South Ogden Junior High (SOJH) is celebrating a landmark academic achievement: every English Language Arts (ELA) team—grades 7, 8, and 9—posted the highest growth scores in the entire district this year in Common Lit.
District leaders point to three key factors behind the record-setting results:
Exceptional teaching. Classrooms buzz with energy as passionate, highly skilled educators use research-based strategies to push students well beyond expected progress.
Hard-working students. Teachers emphasize that the milestone would not have been possible without students’ persistence, curiosity, and willingness to tackle challenging reading and writing tasks.
Collaborative leadership. Principal Patrick Andrus and Assistant Principal Ryan Stokes provided consistent support, resources, and data-driven guidance that kept instructional goals sharply in focus.
To recognize the accomplishment, the district has issued certificates of achievement to each grade-level ELA team. Teachers are invited to display the certificates in class, share them with families, and—if the moment feels right—let a celebratory “Yahoo!” ring through the halls.
District officials also encouraged staff and families to pause and appreciate what the numbers signify: sustained, high-quality instruction that is transforming student outcomes. “For scores to rise to this level, extraordinary teaching is happening, and we need to honor that,” the announcement noted.
Congratulations to SOJH’s 7th, 8th, and 9th grade ELA teams for setting a new standard of excellence and proving that collective effort can make a “big, loud” difference for students.
