On Sept. 7, Back-to-School Night was hosted after school from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Parents were allowed to walk around the school and see what a typical day for Phoenix students is like.

Back-to-School Night started at 6:30 p.m., and parents were directed to their child’s advisory block to meet with their advisory teacher. The teacher explained the purpose of advisory block for eight minutes, including topics such as sources of strength, academic skills, and other helpful resources and lessons designed to help their child through the school year. After eight minutes, the advisory block ended and parents had six minutes to find their child’s first block class. This 14-minute cycle of eight minutes of ‘class time’ and six minutes to find the classroom repeated for two hours, going through all eight class blocks. The event ended at 8:30 p.m.

Back-to-School Night was organized by Phoenix staff and spearheaded by student engagement and activities coordinator Brad Burzumato. The main goal of the evening was to give parents the opportunity to meet their child’s teachers, see the layout of the building, and understand what a student’s typical day looks like. “[I think the best part is] getting a chance to see the parents and having the parents see what we do and what we’re about,” Burzumato said.

Throughout the event, parents’ experiences were generally positive; some parents already had a child who attended Rock Ridge. 

However, the majority of parents were those of freshmen or newcomers. Many of those parents also had great first impressions of the school and its environment. Some parents, such as Phoenix parent Sim Anderson, moved specifically to the community to attend Rock Ridge. “It seems great:  beautiful school, very nice people, teachers seem great, [and] students seem very polite,” Anderson said.

Many parents of alumni came back to visit and greet the teachers who were a part of their child’s high school career; this is the case with chemistry teacher Mithra Marcus. “It has been lovely seeing parents of kids I have now, but [also] whose siblings I taught six years ago [and] who are done with college,” Marcus said. “It’s come full circle; it’s really wonderful.”

Besides teachers, other members of Phoenix staff were able to introduce themselves to parents. Counselors, career officers, and anyone else who’s a part of the school staff were able to explain, guide, and help parents throughout the event.

While the reception of back-to-school night was positive, opinions on the parent turnout differed among teachers. Social science teacher Katharina Felts Wonders thinks the turnout was great this year, happy to have the chance to meet parents both old and new in her classroom. “I’ve had several parents of children in each class,” Felts Wonders said. “Of course, as the evening goes on I think folks leave so the last couple of classes thin out, but, it’s been a good night.”

On the other hand, teachers such as English teacher Tyler Anderson believed turnout was lower this year than in previous years, even though parent reception was widely positive.

Over the course of ten years, the school has built up a positive reputation within the community surrounding it; throughout that time, trust has been a key part of its reputation. Parents put their trust and children into the school because of the reputation that precedes it. “We’re in our tenth year now, we’re firmly established in the community,” Tyler Anderson said. “Now that we have a solid reputation, I think there’s maybe more trust in the community.”