New principals at Eisenhower Jr. High and Western Hills Elementary

A former Taylorsville area coach and assistant principal is returning to his old stomping grounds this year as principal of Eisenhower Jr. High School.

Rod Horton started out in education as a paraprofessional swimming and water polo coach at Taylorsville High, and more recently served as an assistant principal for Taylorsville and Granger High Schools. This will be his first year as a fully-fledged principal.

"I love the area, love the community," he said. "It's good to be back here in Taylorsville."

As of press time, Horton was still in the process of getting to know everyone in the school and community, but he was already impressed with the staff, parents, council and board members, and students he had met.

"The kids are very welcoming," he said.

As of yet, Horton has no grand plans for the school, except to take one day at a time and make sure the basics are well-covered.

"We're trying to keep things simple this year," he said.

Eisenhower will continue to work on raising student achievement and CRT scores, particularly in math, he said. The school will also retain its distinctive programs such as the "Star Bucks" incentives, and participation in academic games and world records.

"We're going to keep going as a school," Horton said. "We're proud of the accomplishments we've made and we don't plan to change those."

Higginson has been in Granite District for 20 years now, most recently spending six years as Westbrook Elementary's principal. She has also taught all upper elementary grades, including gifted classes. Higginson is now glad to call Western Hills home.

"We have a lot of experienced teachers who've been here for years, which is nice because you've got that experience to draw on for new teachers," she said.

In keeping with Western Hills' "Go For the Gold" theme this year, Higginson also plans to work on raising student test scores in all areas, including math, reading, science and social studies.

"The 'go for the gold' is trying to reach higher in our achievement," she said.

Western Hills will keep its Title One status in the coming year, and the Extended Day Learning and Extended Kindergarten programs will still be available.

The "Go for the Gold" theme is connected with the school's 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated on Sept. 9, from 5-8 p.m. at the school. The community is invited to participate in games, karaoke, and yard and book sales in honor of the event.