4 students receive Power In You Awards

Published: Monday, May 28, 2007 12:03 a.m. MDT PROVO — Four students from Utah County have been awarded the Power In You Making a Difference Award from Wal-Mart.
Those receiving the award are Christian Covey, an eighth-grade student from American Heritage School; Jaren Claunch, a seventh-grade student from Timpanogos Academy; Kimberly Zelaya, a junior from Pleasant Grove High School; and Chelsea Gould, a senior from Orem High School.
Each student will receive a certificate signed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman, a $50 gift certificate for Wal-Mart, Power In You gear, and recognition at a school assembly.
The Power In You program was started in January by Utah's first lady to recognize Utah students for outstanding achievements. Wal-Mart contributed $50,000 to provide Power In You awards at schools throughout the state.

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Program to highlight the 'Spirit of America'

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007 12:13 a.m. MST AMERICAN FORK — The 33rd annual presentation of "The Spirit of America Speaks" will be Thursday at American Heritage School, 736 N. 1100 East, across from the Mt. Timpanogos LDS Temple.
Presentations will be at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
This live musical and theatrical re-enactment focuses on the key elements demonstrating the divine inspiration that led to the formation of the United States of America. The public is welcome. The program is free.

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Y. geology professor to speak about quakes

Published: Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005 9:55 p.m. MST AMERICAN FORK — Brigham Young University geology professor Ron Harris will speak tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the American Heritage School, 742 N. 900 East.
Harris is recognized for his prediction of the tsunami in Indonesia last December and his current prediction that a 7.0 earthquake could also strike along the Wasatch Front anytime. His power-point presentation will address the tsunami and the science behind an inevitable earthquake and how local communities might prepare.
"Earthquakes are the ultimate terrorists," Harris says. "We don't know when, but we do know where they will strike."
The public is welcome. Admission is free.

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BYU psychologist to speak in American Fork

Published: Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 10:30 p.m. MDT AMERICAN FORK — James MacArthur, a family psychologist and clinical professor at Brigham Young University, will speak Oct. 14 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at American Heritage School, 736 N. 1100 East.
MacArthur says he knows the struggles that children from dysfunctional families face — because he came from one. He's seen what substance-abuse — members of his family abused alcohol, heroin and cocaine, he says — can do to families.
MacArthur, who has studied the family unit for more than 30 years, has written the book, "How Do Regular, Everyday Parents Successfully Build a Healthy Family?"
MacArthur is married with 10 children, ranging in ages from 24 to 37.
The public is invited to this free lecture. Call 642-0055 for information.

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Lecture on marriage at American Heritage

Published: Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 1:05 p.m. MST Brigham Young University law professor Richard Wilkins and his wife, Melany, will share their views on marriage at the "Family Lecture Series," Friday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m. at American Heritage School and Family Education Center located directly east of Mount Timpanogos Temple, 736 N. 1100 East, American Fork.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
For more information, go online to www.american-heritage.org or call 642-0055 Ext. 503.

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How to raise children to be covered at school

Published: Friday, Dec. 24, 2004 4:14 p.m. MST "Principles and Preferences in Raising Children" will be the next segment in the "Family Lecture Series."
It will be Friday, Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m. at American Heritage School & Family Education Center, located directly east of Mt. Timpanogos Temple at 736 N. 1100 East in American Fork.
Paul and Sally Mero will present their views on raising children. The lecture is free and open to the public.

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Opera singer to discuss influence of music

Published: Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 1:50 p.m. MST Utah opera singer Michael Ballam will share his views on the influence of music as part of the Family Lecture Series on Friday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m., at American Heritage School and Family Education Center, 736 N. 1100 East, American Fork.
The lecture is free and open to the public. A tour of the school is available immediately following the lecture.
For more information, call 1-801-642-0055 Ext. 503.

