Mountain High opens teen resource center to serve homeless students
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- Mountain High School student Kamren Holmes, left, gestures Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mountain High School Teen Resource Center in Kaysville. Jennifer Christensen, coordinator for the teen center, is pictured at right.
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- A room in the Mountain High School Teen Resource Center is pictured Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. The alternative school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the facility, one of several currently open, under construction or planned within the Davis School District.
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- A food pantry is pictured Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Mountain High School Teen Resource Center.
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- An inspirational art project titled “I Matter,” created by Mountain High School students, is pictured Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new teen resource center at the school.
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- A room in the Mountain High School Teen Resource Center is pictured Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. The alternative school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the facility, one of several currently open, under construction or planned within the Davis School District.
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- Davis School District Board of Education President John Robison speaks Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mountain High School Teen Resource Center.
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- A room in the Mountain High School Teen Resource Center is pictured Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. The alternative school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the facility, one of several currently open, under construction or planned within the Davis School District.
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- A room in the Mountain High School Teen Resource Center is pictured Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. The alternative school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the facility, one of several currently open, under construction or planned within the Davis School District.
KAYSVILLE — There was not a dry eye at the podium during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Mountain High School Teen Resource Center on Friday. The alternative high school, with a student body of 201 at-risk teens, is more than an educational institution to a handful of the kids; it’s home.
That’s because some MHS students are homeless. Principal Greg Wuthrich said there is a great need at MHS and throughout Davis County for teen centers providing basic resources to one of society’s most vulnerable populations.
Mountain High’s teen center is the fourth constructed within the Davis School District so far, with others in operation at Clearfield High, Northridge High in Layton and Renaissance Academy in Kaysville. Two additional centers are in the works at Layton and Woods Cross high schools, and funds are actively being raised for others at Bountiful, Syracuse and Viewmont.
The facility was completed with the aid of a $1 million gift from the Huntsman Foundation and the Larry H. Miller & Gail Miller Family Foundation, as well as the students at Davis High School, who together raised $32,000 for the project during a holiday fundraiser.
While the district’s teen centers are geared toward giving a hand up to kids with no access to basic necessities such as a shower, clean clothes and food, they’re open to everyone.
Mountain High’s teen center was once an under-utilized cafeteria area. Now, it is a fully functioning space with a shower area, a laundry room, a kitchen, a study/lounge area and a young parenting suite, among other services.
Wuthrich thanked numerous organizations, boards and members of the community for making the vital resource possible.
“Schools are not just a district thing, they are a community thing and we are grateful for a generous community,” he said.
Davis School District Board of Education President John Robison took to the podium Friday evening, recalling a time in January 1968 when he did not know where he and his younger brother were going to go after their father passed away, as they were only 19 and 15 years old at the time and had already lost their mother nine years prior.
Fighting back tears, he said he has a special place in his heart for young people experiencing homelessness and said those having never experienced it cannot fully appreciate the depth of their experiences.
“Hopefully, like myself, they will advocate, promote and support future facilities like this,” Robison said.
There should be teen centers in every school everywhere, MHS senior Kamren Holmes said.
Holmes and his best friend, fellow senior Zephyr Finlay, who played “Clair de Lune” and “Gymnopédie” on the piano for the ceremony, said MHS is not only the best school they have been to, but also the best they have ever seen.
Teen center coordinator Jennifer Christensen said she is incredibly grateful for all those who came together to help kids in the community grow up and be the best people they can be.