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In late March of 2020 our world, quite literally, began to shake right below our feet as many Utahns experienced an earthquake for the first time in their lives. And while this 5.7 magnitude earthquake disrupted the lives of so many people living in the Beehive State, it resulted in a catastrophic impact for students and their teachers at West Lake Jr. High given that the school was damaged beyond repair and would need to be demolished… and it was. And today, more than 2 years later, students from West Lake Jr. High are being bussed many miles from their local community, families, religious groups, and recreational sports teams to a once abandoned elementary school, which has been rehabbed to support 800 Jr. High aged students, to receive the education that they deserve.

The age-old question of ‘why do bad things always happen to good people?’ best describes the impact that this ‘seismic’ activity would have on the lives of those among the West Lake Jr. High community. As a Title-1 School on Salt Lake City’s West-Side, West Lake Jr. High’s students are already at a ‘seismic’ disadvantage when it comes to learning. In addition to living in one of Utah’s poorest communities, 70% of students that attend West Lake Jr. High are English Language Learners where their primary language is one of 25 different languages spoken throughout the school. The reason for the diverse number of languages spoken at West Lake Jr. High is due to the families the school serves. Many students at West Lake recently moved to America from all over the world, some of whom are refugees from places like Afghanistan, Ukraine, and various countries from Africa. West Lake Jr. High’s student population represents the best of America through the remarkable diversity of its student body.

And while Diversity is a powerful tool to teach about compassion, understanding, and acceptance of others, it should also come as no surprise that entering school for the first time in a new country presents significant challenges for Multi-Language Learner (MLL) students. Most of them are learning about their new community and trying to find a place of belonging. They walk on campus not having friends, not knowing their teachers, and for some students, navigating their very first time in a school and/or educational setting all together. Every child, regardless of where they come from or what language they speak, deserves a chance to learn in a safe and comfortable environment. And while West Lake Jr. High has done it’s best to provide students with the tools necessary to learn, there still exists too many language barriers for the most vulnerable students. This is where Mark Miller Subaru and the Utah Jazz come into the story.

They say ‘if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,’ and together with our NBA Partner, the Utah Jazz, we sought to ‘go far together’ with hopes of closing the language barrier gap that was keeping English Language Learners from doing just that: keeping them from learning. To help educators at West Lake Jr. High better support these English Language Learners, Mark Miller Subaru and the Utah Jazz jointly donated a combined $30,000 for a new Language Lab within the school.

The Language Lab will have a huge impact on our student’s language acquisition. Specifically, their multi language learners who need the support the most. In fact, research shows that language acquisition improves through consistent practice with one’s peers. In addition to assisting students learn English, it also will support students socially and emotionally by providing opportunities for students to connect with their peers and communicate with each other in a variety of ways thereby increasing their opportunities for friendship and connections with others while practicing English at the same time.

In a recent television interview with local news stations covering this historic donation, Jeff Miller shared the following about this collaborative effort between Mark Miller Subaru and the Utah Jazz:

“Mark Miller Subaru is proud of our long-time partnership with the Utah Jazz and are truly honored to be standing alongside them in making this meaningful financial contribution to West Lake Jr. High School,” said Jeff, “It is our hope that this investment for advanced classroom technology will help English Language Learners at West Lake Jr. High while simultaneously connecting students from various backgrounds and cultures to one another in both a powerful and life-changing manner.”

There is no doubt that the past few years have been challenging for the student body at West Lake Jr. High, but through the power of the Subaru Love Promise and through the compassionate friendship of business partners like Mark Miller Subaru and the Utah Jazz, it is possible to change the world – and we did just that for the 800 students who walk the halls of West Lake Jr. High every day… we changed their world for the better.