All high schools in the Salt Lake City District serve grades 9-12. The district operates three high schools: East High School near the University of Utah serving the southwest and central-east part of the city, West High School in western downtown serving the north and west area, and Highland High School near Sugar House Park serving the southeast. Additionally, the district runs an alternative/adult education school, Horizonte High School, located on Main Street in the south central city, and the new Innovations High School, a "student centered, personalized education" school that will focus on learning through digital technology, located in the south-central part of the city attached to Salt Lake Community College South City campus. A high school no longer extant, South High School, located at State St. and 1700 South, once served the southern part of Salt Lake City. The district built this school during the Great Depression to accommodate about 1000 students from the privateLDS High School, which closed in 1931. South High was located in some of the poorer areas of Salt Lake City with a population increasingly devoid of school age children by the 1980s. Falling enrollment throughout the school district prompted the district to close the fledgling South High in 1988. Schools with older facilities, such as East and West, as well as Highland High School received students from portions of the former South High school boundaries. The district donated the South High School school building to the Salt Lake Community College, where it currently serves as its South City campus.
East High School
East High School serves grades nine through twelve. East High School was founded in 1914 and currently has an enrolled student body of 2,109. It is located at 840 South 1300 East in the East Bench neighborhood. The current principal is Greg Maughan. The school mascot is the leopard, and the school colors are red and white.
Highland High School
Highland High School opened in 1956 and has a student body of about 1,546. It is located at 2166 South 1700 East, next to Sugar HousePark. The current principal is Chris Jenson. The school mascot is the ram, and the school colors are black and white. Highland also has a long-standing rivalry with East High School.
West High School
West High School is located at 241 North 300 West in Salt Lake City. Founded in 1890 as Salt Lake High School, West High is the oldest high school in the Salt Lake School District and the second oldest in Utah. It is the highest-ranked high school in Utah according to Newsweek. West High has a student population of 2,559 under principal Ford White. In addition to students in grades nine through twelve, West High School serves a group of 7th and 8th graders in an Extended Learning Program. The school mascot is the panther, and the school colors are red and black.
Middle schools
There are five middle schools in the Salt Lake City School District. All middle schools in the district teach grades 7-8, except Glendale which teaches 6-8. In addition, West High School offers grade 7 and 8 for some students as part of the "Extended Learning Program".
K-8 schools
Elementary schools
The district operates 27 elementary schools. Almost all elementary schools in the district serve grades K-6. Riley, Edison, and Mountain View serve grades K-5. Most elementary schools offer preschool services. In 1999, the district approved a bond that would reconstruct 20 of the elementary schools as well as Northwest Middle School. In addition, two elementary schools were closed for the 2002–2003 school season while serving as temporary campuses for the reconstructed schools. They were originally going to choose two schools off of a list of eight to be closed, and eventually the school board decided to close Lowell and Rosslyn Heights. This aroused considerable protest from parents, teachers, and even board members, and lawsuits were filed against the district. However, they failed to keep the schools open.
Charter schools
Public charter schools in the district include Open Classroom, an elementary and middle school that has been part of the district since 1977 and is currently housed in the building that once was Lowell Elementary and Open High School of Utah, established in 2009.
Uintah Elementary School lunch controversy
In January 2014, approximately 40 students at Uintah Elementary School had their lunches removed from them and thrown in the trash. According to the school district, the students' lunch accounts were in arrears, and the district's child-nutrition manager visited the school and decided to take away the students' lunches. The issue received national attention and school district officials were accused of "bullying" and "humiliating" students.