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Heritage High? Idea is growing

By Amy Choate
Deseret Morning News Published: Monday, Nov. 1, 2004 2:19 p.m. MST AMERICAN FORK — American Heritage School unveiled a proposal at a meeting with parents to start offering high school classes.
"What we hope to garner from this meeting is that, first of all, our number one question has been answered," said Cheryl Karr, director of the school's education center and mother of an American Heritage student. "Yes, there is enough support and interest for a high school. We wanted to make sure we had some interest, and that, I think, has manifested itself."
At the meeting, more than 40 parents and community members sat in the school's lecture room, discussing how to start a high school.
And though the plans to start a high school are only in a preliminary phase, Karr said she thought it might be possible to have a high school extension up and running by next fall, though it might be in temporary facilities.
According to Karr and Jeff Acerson, a member of the school's board of trustees, the first step in creating the new school is to develop a number of committees through which the parents can create a game plan that addresses all of the new school's potential needs, including finding property on which to build the school.
"I hope we make sure that we don't create an animal that's pulling people away," Acerson said. "I hope we can create an atmosphere that people (in the community) will either want to support or at least respect."
The school's reputation in the community is well-known. It is a private school with a curriculum that incorporates religious teachings with secular subjects. The hallways of the almost-new school building are lined with pictures of both Benjamin Franklin and Jesus Christ, reflecting the school's objective to teach values as a part of the educational process.
"With the spirit that abides in (students') minds, in the classroom, with the teachers, you feel the respect and the self-government of the students," said Patricia Huhem, a parent of two American Heritage students. "It's unbelievable. It's a complete package, and when you have that, you cannot settle for anything less."
Huhem, whose mother was an elementary school teacher for 36 years, said that if plans to create a high school based on the same principles are not possible, then she will hire private tutors to educate her children instead of sending them to public school.
"I know the world quite a bit from both sides, and I know there is a better world," Huhem said. "I highly believe in what education can do for you."

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American Fork school to host BYU professors

Published: Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 4:17 p.m. MDT "The World's Myths vs. the Lord's Plan for Teaching Our Children" is the focus of Brigham Young University professors Kathleen and Howard Bahr, who will speak on Friday, Oct. 22, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Family Lecture Series presented by American Heritage School and Family Education Center, 736 N. 1100 East, American Fork.
The lecture series is free and open to the public. American Heritage is a non-profit school for kindergarten through eighth grade as well as a family resource center.
A tour of the school will be available immediately following the lecture.
For more information, go online to www.american-heritage.org , or call 642-0055

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Eyres to look at Book of Mormon parents

Published: Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 4:29 p.m. MDT Linda and Richard Eyre will speak on "Great Parents of the Book of Mormon" Friday, Sept. 24, 7:30-9 p.m. at American Heritage School & Family Education Center, 736 N. 1100 East, American Fork.
The Eyres are the authors of numerous parenting books. The event is free, and the public is invited.
For more information, call 642-0055 Ext. 503.

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Family lecture April 16

Published: Monday, March 29, 2004 1:18 p.m. MST AMERICAN FORK — Victor Cline, author and family therapist, and his wife, Lois, will present "Raising Winner Children — Plus Strategies of Discipline" at a free family lecture Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. at American Heritage School, 736 N. 1100 East.
The event is free and open to the public.
The school is a private, nonprofit, LDS-based school serving kindergarten through eighth grade. The Family Education Center, American Heritage's outreach program, will host the event.
Cline has written more than 84 publications including "How to Make Your Child a Winner: Ten Keys to Rearing Successful Children," "How to Make a Good Marriage Great," and "Where Do You Draw the Line: An Exploration into Media Violence, Pornography and Censorship."

