For more than a decade, Uintah Online has been the Uintah Basin’s school-from-home option offered through Uintah School District. The school has had some exciting changes and additions during the current academic year that we are eager to share with you.

Today is the final day of National Teacher Appreciation Week. Across our district, students and community members took time this week to show their thanks to our amazing teachers. These displays of gratitude are totally warranted considering the impact teachers have in all our lives. Thank you, Uintah School District teachers, for the invaluable work you do!

Uintah School District on Friday completed its purchase of the BHI building and property in Naples for about $9.8 million.

Uintah School District signed closing documents today, April 30, to complete the district’s purchase of the BHI building and property in Naples.

Amid a school year of nasal swabs, risk mitigation protocols, desk wipe-downs, COVID precaution signs and M-acne (acne caused from the humidity of masks), many people might choose to see what has been lost, what has been canceled, or what has not been normal. At Uintah High School, many things have been different; however, the staff can attest to the fact that students have risen to each and every challenge.

Beginning Monday, April 26, the Uintah School District Speech & Hearing Program will be completing district-wide hearing screenings for all kindergarten and first grade students.

Uintah High School will host a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination event for TriCounty Health Department on Thursday, April 22, and Thursday, May 13.

Beginning April 26, the Uintah School District Speech & Hearing Program will be completing district-wide hearing screenings for all kindergarten and first grade students.

On Monday, April 19, and Tuesday, April 20, the Uintah School District will open registration for new students planning to attend USD schools during the 2021-2022 academic year.

The first week back after Spring Break was a busy one around the district.

The Uintah School District on Tuesday announced its Teacher of the Year and Classified Employee of the Year for 2020-2021. Vernal Middle School teacher Kimberly Hawks was named Teacher of the Year. Uintah High School administrative assistant Jodi Ryan was named Classified Employee of the Year.

It’s Spring Break! There will be no classes for Uintah School District students from April 5 to April 9. Free grab-n-go meals won’t be served during this time. Classes and grab-n-go meal service resume on Monday, April 12.

To create their works of art, Discovery Elementary students used fluorescent paint and neon oil pastels so that we could have a great reaction to the blacklight. I chose these mediums because the ocean is full of bright colorful creatures and plant life, as well as a lot of bioluminescence.

The mask requirement stays in place for K-12 schools until June 15. Local officials, like a school board or county council, do NOT have the legal authority to end the mask requirement in schools before this date.

Gov. Spencer Cox signed HB294 into law this week. The law lifts the statewide public mask mandate by April 10, except for gatherings of 50 or more people in locations where physical distancing is not possible. The law also keeps the state’s K-12 school mask mandate in effect until July 1.

After a class meeting, Naples Elementary second graders set a goal to earn 100 Lexia certificates for a spectacular class party. The parties have begun.

Be prepared. It's a motto all Scouts learn. Maeser Elementary School is better prepared for minor emergencies again, thanks to a former student who is working to earn his Eagle Scout.

This week the Uintah School District received approval from the state of Utah to end the school year one day earlier than originally planned. The final day of school for all students will be Thursday, May 27. There will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, May 28.

The Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Emergency Management Department have teamed up with Indian Health Service to provide the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to the community.

The Uintah High FFA chapter harvested several big wins at state last week, including the election of one of its members as a state FFA officer.

The Uintah School District has received authorization from the state of Utah to end the 2020-2021 school year for students one day earlier than scheduled.

The Uintah School Board will meet Wednesday, March 10, for its regularly scheduled work session and business meeting. The board will also hold an Impact Aid meeting. The meetings will be held at Eagle View Elementary in the auditorium.

The Uintah School District is seeking artwork from current and former students for display in the new district office.

The Vernal Utah’s Storytelling Festival is back!

We’ve reached the end of the second trimester! There will be no school Monday for students. It is a professional development day for teachers and staff. Free grab-n-go meals will not be served Monday. Third trimester classes begin Tuesday.

