Jonathan Kesler spent a decade fixing boilers, patching roofs, and keeping Canyons School District buildings running. Beginning fall 2026, he'll walk into Brighton High School not with a toolbox but with a lesson plan, becoming the first Aspiring Canyons Educator Scholarship recipient to student-teach in a district classroom.
Kesler, a facilities maintenance technician, received the inaugural ACE award in 2024 and took classes half-time while continuing to work full-time for the district. His focus: art education, with an emphasis on sculptures, ceramics, and fiber arts.
"I've always been interested in learning, and art is my particular emphasis," Kesler said in a district announcement published Tuesday, July 28. "I also have family in education, so it was just one of those fits that seemed to work out and click."
The ACE Scholarship is funded entirely by Canyons employees through an optional payroll deduction and provides up to $5,000 per year in tuition assistance. The Canyons Education Foundation administers the program. Since its launch in 2024, the fund has doubled in size and supported eight recipients total: six district employees and two graduating seniors. The foundation has distributed more than $40,300 in tuition aid so far.
Brooke Carn, identified in the announcement as a development officer for the Canyons Education Foundation, said Kesler's milestone validates the program's goal of growing teachers from within. The district accommodated Kesler's class schedule throughout his coursework, according to the announcement.
Why it matters locally
Canyons is navigating a teacher-recruitment landscape shaped by declining enrollment and rising housing costs. The district projected 659 fewer students for the 2025-2026 school year, translating to roughly $3.2 million less in state funding, according to an October 2025 board presentation. Average home prices in the district climbed from $497,000 in 2021 to $740,000 in 2025, pricing out young families who might otherwise send children to Canyons schools.
Annual teacher hiring has dropped from about 300 positions three years ago to roughly 100 projected for 2025-2026, district officials have said. The hardest slots to fill remain special education, dual language immersion, math, science, and career and technical education. Starting teacher pay for 2026-2027 is $65,825, a 31.7 percent increase from $50,000 in 2019-2020, according to the June 16, 2026 board budget session.
District officials have described ACE as part of a broader "grow your own" strategy to reduce reliance on the open hiring market, according to a district podcast published in April 2025.
The inaugural class
Kesler was recognized alongside two other first-time recipients at the May 7, 2024 Board of Education meeting: Alyssa Hill, a paraprofessional at Bella Vista Elementary, and Melody Otterstrom, then a senior at Brighton High School.
Canyons employees can designate a payroll deduction amount each fall to support the scholarship fund, according to the district. Information is available through the Canyons Education Foundation.
