We went for the extra credit

If we go above and beyond with any part of the community, we thought, it better be the schools. Well, we ended up going above and beyond on most everything — schools very much included.

Daybreak has the good fortune of being located in the progressive, award-winning Jordan School District. And the partnership between the school district and Kennecott Land resulted in a progressive, award-winning design for Daybreak's first school, Daybreak Elementary.

This is the first school in the district (or in the rest of Utah, for that matter) to be connected to a community center — an arrangement that benefits the whole community. During the day, students use the full-court basketball gymnasium and the large auditorium. But instead of those facilities going unused after school, they are made available to residents. Another big plus is that parents can walk their kids to school then head straight into, say, a spinning class. And students can go to an after-school ballet or martial arts class without ever leaving the building.

The entire facility, both school and community center, also earned a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification for its environmentally sustainable design. In fact, Daybreak Elementary is the first LEED-certified public school in Utah.

So with a couple of "firsts" in our pocket, Kennecott Land and Jordan School District are now creating our second school — Eastlake Elementary. Like Daybreak Elementary, the new school will be connected to a major community amenity. This time it's a large park in Eastlake Village, which will give school children vast play areas and facilities for soccer, tennis, basketball and even swimming.

And we haven't even mentioned the opportunities that Daybreak offers for lifelong learning. At the Daybreak Community Center, you'll find seminars or ongoing classes in everything from investments to yoga to cooking. Or go to the community garden for a workshop on organic gardening.

In Daybreak, there's a whole lot of learning going on. And all of it so close to home.

To learn more about Daybreak Elementary, click here.