Uintah Middle School uses the Lexia PowerUp Literacy program to help improve student proficiency in grammar, word study, and reading comprehension. We’re seeing excellent progress in this school-wide initiative!

It’s that time of year when we begin celebrating some of the amazing teachers and classified employees who make our district a great place to learn.

Congratulations to Uintah High School counselor Marysa Rhodes, who received the Utah Career Guidance Award last Friday from the Utah Association for Career & Technical Education.

The Uintah School Board met for its monthly work session and business meeting Wednesday night at Vernal Middle School. During the business meeting, the board voted unanimously to support the Utah State Board of Education’s resolution denouncing racism and embracing equity in Utah schools.

​Thursday morning the Uintah High Student Council introduced the school's new spirit animal, Yost the Bear.

Lapoint Elementary may be the Uintah School District’s smallest school, but it’s making big progress when it comes to improving students’ reading skills thanks to a collaborative approach by the faculty and staff.

Important information for parents/guardians of students entering kindergarten in the fall.

Second trimester ends Feb. 26, which will be here before we know it. Parents/guardians who want to transfer their student from Uintah Online to a "brick-and-mortar" school for third trimester need to contact both Uintah Online and the school they want their student to transfer to by Friday, Feb. 12, to discuss their student's transfer options.

The district implemented the state's "Test to Stay" protocol at Uintah High this week due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the school.

Today, Jan. 26, Uintah High School reached the threshold set by the state for a school outbreak. The high school is reporting 19 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

On Thursday, the state extended the mask mandate for Utah’s K-12 schools through June 15, 2021. A copy of the public health order can be found at https://coronavirus-download.utah.gov/Health/UPHO-2021-2-Updated-School-Face-Mask-Order.pdf.

This week, Uintah School District and TriCounty Health Department worked together to provide at least 300 district employees with their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Since the beginning of January, the Utah Department of Health has offering free COVID-19 rapid antigen testing in communities across the state. Uintah High School will host a testing location.

Uintah Schools Superintendent Rick Woodford and Duchesne Schools Superintendent David Brotherson sat down on Friday with V6 Media's David Gale on Friday, Jan. 8, to talk about the state of education in the Uintah Basin.

Uintah Schools Superintendent Rick Woodford has decided that Tuesday, Dec. 22, will be an online learning day for students and staff at Uintah High School.

We're only two school days away from Christmas break and we're celebrating with some good news.

As a result of the decline in positive COVID-19 cases at Uintah High School, the school will return to its normal attendance procedures on Monday, Dec. 14.

As a precaution the 7th grade at Eagle View Elementary moved to online learning today, Dec. 9, for a period of two weeks following a third confirmed case of COVID-19 since Dec. 2.

We received some good news Thursday from the Utah Department of Health and TriCounty Health Department. The recommended 14-day quarantine period for anyone exposed to COVID-19 has been reduced, based on new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of today, Dec. 1, there have been 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 14 days at Uintah High School.

Boundary Change applications for the 2021-2022 school year should be made prior to Feb. 19, 2021.

Effective immediately, Uintah High School students will have the option to participate in school via remote learning from home. Please read the remainder of this communication for important details.

The Uintah School District will begin accepting applications for substitute teachers later this month. The job announcement will be posted on Nov. 30 on the district website and through the Utah Department of Workforce Services website.

We did it! We made it through the first trimester of the 2020-2021 school year and our schools are still open for in-person attendance! Congratulations to all the administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, and students for reaching this milestone.

The Uintah School Board emailed a letter to Gov. Gary Herbert on Monday, Nov. 16, voicing its unanimous opposition to any suspension of extracurricular sports and activities in our schools beyond Nov. 23.

At Lapoint Elementary, one of Melissa Deletant's favorite projects each year is creating a school-wide display for Veterans Day.

The Uintah School Board held its regularly scheduled work session and business meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in the auditorium at Vernal Middle School.

