To say we live in a digital age has become a bit of a cliché – but it’s true. From how we schedule appointments or make a reservation – to how our vehicles operate – to devices on our wrists and in our pockets – Technology has become a major part of our day-to-day lives.

The same can be said for children – According to a 2025 study by the Pew Research Center – Nine-in-10 parents of children ages 12 and younger – say their child watches TV – 68-percent say their children use a tablet and 61-percent use a smartphone – And that’s just 12 and under. Pew Research also found 96 -percent of teens across the country say they use the internet every day, if not “almost constantly”.

Here in the Beehive state, we are no strangers to volunteering. Utah consistently tops the nation when it comes to donating time to help others. In the Canyon School District, our community goes above and beyond to volunteer in our schools in a variety of ways.

In this latest episode of Connect Canyons, we hear from two members of the Canyons community who have dedicated countless hours to schools throughout the District – Jessica Davies, and Teneil Hansen. Davies began volunteering to be near her children and has since spent more than a decade in various positions from volunteer, to currently serving as the Central Elementary PTA Council President. Davies was also the 2024 Canyons Apex Volunteer of the Year. Hansen is no stranger to helping out in the classroom, volunteering for more than 15 years, and now service as a member of the Alta High School PTSA, as well as Secondary Council PTA Secretary.

Have you noticed your child has a penchant for asking deep questions or noticing patterns and connecting ideas their peers don’t see? Perhaps your child is a fast-finisher who gets frustrated at having to wait for next steps. All of these signs could point to your child being a candidate for Canyons’ gifted and talented magnet program, SALTA.

“Some of us, when we learn to play an instrument, we learn one instrument at a time,” says Halley Kirk, Canyons SALTA Coordinator. “Gifted students are just wired differently. We hear one part of a song but they’re hearing the whole orchestra, what’s missing, what could be added, what can be adjusted.”

On this latest episode of Connect Canyons, we sit down with Kirk who talks about the benefits of CSD’s Supporting Advanced Learners Toward Achievement program for students as well as their families. Kirk also explains what families can expect with the testing process and how simply having your child take the test can be beneficial.

It was a job at the Canyons School District that first brought Dr. Molly Hart to Utah from Georgia’s education system.

Good thing.

After a month-long search, the Utah State Board of Education recently named Hart, former principal of Mount Jordan and Albion middle schools, the state’s new state superintendent of public instruction. She’s been on the job since July 1.

I would not be here if it weren't for my experience in Canyons,” Hart said in a recent interview with Connect Canyons about her new appointment. Education in every state is “very, very different,” she said.

Hart, a recent guest on the CSD podcast, says her Canyons colleagues certainly influenced the trajectory of her career.

Canyons students are back in the classroom, and those first few weeks of school can be a little jarring. Whether it's remembering to set that alarm clock or getting acquainted with a new class schedule, it can take a while to get back into the learning groove.

So, we’re devoting the first Connect Canyons episode for the 2025-2026 school year to helping students and parents alike find that rhythm again. Joining us for this episode are Canyons Instructional Coach Susan Young and Canyons AVID Specialist Jay Rudel who share their insights into things parents can do at home as well as tips for students to stay organized.

“For me, I love the start of school,” says Rudel. “Everything is new, and everyone gets a fresh start. And if you attack Day One like Day 180 and say, ‘this is what we’re going to do each day,’ you’ll have some success with that. It takes time. It’s hard work. It’s not easy. But we have to teach ourselves to do hard things and it’s OK to do hard things and fail sometimes. You get up on the horse again and try a different strategy.”

This year, more than 2,750 seniors will don their caps and gowns and step up to receive their hard-earned diplomas. They head out into an ever-changing world at a time of economic uncertainty and rapid technological advances.