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Choir host, wife set for family lecture

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American Heritage School offering gift certificates

Published: Monday, Dec. 15, 2003 3:22 p.m. MST AMERICAN FORK — American Heritage School in American Fork is offering gift certificates to summer camp for Christmas giving.
The certificates, available only until Dec. 23, offer a reduced rate for the school's summer program. The Explore Life! Summer Camp, normally $169, is available for $149 and requires only a $30 non-refundable deposit.
Explore Life! Summer Camp is a day camp for children ages 8-12. Activities are designed to help build children's faith and character, according to the school. There are 10 children to each counselor and a total of 60 children in each camp.
Camp dates are: Session 1, June 21-26; Session 2, July 12-16; and Session 3, July 26-30. Participants are accepted on a first come, first served basis. For information call the school at 642-0055, Ext. 503, or e-mail Ckarr@AHSmail.com .

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Pinegars to speak Jan. 9 at Family Lecture Series

Published: Friday, Dec. 12, 2003 3:40 p.m. MST Whether it's lengthening your shuffle or raising the bar, author Ed J. Pinegar has something to say about it.
Pinegar, along with his wife, Pat, will speak on "Relationships — With God, Our Savior and Others" Friday, Jan. 9, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Family Lecture Series presented by American Heritage School and Family Education Center in American Fork, 736 N. 1100 East. American Heritage is a private nonprofit school for kindergarten through eighth grade as well as a family resource center.
For more information call Cheryl Karr at 642-0055 Ext. 503 or e-mail Ckarr@AHSmail.com

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So few LDS schools

History lessons
Utah's first schools were set up shortly after the Mormon pioneers fled persecution in the Midwest and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
In fact, the Charter University of the City of Nauvoo, set up in 1840 by church founder Joseph Smith, served as the foundation for the University of Deseret, precursor to the University of Utah and established by second church leader Brigham Young in 1850, according to "Encyclopedia of Mormonism," Vol. 2, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow.
Early Mormon schools could have been considered public schools in the sense they served everybody, were free and were supported by the community, writes William E. Berrett in "A Miracle in Weekday Religious Education," a history of the church educational system.
On the other hand, those schools did not take general tax dollars, Berrett writes.
Often, classes were held in LDS church buildings, said Wilson, whose dissertation was in church involvement in higher education in Utah.
And, naturally, they weaved LDS theology in with the Three R's.

Differing views
By the 1860s, Utah's mining industry had attracted non-Mormons, who didn't want to send their children to schools centered around LDS doctrine.
So the Episcopal, Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist churches established private schools for their members. The first, St. Mark's Episcopal School — which has grown into today's Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School — opened in Salt Lake in 1867.
But viewpoints differ on the motives for establishing competing schools.
Mormons viewed it as a move "to counter the Latter-day Saint influence in the territorial public schools and to win young Latter-day Saints away from the church," Berrett writes.
Sister Catherine Kamphaus, superintendent of Utah Catholic schools, has a different take.
"It's not so true that we would (try to) bring them into our schools so we could win them over to our faith," said Kamphaus, adding some of Brigham Young's family members were "tutored by our sisters."
"We tend to go where the Catholic population is. . . . It hasn't been to proselytize or evangelize; it's more evangelizing our own."
At any rate, the effect of the other denominations' schools created, or perhaps added to, divisions between what were termed saints and gentiles.
"When the Latter-day Saint communities became aware of the real objective of the denominational schools, resentment arose; the breach between members and nonmembers became even more pronounced," Berrett writes.

Church and state
Meanwhile, back in Washington, pressure was mounting to loosen the LDS Church's grip on governing the territory and crack down on the church's practice of polygamy.
The Edmunds-Tucker Act, passed in 1887, outlawed polygamy, dissolved the church as a corporation, confiscated its property and, among other provisions, dealt with church-state separation — including in schools.
Meanwhile, Idaho's constitution banned Mormons from voting or holding office, and the Arizona Legislature was considering a similar ban, as was Congress.
Amid such pressures, church President Wilford Woodruff ended the practice of polygamy in 1890, and he advised church members to obey federal law, paving the way for statehood.
"It's only when the church realizes they're not going to fight the government anymore, they're not going to win, that they say, . . . 'Let's dump the parochial schools and we'll go fully behind state-sponsored education,' " Wilson said.
That also meant turning the university over to the state to make sure "they didn't have any church control of the public university," Wilson said. Still, he adds, U. presidents were Mormons — often church authorities — until the early 1930s. The first non-LDS U. president was Art Smith in 1991.

