Wasatch Junior High

Administration

Wasatch Fire

On July 11, 2005, a six-alarm fire destroyed the Wasatch Junior High building. At 12:30 pm the fire alarm went off and the principal, Doug Bingham, discovered that the source of the fire was an old computer server in the media center. More than 100 firefighters fought the fire with six to eight fire trucks. The fire quickly spread to the attic, making what was a three-alarm fire, a six-alarm. The fire was so powerful and forceful that firefighters had to fight it from the outside. Doug Bingham said, "It's just a building, but a building is a place where people are invested in each other's lives, and this one is toast." The Granite District has accepted a 15.9 million dollar settlement to rebuild Wasatch. The proposed time for the full reconstruction of the building was fall of 2008.

Wasatch and Churchill Junior High

After the 6-alarm fire, the Granite School District decided to build a new Wasatch Junior High, but during that time, Wasatch students needed to share a facility with Churchill Junior High. The Wasatch students have moved to their new school for the 2008-09 year.

School Choice

Wasatch is ranked as one of the highest schools in the state in education; According to U-Pass test scores, In 2005 Wasatch tested highest in the state on the Iowa Basic Test for the 8th grade; in addition, Wasatch CRT scores are also above the state average; in 2006, 9th grade students tested 97% in language arts, 97% in geometry, and 95% in biology, while the states averages were 81% for language arts, 70% in geometry, and 66% in biology. SAGE tests for the 2015-2016 school year gave Wasatch an "A" grade.

Because of this, around 65% of Wasatch students come from outside school boundaries, attracted by Wasatch's reputation for academic excellence. Wasatch is considered one of the top schools in Utah, and its music programs and clubs perform well regularly in competition.

Academics

Wasatch offers a variety of classes. Drama for beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes are offered; Concert Band, Concert Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble are also offered, and have gotten superior ratings for the past 21 years at all music festivals.

Wasatch offers a variety of extracurricular opportunities: competitive sports, intramural sports, Geography Bee, Math Counts, MESA, Reflections, Science Fair, Cultural Fair, Robotics, chess club, debate, and the Wasatch Leadership Team.

The Academic Games team (which, in 2007, made it to the national final and won in 2010-2011 year) is no longer at Wasatch.

Academic Games

Academic Games is a team event based on answering trivia and math questions and a round of oral presentation. In the academic rounds, there are individual, team, and speed question rounds. The third round consists of persuasive presentations on an issue that is given to the creative team a few days before a game. The National Academic League sets up numerous brain teasers and questions for schools across the country.

In 2007, the Academic Games team was the champion of the Granite School District, and therefore went on to national play. In the national championship round, the team faced Hanes Middle School of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wasatch's presentation on teen drivers broke a tie going into the fourth and final round, which resulted in a tie. The game went into overtime, where Wasatch Junior lost by 11 points. The final score was 71 to 82.

The Wasatch-Hanes game was the third year in a row a Granite District junior high school has been in the national championship, and the fifth since 2002. Eisenhower, from the Granite School District, is a two-time champion, while Brockbank won in 2006 and took second in 2003. "These kids will be the same ones who walk away with a bazillion scholarships in a few years," principal Doug Bingham said. "That's where they shine."

In 2008, Wasatch won its second straight District Championship by defeating Eisenhower Junior High. In the National Tournament Wasatch defeated Orion Junior High in a landslide victory, but was defeated by Eisenhower in the next round. In 2010, Wasatch lost the district title to Brockbank Junior High, but defeated Brockbank in the Final Four to advance to the national game. Wasatch lost there by three points in double overtime. In 2011, Wasatch Junior High won the district championship and the national championship as well. Wasatch's team defeated Hanes Middle School, whom they faced in 2007. Wasatch won 88-62. In 2012, Wasatch Junior High faced Hanes Middle School again and won. As a result, Wasatch Jr. High received a letter of congratulations from the president for winning the national Academic Games championships twice in a row.