Salt Lake City’s Backman Elementary School students filed into an assembly Tuesday morning as Olympic Games opening ceremony music played. On stage stood a cauldron with a mock Olympic flame, as well as a podium for bronze, silver and gold winners.
The symbolic opening ceremony marked the launch of the Champion Schools 34 initiative. It’s meant to improve literacy and attendance by bringing the spirit of the Games to Utah schools long before the Olympics arrive in 2034.
Joe Pleban is a Paralympic snowboarder who was at the 2026 Games. He was excited to talk about his two favorite things with the kids: reading and the Paralympics.
“It's cool to see kids get excited about reading,” he said. “I personally love reading. I read all the time when we're on the road at competitions. I read every night before I go to bed. I think it helps calm my mind.”
Champion Schools was launched by the Utah 2034 organizing committee in partnership with the nonprofit Ken Garff for Good.
Through the initiative, teachers and students will use a digital platform to strengthen literacy, increase school engagement and inspire long-term academic participation and success. The platform features lesson plans, book recommendations and inspirational videos of Olympians and Paralympians.
Prizes will be awarded to students who meet the silver standard of reading 20 minutes a day or the gold standard of reading 30 minutes a day.
Bobsledder Hunter Powell also competed at the 2026 Games. He hopes the program will inspire Utah kids to dream big.
“It doesn't have to be sports. Chase your dreams and have big dreams and know that you can do great things,” he said. “Always believe in yourself and most importantly have fun while you're doing it.”
Utah 2034 CEO Brad Wilson said his team could have waited to start the program as the Games grew closer. But they want Olympic inspiration to start reaching Utah’s young people early.
“We thought if we can lean into the Olympic values that we all aspire to, and tie it to things like education and literacy, we have this ability to have this compound effect on the lives of these kids and their families,” he said.
Backman Principal Matthew Teitter said it took some time working with students for them to understand what the Olympics are. The elementary is one of the most diverse in its district with around 22 languages spoken in the hallways each day.
But once the students had a better understanding of what the Games are about, he said they were excited for the assembly and to meet the athletes.
Teitter said attendance and reading are fundamental to a student’s journey and hopes Champion Schools will support kids.
“Reading is so key and fundamental to students growing and progressing in other academic areas,” he said. “It's one of the few that are known to have a positive spillover effect across domains.”
The pilot will launch in 72 elementary schools across seven Utah districts: Salt Lake City, Cache County, Granite, Iron County, North Sanpete, Duchesne County and Uintah County.
Utah 2034 plans to expand Champion Schools’ reach to all state elementaries in the future.