But they carry with them a confidence earned from having already faced and surmounted challenges — while notching a few wins along the way. The personal achievements of Canyons District’s Class of 2025 are exponential, from Sterling Scholar awards to National Merit Scholarship honors, not to mention 10 team state championships. This year’s seniors have been rewarded roughly $50 million in scholarships and will be attending more than 50 schools, from Harvard, Julliard, Boston University, and West Point to Stanford, Berkley, the University of Utah, and the Air Force Academy — just to name a few. Canyons has graduates joining every branch of the military, including some from Jordan High’s inaugural Naval Cadet Program who are now advancing to the Naval Academy.

In the last Connect Canyons episode for the year, we sat down with a few graduates who told us how they’re feeling about graduation. They’re full of that nervous excitement, ready to take on their next challenge. They shared some of their favorite memories from school and talk about the people who supported them along the way. They share their hopes and dreams after high school and the advice they would give themselves as incoming freshmen.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025, may all your dreams come true! You can see a list of available live streams for Canyons graduations here.

For 15 years, students of all ages across Canyons School District have competed in the annual CSDtv Film Festival. Each festival entry is directed, acted, and produced by a student or teacher, from documentaries and shorts to podcasts and stop-motion creations. One winner comes out on top in each age bracket and category.

This year was the first year students at Entrada High School chose to compete in the film festival, which drew 242 entries from 610 contestants. Not only did they excel, they won the category of High School Documentary.

“I didn’t think we were going to win. It’s so cool that we won, especially with the whole process we went through,” says Michelle Nolaca, one of the student directors of, “Students of Entrada – Voices of Tomorrow.”

Production for the film began long before students even picked up a camera and shouted, “action!” At the beginning of the school year, Entrada teacher Baylee Riley applied for an Innovation Grant through the Canyons Education Foundation.

Behind every successful school stands an army of dedicated volunteers—parents who give their time selflessly to enrich student experiences and support faculty. Every day thousands of volunteers are lending a helping hand all across Canyon School District. Whether they're spending time in the classroom, cutting out shapes for a kindergarten project, or helping on a field trip, they're the relatively unknown force behind our educators.

This week is Public School Volunteer Week, so we sat down with two volunteers who have dedicated thousands of hours to their children’s school. Sandy Elementary PTA President Mallory Boggs say she started volunteering to be closer to her own children and now she feels like she is the fun aunt of more than 500 students.

"I met this community of people that I didn't really know I needed," she says, “but I did and I love it. They’re such valued members of my life now.”

Boggs grew up watching her mom who was PTA President at Sprucewood Elementary and knew she wanted to be a part of that community when she had children of her own. Now, Boggs is leaving her impact not just on the Sharks community, but the entire state as she has been named the 2025 PTA Outstanding Volunteer Award for the state of Utah.

Boggs says she has seen the impact of parent volunteers, whether helping at one event, cutting out shapes for a class, even seeing parents start out small and jump into the deep end of PTA and volunteering – like Sandy’s PTA president-elect for next year, Kara Olson.

“I just got hooked by these crazy ladies and I love being in the school,” says Olson. “I love getting to know the kids. I love getting to know the teachers.”

Boggs and Olson say they are lucky to be able to spend as much time volunteering at Sandy Elementary as they do, but they understand not all parents or guardians can give the same amount of time, but they’ve seen even an hour of volunteering pay off.

“Your teacher always wants your help,” says Olson. “Whether it's cutting out shapes, coming in and doing a bulletin board, reading, volunteering, correcting, spelling tests, anything, just reach out to your teachers.”

Episode Chapters

2:42 The Role of PTA at Sandy Elementary

Our volunteers talk about the roles they play at Sandy Elementary, how they help teachers, faculty and staff, and most importantly, the students.

7:37 Why They Choose to Volunteer

Boggs and Olson share why they decided to volunteer and what keeps them going back to help their Shark community.

11:22 Making a Difference with Limited Time

While some parents like Boggs and Olson can have given thousands of hours to their school, many parents and guardians don’t have a lot of free time. Our volunteers explain how every little bit helps and no amount of volunteer time is too small.

17:34 Final Thoughts on School Volunteering

Boggs and Olson share their biggest takeaways from their time helping students, how it’s impacted their own lives, and the friendships they’ve made along the way.