Ogden School Foundation -

Congratulations to Lean Aba, our Highland Junior High winner of the Telitha Lindquist Greiner Excellence in Teaching Award! Here are a few of Ms. Aba's nominations:

-Lean is a shining light at Highland. She always has very fun and engaging lessons that her students love. She is kind to every person she encounters. She is a great volleyball coach that cares about her players as people and athletes.
-Mrs. Aba exemplifies excellence in education, consistently embodying best practices in her innovative and student-centered approach to teaching. She is always available to help her coworkers and students and care for the well being of all at Highland

The temps are cooling down, and you know what that means: it’s the perfect time for a Dutch Bros run! Even better? This Friday, September 19 is Buck for Kids Day! For every drink sold, $1 will be donated by Dutch Bros and the Dutch Bros Foundation to the Ogden School Foundation to support students in the Ogden School District. Treat yourself AND make a difference for kids in our community. Win-win!

Who loves Unified Sports? We love Unified Sports! And we know you will too! Unified Sports through Special Olympics Utah, brings athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same teams, building inclusion through shared training and competition. Come cheer on athletes from the Ogden, Morgan, and Box Elder School Districts at the Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex on Wednesday, September 25 for our annual soccer tournament. The excitement kicks off with the Opening Ceremony at 10:00 a.m. The teams will be hitting the field and the Unified Drill Team will be bringing the moves! Trust us, you do not want to miss this energy! ️

Every year, we celebrate some of the incredible teachers in the Ogden School District with the Telitha Lindquist Greiner Excellence in Teaching Award. Winners are chosen through nominations from peers and community members, and we’ll be spotlighting our 2024–25 winners right here throughout the year. 

First up? Samantha Champlin from OTECH High School! Here are a few of the wonderful things her nominators had to say:

-Sam is an incredibly hard working teacher! She has had to overcome many challenges in her subject area (math) and tying it in to our PCBL model and also how our students learn. She has never given up, and cares greatly about our students!
-Mrs. Champlin is tireless in teaching math with enthusiasm and real-world application, meeting students where they are but also providing scaffolds for success. She shows them she cares about them and makes herself available for extra support.

We’re just one month away from our 29th Annual Fall Author Event (we can't believe it!) so we thought it would be fun to take a look back at where it all began! Check out this photo at our very first event in 1996 with legendary author Ray Bradbury and our longtime foundation director, Janis Vause. What started with 400 guests at the Timbermine has grown into nearly 1,000 attendees each year at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center. We’re proud to carry on this tradition, not only as a beloved community event, but as a way to raise funds for the students of the Ogden School District. We can't wait to see our ticket holders next month!

Earlier this week, the Ron McBride Foundation awarded $400,000 to schools across Utah, with $134,000 heading right here to the Ogden School District! With additional funds from the Ogden School Foundation, this money will help power afterschool programs at Ben Lomond High, Ogden High, Highland Junior High, Lincoln Elementary, East Ridge Elementary, Mound Fort Junior High, Shadow Valley Elementary, George Washington High, OTECH High, and Polk Elementary. The Ron McBride Foundation has been a longtime champion of at-risk students, and we are so grateful for their continued generosity. Thank you for investing in our students!

We kicked off the new school year today with our annual board training at the brand-new Hillcrest Elementary! Foundation board members heard an in-depth district update from Superintendent Rasmussen, learned more about the programs and resources we provide, gained a deeper understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and got an up-close look at some of the major projects we’ve funded (the StarLab portable planetarium was a crowd favorite, where district science specialist Cory Jensen treated us to an actual 6th-grade science lesson!). We wrapped up the day with a tour of the beautiful new school. Such a great way to start the year!

The Ogden School Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of business and community leaders, along with a dedicated team of staff members, all working on behalf of Ogden students. With big goals set for the 2025–26 school year, we’re ready to make it our best yet!

What a night! Last Friday’s 2025 Raptors Night was a total home run! Thousands of Ogden students and families filled the stands to root, root, root for our home team— with foam fingers for the first 800 kids through the gates! Students formed a human tunnel for the players’ grand entrance, player signed autographs, and Superintendent Rasmussen shared an on-field message to kick off the school year. We loved every minute!