Funding education
Around the time of statehood in 1896, however, the LDS Church did maintain a select few private schools, called "academies," Wilson said.
By 1910, most LDS youths attended public high schools, and released time, often called "seminary" today, was created to fill the religious education role, Berrett writes.
Indeed, by 1920, the success of released time (today enrolling 82,687 students, or more than 58 percent of the state's public high school students) led to the LDS Church closing up to eight academies, Berrett writes.
Brigham Young, Weber, Dixie, Ricks and Snow academies were turned into higher-education institutions still owned by the LDS Church, Berrett writes.
But at the onset of the Great Depression, church leaders decided, "We can't fund all this education, even the higher education,' " Wilson said.
The church turned over its junior colleges, Weber, Dixie and Snow, to the state, Berrett writes, but kept control of BYU, LDS Business College and Ricks College, now renamed BYU-Idaho.
Still, Sister Catherine, whose church operates universities and schools worldwide, is curious as to why the LDS Church, especially in predominantly Mormon Utah, stays out of the private realm.
"I've always wondered, myself," she said, adding maybe 2 percent of Utah Catholic Schools' students are LDS.
Eyring cites historic financial reasons.
"Providing elementary and secondary education for all of our members across the world would be extremely expensive. There are other uses for the financial resources of the church. . . . The church is always extremely sensitive to see that the tithes of the members are used judiciously," Eyring said.
The LDS Church does sponsor a handful of elementary and secondary schools in Mexico and the Pacific islands. Still, Eyring doesn't predict a change in policy when it comes to schools in the United States.
"As the church grows across the earth, there might arise situations where substantial numbers of members of the church (do) not have access to public education," Eyring said. "Those situations would be evaluated by the Board of Education of the church according to the merits of each case."

Private ventures
Members of the LDS Church, however, have gone on their own to sponsor private schools with an LDS theological focus.
For instance, Utah is home to seven "Kimber Academy" locations, with the main campus in Murray and a new location in North Logan, said the Cache Valley school's administrator, Tom Persian.
It also is home to Deseret Academy, which could benefit from church sponsorship. The school has struggled financially and is being sued by the Granite School District for more than $30,000 in back rent and utilities payments for a period when it occupied the vacated Holladay Elementary building.
While the LDS Church has made clear it does not sponsor the private business ventures of its members, Persian notes emeritus members of church hierarchy have dedicated and said they approve of his school.
"I would love to have the church have an educational system in all the stake buildings," Persian said. "However, it hasn't come to that point yet."

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Pair to speak Friday at American Heritage

