Students, Parents, and Families of West Elementary,

My name is Thomas Trotter, and I am ecstatic to be the new principal of West Elementary. By way of introduction, I have been a second and fourth grade teacher, instructional coach, administrative intern, and principal throughout my career. I have two daughters, Amelia and Brielle, who attend fourth grade and second grade, and two sons, Jonah who is in Kindergarten, and Peter, who is anxiously awaiting his opportunity to go to school like his siblings. My wife, Ariel, and I moved to Tooele nine years ago and have loved it here. We hope to stay in Tooele forever.

As a principal, I enjoy being able to support throughout the entire school building and to fill needs as they arise. I am an instructional leader, so the teachers and students should expect to see me in the classrooms often to help learning happen at the highest levels possible.

I have a vision of West Elementary being the top performing school in the district. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to be learning German and English and we will continue growing the German DLI program. We will be working as a school and staff to continue improving our teaching and the learning of our students in all subjects and to continue raising our proficiency and growth scores until we are the top performing school. With the dedication of the staff and the partnership of the students and parents, this will become a reality.

I have already had the opportunity to meet with the PTA board of West Elementary and am excited to work with them this year. We are working together to support learning and growth through activities, resources, and events. We also have a goal to increase the participation of fathers in our PTA. Please be sure to join and support our wonderful PTA.

We have had many staff changes since the school year has ended. We are pleased to introduce Bailey Christensen as one of our Kindergarten teachers, Valori Layton as our first Grade English teacher, and Jessica Froehlich as our sixth Grade English teacher. We also welcome many new support staff to the school. We currently have an opening for a fifth Grade German teacher. We are making plans to have Sandrina Pfeiler teach both our fifth and sixth grade students in their German instruction until we are able to fill this position.

Our teachers have already begun participating in professional development to better themselves as teachers for their students and to learn the new programs we have for this year. We have begun planning instruction and have a focus on the most essential skills all students need to learn. Classrooms are being set up to be prepared for school to begin on August 24.

Please know that I am always available at [email protected] to help answer any questions and to hear suggestions. We love your children and will do all in our power to keep them healthy, safe, and engaged in learning. Again, we thank you for your partnership in your child’s education and for trusting us to be a part of this great work.

Thomas Trotter

Principal

West Elementary