Thanks to our generous sponsors, this event raised funds for our Classroom Grants Program, which will soon be making its way to schools across the district. Huge thanks to the Ogden Raptors for helping us create such a memorable night. We can’t wait to see you back at the ballpark next year!

What were we up to today? Visiting schools with players from the Ogden Raptors! Students got to hear from these athletes about the importance of setting goals and working hard ahead of our Raptors Night tomorrow. There were high-fives, cheers, and even a surprise intercom announcement. What an awesome experience! We can’t wait to see you tomorrow at the game! Free tickets are still available at your school’s office.

Do you have your free tickets for our Raptors Night yet? Pick them up in your school's office and join us at the ballpark on Friday night for this fun event! First 800 Ogden School District students at the game will receive a foam finger to help us cheer on the Raptors!

It’s official! Lincoln Elementary has a new playground that is open for fun! A huge thank you to Cerrowire and the Ogden School Foundation for making this safe, inclusive and exciting space possible for all of our students.

Big shoutout to the amazing team at Young Hyundai and the Young Caring for Our Young Foundation for showing up for our New Bridge students yesterday! They hosted a School Supply Trunk-or-Treat during Back to School Night, making sure our students have what they need to start the year strong. We’re so grateful for community partners who help our students succeed!

RAPTORS NIGHT is almost here! Join us Thursday, August 22 at Lindquist Field to kick off the school year with baseball, foam fingers, and community fun! Free tickets available at your school’s office. It’s one of our favorite back-to-school traditions. You won’t want to miss it!

Our annual Ogden Raptors Night is just a few weeks away (details coming soon!), so let’s rewind to some of the fun from last year’s event! There’s no better way to say “so long, summer” and kick off a new school year at the Ogden School District than cheering on our hometown team with students, staff, and the whole community at the ballpark. Mark your calendar for August 22 and watch for more info next week. You won't want to miss it!

“Knowing someone who belongs to another species can enlarge your soul in surprising ways.” ~ Sy Montgomery, How To Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals

Hey Ogden School District 5th & 6th graders: It's time to start writing! In celebration of our 2025 Fall Author Event featuring the amazing Sy Montgomery, we're inviting you to enter this year’s student writing contest! The theme this year? "Teachers Are Everywhere!" Choose an interesting creature to learn about, then write a short story that weaves in fun facts—what it looks like, how it moves, what it eats, how it survives—and what we might learn from it. Ten winners will be recognized at our Fall Author Event in October, will meet personally with Sy Montgomery, and will receive a $100 prize.

Entries are due September 12th. Full contest rules and information can be found in the link below. Good luck! We can’t wait to see what wild and wonderful creatures you discover!

https://bit.ly/3U32Y8n

As we gear up for the 2025–26 school year, we’re taking a moment to celebrate some of the amazing things we achieved in 2024–25. It’s been an incredible year! Check out some of the highlights in the link below!

https://conta.cc/46vySSe

Here’s another strong number from the 2024–25 school year: 17,000+. That’s how many items were distributed to Ogden School District students and families in need from our MarketStar Student Resource Center (MSRC) in just the past school year. The MSRC provides immediate, short-term support with essentials like food, clothing, school supplies, hygiene products, and household items. There are no eligibility requirements; any student with an identified or perceived need can receive assistance. By centralizing donations in one location, the MSRC’s on-site staff can more effectively organize supplies and quickly get them to the schools and students who need them most.

Want to support this effort? We gratefully accept donations of supplies and funds. Find instructions for Meal Packs, Snack Packs, and Hygiene Kits here, or visit our website to make a monetary gift at the link below. Thank you for helping us care for Ogden’s kids!

www.ogdenschoolfoundation.org/msrc

Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 9, and join us for this free community event!

Nearly 1,000 take-home food kits were distributed each week during the 2024–25 school year to support students facing food insecurity. When students' basic needs are met, they're better able to learn, grow, and succeed in school. We're so grateful to the generous donors and partners who make this vital work possible. Thank you for helping us remove barriers to education!