Ashtons to discuss family values Oct. 24

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Gutenberg era comes to life

By Carrie A. Moore
Deseret Morning News Published: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003 6:31 a.m. MDT PROVO — In what was touted as the most authentic attempt to date to reproduce pages from the original Gutenberg Bible, officials at the Crandall Historical Printing Museum gathered Tuesday to print a page of the renowned text, using a set of specially cast Latin type and a hand-operated press.
Louis Crandall, president and founder of the museum, demonstrated for media and invited guests how Johann Gutenberg set the type, inked the press and — using old-fashioned muscle power — hand-cranked a wooden lever, pushing the inked metal type onto a damp sheet of printer's paper.
Provo Mayor Lewis Billings and Gaylord Swim of the American Heritage School helped apply the pressure to print two pages of Latin text on a single sheet of paper. The pages were two well-known biblical texts, Isaiah 29 and John 10. Crandall said the Latin type is identical to that used by Gutenberg to print the world's first document completed with movable type.
That first document was the Bible, completed in 1450, and the achievement has been hailed by some historians and scholars as the single greatest contribution ever to the spread of knowledge and literacy by making published materials widely and readily available.
Crandall said the beauty of the original Gutenberg Bible, with its elegant print and hand-scripted embellishment, is "the standard by which all modern printing is judged."
The museum commissioned the Dale Guild Type Foundry in Howell, N.J., to create the B-42 Gutenberg metal type, after a pattern it had used to create a similar set for a Japanese company. Thomas Hinckley, a Gutenberg scholar and the museum's technical director, said it took him a month to set the 24 letters of Latin type in the right order to publish the two pages finished Tuesday.
Utah craftsman Steve Pratt of Cove Fort was commissioned by Crandall several years ago to build an authentic Gutenberg Press and has since worked with him to allow for the reproduction of pages that was demonstrated Tuesday.
Pratt has researched the type of ink used in the first Gutenberg Bible and through trial and error over time came up with what he believes is a prototype ink, using linseed oil, German bread and onions cooked to a designated consistency, he said. He demonstrated the ink-making method for observers Tuesday.
Students at Brigham Young University will embellish the printed pages in much the same way Renaissance artisans did, and the pages printed Tuesday will hang in Provo City Hall, Crandall said.
Brent Ashworth, a local rare documents collector, said only 48 copies or partial copies of the original Gutenberg Bible are known to exist, and the last partial copy auctioned at Sotheby's in 1979 sold for $5 million.
Those interested in seeing the pages or touring the museum may call 801-377-7777. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by appointment.

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Lecture today in Am.F. on Christian education

Art Riccardi, president of the Foundation for American Christian Education, will address parents and educators on Christian-based education through the "Principle Approach" today, 1:30-4:30 p.m., at the American Heritage School. 736 N. 1100 East, American Fork.

Tickets are $15 per person or $20 per couple.

For more information, call 642-0055, ext. 503.

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Private school counts blessings

AMERICAN FORK — Students at American Heritage School started school Tuesday with hymns, prayers and fearless recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance.

American Heritage is one school, under God, in every way.

And American Heritage parents, students and teachers were giving thanks for a major blessing as the bell rang Tuesday.

The private school that weaves LDS doctrine into lessons about science, history and mathematics moved from a small, old restored church to a shiny, new $10 million schoolhouse.

American Heritage's stately new campus, guarded by wrought-iron fences, stands across the street from the Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple. Land for the facility was bought with an $800,000 donation given to school officials in 1998.

Attributes school leaders aim to teach their charges — humility, faith, charity, courage, wisdom and self-government — are engraved in the building's stone.

On Tuesday, uniform-clad students trekked through polished hallways in wide-eyed wonder. The new digs are much different from the old church, which lacked a lunchroom, gymnasium, administrative offices and adequate restrooms.

The new building has all the desired amenities: large classrooms, a gym that can double as an auditorium, a lunchroom with an industrial kitchen, and wide hallways lit by skylights.

Some kids were a little nervous, worried about getting lost in the unfamiliar building with the lingering smell of new carpet, said Cheryl Karr, whose 11-year-old daughter, Christie, has attended the private school since kindergarten.

"I don't think the younger kids appreciate it as much," said Karr. "The older kids know how much nicer and bigger this is than the old church."

Spacious rooms at the new 400-student capacity building — which officials say was paid for by donations — allowed the school to accept 100 additional students this year.

Enrollment now reaches 300, said Trudy Pace, one of the school's administrators. A lengthy "waiting list" is tapped when spaces is made available.

Fiery debates about religious indoctrination in schools, such as a recent appellate court ruling that the phrase "under God" in the pledge violates the separation of church and state clause of the U.S. Constitution, don't resonate here, a school that was founded 33 years ago as an alternative to public schools.

"That's the unique part of our school. We bring the providential aspect in every subject," says John Covey, a school administrator whose son, Jacob, is in the fourth grade. "It's all taken from that point of view."

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Report ranks state's schools

Hunting for a competitive school for your kids?

