered: Encouraging leaders to be kind and loving Student Oriented: Focused on cooperative learning with divergent problem solving skills

Community Involved: A strong family like environment with immersive local service activities.

Call and Tour

Today!

(801) 487-6283 www.rlcs-slc.org

Redeemer Lutheran Church and School 1955 Stratford Ave Salt Lake City, UT, 84106

“Life is a joy, so should be learning.”

Mae Carden

C A R D E N Memorial School Classical Christian Education to Nurture Hearts and Minds 1452 East 2700 South Salt Lake City

801-486-4895 www.cardenmemorialschool.com

To learn more, please visit: Huntsman.usu.edu email Huntsmaninfo@usu.edu or call 435.797.0155

DESERET NEWS | FEBRUARY 2024

Guided by our values.

Committed to our community.

The McGillis School Lower School | Middle School | The Learning Center | mcgillisschool.org

Who We Are

The McGillis School is home to nearly 400 K-8 students of all backgrounds, faiths, and perspectives who spend their school days in our historic, light-filled building on 1300 East in Salt Lake City.

McGillis is a nonprofit, independent private school accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools. We offer Lower School (grades K-5) and Middle School (6-8).

Since 2020, McGillis has also been home to The Learning Center (grades 3-8), the only schoolwithin-a-school model in Utah offering highly individualized instruction to students with language-based learning differences: dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.

What We Value

Lower School • Middle School • The Learning Center • mcgillisschool.org

The

McGillis School

We are a nonprofit, independent private school rooted in Jewish values and open to all children, Kindergarten - 8th Grade.

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McGillis was founded in 1990 upon universally embraced Jewish values that remain to this day.

These six values guide and inform everything we do as a community, from calendaring to curriculum to community service.

We embrace our values in both Hebrew and English: Tzedakah—giving to others; Tikkun Olam— repairing the world; Gemilut Hasadim—doing good and kind deeds; Derech Eretz—having respect for

all; Limud L’shma—learning for the sake of learning; and Kehilah—community.

McGillis students love learning and think critically, live ethically, and appreciate the value of each individual. The three traits below combine to create our Portrait of a McGillis Learner: Empowered Explorer • Recognizes setbacks, failures, and mistakes as opportunities for innovation and growth • Practices curiosity, creativity, and openmindedness • Generates creative solutions to complex problems Honorable Mensch • Does the right thing even when no one is looking • Leads with integrity, honesty, and humility • Demonstrates a sincere commitment to community Courageous Activist • Perseveres as a resourceful and hopeful caretaker for the future • Advocates for themselves, and as a brave ally for others • Makes decisions through the lenses of equity and ethics

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Primary School Infant-Elementary www.elizabethacademy.com www.elizabethacademy.com Elizabeth Academy is a premier INCLUSIVE INCLUSIVE INCLUSIVE MONTESSORI school located in Salt Lake City, serving children from Infancy to 6th grade. AuINTEGRATED INTEGRATED thentic Montessori education is infused with best practices in early intervention (integrated and INNOVATIVE INNOVATIVE private therapies of all kinds), arts education and Primary School- Infancy - 6th Grade Secondary School7th-12th Grade Infant/Toddler Pre-Kindergarten Elementary Secondary Mid-Highgrade School 7th-12th grade learning. Whether gifted, neuro-typToddler Pre-Kindergarten Elementary Secondary Mid-High School 7th-12th experiential 2870 S. Connor Street, East Millcreek 1838 S. 1500 E., Sugarhouse ically developing, or in need of a little or extra APPLY TODAY! (801) 296-0660 (801) 208-4848 support, every child’s needs are met. Experienced teachers work collaboratively alongside special www.elizabethacademy.com educators and therapists to adapt lessons for INCLUSIVE more challenge or support, paying particular attention to individual interests, desires and needs.

INTEGRATED As a private school that is an innovative model for Primary School- Infancy - 6th Grade Secondary School- 7th-12th Grade inclusion, the highly academic spiral scope and INNOVATIVE 2870 S. Connor Street, East Millcreek 1838 S. 1500 E., Sugarhouse sequence Montessori curriculum includes core Infant/Toddler Pre-Kindergarten Elementary Secondary Mid-High School 7th-12th grade APPLY TODAY! (801) 296-0660 (801) 208-4848 281-4848 subjects; Math, Language, Sciences and Humanities, blended with all the Arts: Music, Dance, Viwww.elizabethacademy.com sual Arts and Theatre, providing a rewarding and meaningful learning experience.

INCLUSIVE Secondary School- Middle and High School INTEGRATED Continuing the journey of an INCLUSIVE MONTESSORI education (offered at our Primary Primary School- Infancy - 6th Grade Secondary School7th-12th Grade INNOVATIVE School), we serve secondary students in grades 2870 S. Connor Street, East Millcreek 1838 S. 1500 E., Sugarhouse Secondary School- 7th-12th Grade APPLY TODAY! 7th-12th grade.

The academic core curriculum Infant/Toddler Pre-Kindergarten Elementary Secondary Mid-High School 7th-12th grade (801) 296-0660 (801) 208-4848 1838 S. 1500 E., Sugarhouse branches from two main trunks; HUMANITIES TODAY! www.elizabethacademy.com (801) (801) 296-0600 296-0660 and STEM, intertwining creatively with the ARTS

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AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING. The Humanities features a robust language and literacy program, where all students engage in Socratic dialogue and enlightening discussions, reading the classics and then writing their own stories, all the while focusing on the fundamentals. Language is tied to History and both of these have extensions to all of the creative Arts. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are also applied to the Arts through projects and performances, as well as with connections made through school trips and field studies. We provide unique learning opportunities and accommodate a myriad of needs for all students, exposing them to diverse perspectives, while being nurtured in a safe, small Montessori community at Secondary School.

From the moment students enter Secondary School in 7th grade, they are guided incrementally to make a smooth and successful transition to whatever their post-secondary plans will be.

College and career prep is a special focus to the student’s goals. Steps are guided, interests and abilities are assessed, skills are taught so that students can take the next steps to ensure post-secondary success and continue life’s journey as happy, well-rounded, successful adults.

For more information or to schedule a tour visit www.elizabethacademy.com

Mid-High School 7

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