West High students walk out in support of principal on administrative leave
Jan 17, 2025, 7:00 PM | Updated: 7:00 pm
About 200 West High School students walked out of class on Jan. 17, 2025 in support of their principal, Jared Wright, who was placed on administrative leave. (Heather Peterson/KSL NewsRadio)
(Heather Peterson/KSL NewsRadio)
SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly 200 students participated in a West High walkout on Friday in support of their principal who had been placed on administrative leave without explanation.
“We want justice for Dr. Jared Wright. We want him back,” said Jesus, a senior at West High. He was one of the hundreds who expressed wanting Principal Jared Wright back.
“I want to see him back at this school,” said Emmett Black, another student. “I want to be able to get my diploma from him when I walk at graduation.”
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A few parents were also there to support Wright in the walkout. Catherine Garff expressed her frustration with the district and the lack of information about what was going on.
“I feel like the way that they’re treating our principal, that clearly you can see … students love, I think they are treating him terribly,” Garff said. “He is a phenomenal administrator. He listens to parents, and he tries to advocate for students, whether that aligns with what the district wants or not.”
Sophomore Eli Jergensen said this does not make sense because Wright is beloved; he is a huge advocate for his students and highly involved in their lives.
“I want to understand why my king was put on administrative leave,” Jergensen said. “I’ve got to be honest. It just doesn’t feel right to me.”
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Rumors have been swirling since Wright was suddenly placed on administrative leave on Jan. 10. Some of the students said at the walkout they believe it to be about Wright speaking out about school safety measures. But Yandary Chatwin with the Salt Lake City School District denied the rumors.
“There’s concern, too, that this is related to school safety. I can say that it’s not,” Chatwin said. “But I’m unable to really say more than that… We want to protect our employee’s privacy. We want to make sure we are following our policies as well as state and federal laws, which means it’s likely we will never be able to fully share what’s happening right now.”
Still, parents and students continue to advocate for Wright’s return. There is a petition to have him reinstated that has more than 1,000 signatures. It is filled with statements of support for Wright and all the ways he has helped West High since becoming principal.
In his absence or until something develops, Assistant Principal Wayne Culley will be the acting principal.