In response to the orders announced Sunday by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the Utah Department of Health, the Uintah School District is taking the following steps to fully comply.

Uintah High junior Thomas Driggs figured he had a pretty good idea for the service project that's required to earn a leadership position in the school marching band.

The Uintah School District and the TriCounty Health Department have finalized a protocol that allows our school nurses to administer free, optional COVID-19 rapid tests to most individuals who have a mask-on-mask exposure to novel coronavirus in a school setting.

The 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo was held virtually this week and Uintah FFA was well represented.

We’ve received several questions about the district’s COVID-19 Dashboard and want to address those.

Each year, Davis Elementary chooses a theme song. This year’s song is Moment of Truth from the movie Smallfoot. The school has adopted “Come Together” as its theme for the year.

When they take the field at Coach Belcher Stadium this Friday night, members of the Uintah High football team will be wearing masks meant to raise awareness about the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Uintah County has experienced a rise in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in recent days. As one would expect, this is reflected in our schools as well. To keep our community better informed about case counts in our buildings, the district will now update its COVID-19 Dashboard at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Uintah High School will host two volleyball matches on Saturday, Oct. 24, as part of the first round of the Utah High School Activities Association 4A state playoffs.

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Uintah High School football team met the criteria for a COVID-19 outbreak, based on the results of subsequent testing of players and coaches. Three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a 14-day period in a classroom or team setting constitutes an outbreak, per public health protocols.

TriCounty Health Department and the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) have approved a plan proposed by the Uintah School District and Uintah High School that may allow the Utes football team to play in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Uintah High School, with the advice and consent of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee, has adopted the bear as its spirit animal.

The Uintah School District is saddened to announce that Wednesday night's varsity home football game has been canceled due to a positive case of COVID-19 at Uintah High School.

The Uintah School District has been awarded a $300,000 grant to provide broadband internet access for students enrolled in district programs who do not otherwise have broadband internet at home or do not have adequate broadband internet speeds at home.

We at Discovery Elementary are so grateful to be back in school! Our focus this year is on kindness and we have seen an abundance of it since returning.

It’s been a busy week across the district as we move closer to Fall Break. Here are a few of the highlights:

Ashley Elementary School has been named a National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished School for its outstanding work with students who are English language learners.

The district continues to prepare for a potential outbreak of COVID-19 in one or more of our schools. One critical part of this work is the development of “quads,” which will allow the district to reduce in-person attendance to 50 percent or 25 percent of capacity, if necessary, if there is an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in our schools.

Uintah High School senior Eoin O'Hearn has earned a perfect score on the ACT. O'Hearn, 17, took the test in June, earning a score of 36. Only 0.195 percent of students who take the test earn a perfect score, according to the ACT website.

The time put into the programs at Maeser Elementary comes from our positive teachers and staff members. Learning is the goal and because of the connections made with students, we come to work ready to succeed no matter the challenge or situation.

The Uintah School District is aware of Gov. Gary Herbert’s response to a reporter’s questions about the need for a statewide mask mandate for all Utah residents. The governor’s comment has no bearing on the existing order that mandates masks in Utah’s K-12 schools.

On Thursday afternoon or Friday morning of each week, we will post a Weekly District Update. This is a summary of important happenings or key issues that are discussed each week during our USD Directors Meeting. Please read each of these updates thoroughly as they may contain time-sensitive information.

The Uintah School District investigates all complaints of alleged misconduct by an employee, as required by federal law, state law, and district policy.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, the Uintah School District will provide free breakfast and free lunch for all kids, ages 18 and under.

Beginning Aug. 26, 2020, Uintah School District Speech & Hearing Department will be completing district-wide Hearing Screenings.

The Uintah School District’s Child Nutrition Department has developed a plan to ensure that students enrolled in district programs receive nutritious meals. The plan also includes processes to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during the 2020-2021 school year.