Ephraim Middle School maintains a structured academic curriculum for its 6th through 8th grade students, including required courses in core subjects and various electives. The school's academic planning and fund management are supported by a community council that oversees annual dividends from the School LAND Trust Program, which provided $111,647.76 for the 2025-2026 school year.
Middle School Curriculum Structure
The Ephraim Middle School curriculum is organized by grade level to ensure students meet state requirements. Sixth-grade students are required to take math, science, language arts, reading, geography, digital literacy, health, shop, STEM, and physical education. The math, science, language arts, reading, geography, digital literacy, health, shop, and STEM courses operate on a six-week rotation, each equaling one semester. Physical education is a full-semester requirement.
Elective and Course Options
Seventh-grade students follow a similar core structure, with required courses including math, science, language arts, STEM, Utah history, CCA Business, CTE-Shop, FACS-Home Ec., and physical education. Eighth-grade students must complete math, science, language arts, physical education, health, U.S. history, computer science, and either investigation or creative coding.
Elective options expand as students progress through middle school. Sixth-grade students may choose one full-year elective from options including band, orchestra, art, or chorus. Seventh-grade students may also choose one full-year elective from those same categories. Eighth-grade students have more flexibility, requiring 1.5 credits or 1.5 semesters of electives, which can be achieved through three semester-long classes or a combination of one full-year and one semester-long class. Available electives for eighth graders include band, orchestra, digital art, drama, guitar, cooking/sewing, shop, and yearbook. The yearbook program is noted as being application-only, and the teacher aide position requires approval from both the teacher and administration.
Course Change Policies
The school maintains specific policies regarding schedule changes to ensure classroom balance and capacity. Students may request class changes when schedules become available in early August or during the final week of the first semester. While there is no fee for class changes made before the first day of school, a $5.00 charge is applied for preferential class changes once the school year has begun. Any class changes requested after the first five days of the school year or a semester require formal administration approval.
Community Council and Funding
Community involvement plays a vital role in the school's operations through the School Community Council. This council is composed of school employees, elected by their peers, and parents, who are elected by the parents of students attending the school. Membership terms for council members are set at two years.
In addition to acting in an advisory capacity to school and district administrations, the council reviews and prepares annual academic plans for students. These plans are then submitted to the school board for final approval. The council also plays a critical role in deciding how the school's annual dividend from the School LAND Trust Program will be utilized to improve academic performance.
School Trust Land Dividends
The School LAND Trust Program provides essential financial support to the district. For the 2025-2026 school year, Ephraim Middle School received $111,647.76 from the program. Under Utah law, every public school in the state is required to have a School Community Council to manage these funds and assist in academic planning.
Fee and Waiver Information
Financial transparency is maintained through a detailed fee schedule. While elementary schools (K-5) are prohibited from charging fees for materials, textbooks, supplies, or activities, middle school fees are subject to specific waivers. Curricular fees for middle schoolers include a $10.00 student body activity fee, $15.00 for arts and crafts, and a $1.00 class fee.
Other curricular costs include $15.00 for book rentals, $5.00 for science labs, and $2.00 for gymnasium locker rentals. For students participating in extracurricular activities, costs vary significantly. For example, instrument rentals for band, orchestra, or guitar are $65.00. Other sanctioned activities include basketball, baseball, cross country, and drill team, with various costs associated with participation and equipment.
Registration Procedures
New students are encouraged to pre-register online to facilitate scheduling. While pre-registration can be completed digitally, students must bring supporting documents to the school for physical copies to finalize the process. Once registration is complete, individual schedules are generated for the students.