Parents of school-age children may find help in their search for a specific education program by leafing through a Utah Schools report recently completed by the Sutherland Institute.The report uses a U.S. News & World Report-style table to compare schools in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties on 25 items, including test scores and dropout rate.

Utah's open-enrollment policy gives students the option of attending any public school in the state as long as they can provide their own transportation and there is enough room to accommodate them.

Based on their standings in the report, nine northern Utah schools were honored by the Sutherland Institute, a private Murray research organization, Thursday.

Researchers at the Institute recognized these schools for excellence in education or for showing outstanding progress: Carl Sandburg Elementary in Granite School District; Lomond View Elementary, Washington Terrace Elementary, in Weber District; Fairfield Junior High School in Davis District; Creekside High School in Murray District; Wasatch Elementary in Provo District; American Heritage School in Pleasant Grove; Redeemer Lutheran School and Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School in Salt Lake City.

Along with hundreds of other schools, these nine show listings for their average cost per pupil, average class size, number of advanced placement exams taken by students, as well as other indicators.

To earn their awards, the nine schools either posted a higher Stanford Achievement Test overall score than expected, or showed an improvement on these SAT scores from 1995 to 1996.

The expected SAT score for each school in Utah Schools is tied to a school's socioeconomic status, as determined by funding based on the percentage of children who receive free or reduced-price lunch, explained Steve Barrowes, research analyst for the institute.

Often this free-lunch indicator correlates with the school's overall percentile score on the SAT test, he explained.

All schools do not fit this correlation, however. Students at some Utah schools outperform expectations, scoring higher on the SAT than would be predicted by the socioeconomic status.

Parents may find some problems in directly comparing schools, particularly between private and public schools.

A portion of the private schools, for example, do not use the SAT to test their children and do not have comparable test data.

Likewise, the delinquent activity rate listed under each school does not report the whole picture. Delinquent activity includes incidents involving drugs and weapons, as well as "facsimiles of weapons," a category that includes water guns.

Overall, however, the report should help parents to be better consumers, said David Salibury, president of the institute.

"Its purpose is to promote parental involvement and help them see how they can be involved in their children's education," Salisbury said.

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IS SUPPORT GROWING FOR SCHOOL UNIFORMS?

Although no public schools in Utah County ask students to wear uniforms, support for the idea appears to be growing.

"It was really surprising to me how many people said they were willing to try (school uniforms)," said Cheryl Bateman, PTA president at Centennial Middle School in Provo.Last summer, Centennial considered implementing uniforms as the new school prepared to open its doors for the first time. Bateman estimates 75 percent of Centennial parents were willing to support school uniforms, if the school had decided to use them.

After a vocal minority came out in opposition, those favoring uniforms decided to back off. But supporters say widespread support among parents for the idea means uniforms will one day appear in Utah County schools.

In a recent poll conducted for the Deseret News by Dan Jones & Associates of Salt Lake City, 41 percent of Utah County residents said they favor school uniforms. Fifty-three percent of respondents opposed the idea, and 6 percent said they didn't know.

The Deseret News poll showed women were more likely than men to support uniforms. The biggest opponents were younger respondents - 78 percent of those ages 18-24 opposed uniforms.

Although the percentage of residents opposed to uniforms is greater than the percentage favoring them, pro-uniform forces say their numbers are growing. One proponent thinks the introduction of school uniforms in Alpine, Nebo and Provo school districts is inevitable.

"There's no question it's going to happen," said Rhonda Norton, a Provo resident whose daughter attends Centennial. "It's just a matter of time. Most people are willing to try it."

Norton and a committee of 14 others studied the issue of school uniforms and presented the results to Provo District officials last year. Norton said advantages of uniforms include improved discipline, better classroom performance and increased camaraderie."Everything is positive," she said. "Kids act the way they dress."

But opponents of the idea say requiring students to dress alike takes away freedom and limits in-di-vid-u-ality.

In August, Salt Lake City School District's Nibley Park Elementary became the first public school in the state to require uniforms. Many school officials - including those in Utah County - are closely watching the Nibley Park experiment.

