The Cache County School District serves the Smithfield community, a town with a population of 13,571 as of 2020-04-01. Within this district, Sky View High School provides various academic pathways for students, including specific opportunities for upperclassmen through concurrent enrollment programs.
According to an undated document from the district, Sky View High School offers concurrent enrollment courses that allow students to take college-level classes while still in high school. These courses are taught on-site at Sky View and are offered through partnerships with Utah State University and Weber State University. The district's documentation notes that these courses are significantly less expensive than traditional university enrollment, costing $5 per credit while at Sky View. In contrast, taking the same courses at a four-year university can cost hundreds of dollars.
Students attending Sky View can expect class sizes for these concurrent enrollment courses to range between 25 and 35 students, which is noted as being much smaller than university freshman class sizes that can range from 50 to 150 students. While these courses are taught by teachers at Sky View, the district also provides access to some online concurrent enrollment options. To ensure students understand the requirements, the Cache County School District and Utah State University partnered to create a document to formalize and present standards for these courses to students and parents.
Sky View High School has a history dating back to 1965. According to an undated post by the school district, the school has been a gathering place for decades. The district's governing body, the Cache County School District Board, has included several individuals with ties to the school. An undated post identifies Kathy Christiansen, a Smithfield resident and member of the Class of 1967, as a Board Vice President. The same undated post lists Teri Rhodes, a member of the Class of 1983, as Board President. Other individuals identified as school board members in the undated post include Roger Pulsipher, who was in the Class of 1972, Brian Chambers, who was in the Class of 1993, and Allen Grunig, who was in the Class of 1966.
The school's traditions have evolved over its sixty years of existence. For example, the school song, written by Eugene Lundquist in 1965, was originally only sung at graduation ceremonies. According to the undated post, the song became largely forgotten by the 1990s. However, in the fall of 1999, a teacher named Kaye Dawn Falslev worked to revitalize the tradition by recruiting senior class leaders to lead the charge in making the song a central part of student life. This effort helped transform the song from a "dismal tradition" into a beloved anthem for the Bobcats.
What this means for Smithfield
Residents of Smithfield can access affordable college credits through Sky View High School's concurrent enrollment programs with Utah State and Weber State Universities. As the district continues to maintain its academic standards and historical traditions, the school board continues to oversee the educational direction and community impact of the institutions serving the local population.
