As I pen this issue’s story for our Education Corner, the merry, merry month of May, which I like to call “Maycember,” is just about to begin. End-of-school-year EVERYTHING is jam-packed into this busy time, similar to the frenetic energy of December, which can drive parents up the wall with all of the scheduling, rescheduling, shuttling of kiddos, and pretty much being in at least two places at once, at least twice a week. Also in May(cember), news media consumption trends continue to shift away from traditional sources toward digital platforms, so kudos to you for reading an actual print publication—namely, our mighty local magazine! Don’t we all need a break from the doomscrolling, the beeping/ringing/chiming notifications (of doom), and just plain Doomsday all around? YES indeed! Which is why I’d like to report on the positivity that’s been spreading throughout the Park City learning community...
Mr. Ed is Retiring!
As a mom of two former McPolin Elementary students, I had the privilege of witnessing Bob Edmiston, a.k.a., Mr. Ed, give high-fives to students and parents alike, direct school curbside and parking-lot traffic—donning his cute floppy-antler moose hat and neon-orange safety vest—and simply being the amazing hands-on principal he was for more than a decade, before heading back to be an associate principal at Park City High School (where he had made a pitstop between 2011 and 2014). This month—this week, in fact—he is wrapping up his 34 years as an educator. Full-hearted reflections and warm wishes to Mr. Ed, whose imposing height (6’4” is my guess, given how many times I’ve craned my neck upward when speaking with him!) has matched his all-embracing presence in Park City School District since 2006.
During the pandemic, I remember when Mr. Ed was awarded the United Way’s 2020 Collective Impact and Summit Changemaker award, which recognized the work he has done in advocating for the needs of his students and gathering the resources to change their lives for the better. United Way Salt Lake CEO, Bill Crim, had said this about Mr. Ed: “Bob Edmiston represents everything we want to recognize about changemakers. He knows that schools cannot do everything to break down the barriers that kids in our community face.”
Sixteen Years of Running with Ed!
Speaking of changemakers and another “Ed,” Running With Ed—Park City Education Foundation’s annual community-focused fundraiser, a 27.6-mile relay with teams of up to eight taking turns running segments of the course—held its 16th event on May 17th. At the time of this writing, this Park City tradition has raised nearly $175,000 of its goal of $325,000, with all proceeds going to programs in Park City public schools, particularly to those that conventional funding doesn’t cover, such as teacher grants, STEM, and wellness initiatives, impacting every single student, of which there are approximately 4,500 in the district. When my family and I had moved here from San Francisco in 2019, a new friend of mine noted that Park City is the “wealthiest metropolitan area in the US,” so I was surprised to hear that Park City’s schools are lacking funding, due to nearly 100% of state-collected tax education dollars going to other state education needs.
Harkening back to Mr. Crim’s testimonial about Mr. Ed, he had also mentioned, “Bob is a champion of the idea that we have to create equitable systems to help every kid succeed.”
Equity Advancement Cohort
Equity is a crucial priority in Park City, and our community members have continued to celebrate diversity and advance equity initiatives by spearheading coalitions such as the Park City LGBTQ+ Task Force and the Park City Community Foundation (PCCF) Equity Advancement Cohort, which is being led this year by Center for Equity & Inclusion’s Hanif Fazal and PCCF’s Diego Zegarra, VP of equity and impact, and Sarah MacCarthy, senior director of equity and impact. At least two representatives from various local organizations were invited to apply, 15 of which participated last year, where six months of training includes guidance on establishing agreements and protocols that promote equity and create safe spaces for conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as learning how to form strategies on outreach and engagement with the Park City community. Lectura Lounge, a new local 501(c)(3), will have its first opportunity to send three representatives—cofounder Ray Refuerzo, Latin outreach coordinator Elsa Lavin, and board member Patrick Green—to collaborate with our community and possibly help stave off more DEI “doomsdays.”
How was that for some nice nonpartisan news? As CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite used to say during his signoff, “And that’s the way it is.” In Maycember or any other month, however, it doesn’t have to be the way it is. At any given moment of our other kind moment, we all have the power to “break barriers,” reach our full potential, and write the ending to our stories.