Alpine District Superintendent Steven C. Baugh said he is not aware of any Alpine schools that have seriously considered uniforms.

"In our particular community, I'm not persuaded that we're to the point where (uniforms) would be that advantageous," he said. "The advantages listed by proponents are still subject to further study."

However, Baugh said, if a group of Alpine parents were to organize a movement to introduce uniforms at a particular school, district officials would not stand in the way.

In Utah Valley, several private schools require uniforms.

One of the schools, American Heritage in Pleasant Grove, began requiring uniforms three years ago after 23 years without uniforms.

"It was very difficult for us to make the decision, but it wasn't a parents' decision. It was a board of trustees' decision," said Maxine Kerttula, the school's director.

"Within six months, 100 percent (of patrons) were happy with it."

American Heritage School is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but its curriculum includes LDS principles. The school has 156 students in grades K-8.

Kerttula said uniforms won't solve problems - like gangs and economic inequality - many people think they will. But school uniforms are feasible in public schools, she said, if school officials want to make academics a top priority.

Privately operated Meridian School in Provo also requires students to wear uniforms, except on designated days. Meridian has approximately 300 students in grades K-12.

"On the surface, (students) complain quite a bit, but deep down, over a period of time, they really like (uniforms)," said Kevin Clyde, Meridian headmaster.

"Our big discipline problems are who has their shirttail out."

The uniform proposal at Centennial would have allowed those parents wishing to exempt their students from wearing uniforms to do so. Norton said parents can buy three sets of a uniform for a child for less than $200. The benefits are worth the cost, she said.

"When a kid puts on a school uniform, he goes to school instead of just walking around the streets," Norton said. "(Right now) they spend as much time picking out what they're going to wear as doing their homework."

*****

Additional Information

Deseret News Poll

Should Utah County School Districts consider requiring students to wear uniforms?

Definitely Should 23%

Probably Should 18%

Probably Should Not 21%

Definitely Should Not 32%

Don't Know 6%

This poll of 401 Utah County residents was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates Nov. 17-Dec.2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

Copyright 1997 Deseret News.

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DEATH: GLENNA S. PETERSON

Our loving wife and mother, Glenna S. Peterson, age 68, passed away Sunday morning, July 9, 1995.

She was born on May 11, 1927, in Delta, Utah, the daughter of Herman W. and Anna Nelson Stucki. She graduated as valedictorian of Delta High School, Class of 1945. She married Don C. Peterson on December 15, 1947, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.She is survived by her husband, Don C. Peterson; four sons and two daughters, Douglas Peterson, Becky Douglas, Roger Peterson, Diana Goodsell, Scott Peterson and David Peterson; and 18 grandchildren.

The focus of her life was on family, God and country. She fulfilled an LDS mission with her husband to the England Manchester mission. Music was an integral part of her life. She performed and recorded in choruses with the Utah Symphony. She conducted choirs and played piano for many soloists and ensembles. She was a lover of flowers and beauty.

She was dedicated to education and helped to found both the Carden School in Salt Lake City and American Heritage School in Pleasant Grove, serving as both teacher and principal.

She was a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many positions in the church, including Relief Society President and gospel doctrine teacher. She graduated from BYU Magna Cum Laude in April 1992 with a BS degree in education.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 12, at 12 noon at the Highland 4th Ward, 5335 West 11200 North, Highland. Friends may call Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at the Walker-Sanderson Mortuary, 646 East 800 North, Orem, and also at the church from 10:45-11:45 a.m. Interment in the Orem City Cemetery.

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2 UTAH SCHOOLS NAMED FITNESS CHAMPIONS

American Heritage School in Alpine School District and South Kearns Elementary in Granite District have been named state champions in the President's Physical Fitness program.

The award recognizes those schools with the largest number of children who meet the President's Challenge for physical fitness. Winning schools receive a certificate from the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, as does each child in the school.