Peer tutoring pairs general education students with special education students across Jordan District

SOUTH JORDAN — A pair of students matched through the Jordan School District's peer tutoring program went to homecoming together this fall, and the mother of one of them posted the evening to social media, where it reached millions of views, Fox 13 Utah reported 1.

Fox 13 described the program as one that pairs general education students with students in special education programs 1. The station interviewed the students in the pair and a friend who went to the dance as a fourth member of the group, and reported the mother's account that her son called it the best night of his life 1.

The Ledger is not naming any of the students, the school they attend or the family member who posted the video. All of those named by Fox 13 are minors, and South Valley Ledger editorial standards withhold the identities of minors in any context 1.

The district's own schools describe how the program works. Oquirrh Hills Middle School in Riverton states that it is the home for two special education cluster classes, and that mainstream students can volunteer as peer tutors, who receive training to meet the needs of their differently-abled peers 2.

At the high school level it runs as a course. South Hills Middle School's ninth-grade class descriptions list Peer Tutor, course 02071, as an elective requiring an application, in which students work under the supervision of special education teachers assisting students who have special needs or disability conditions 3. On the district's own Supercast podcast, Alexis Sway, a special education teacher at Mountain Ridge High School, described the arrangement: the class is open to any student who selects it as an elective, the teachers run a training at the beginning of the year, and tutors are paired one on one with a student with disabilities to help with classwork 4. The same teacher said the program relies on peer tutors recruiting friends they think would do well in it 4.

Bingham High in South Jordan has a student body approaching 2,400 students, and the district states that its resource program includes special education services, educational evaluations, consultation with parents and teachers, and transition and individualized education plans 5.

Fox 13 reported one student in the pair saying that teaching others about inclusion does not have to be difficult and that starting with something like a school dance is enough, and another student saying that people in their generation often feel isolated and that one person taking the first step helps 1.

Sources: 1 FOX 13 Utah, "Peer tutoring program creates lifelong connections in Jordan School District," Oct. 12, 2026 — https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/salt-lake-county/peer-tutoring-program-creates-lifelong-connections-in-jordan-school-district 2 Jordan School District, Oquirrh Hills Middle School profile (special education cluster classes and peer tutors) — https://jordandistrict.org/schools/middle/oquirrhhills/ 3 South Hills Middle School, Jordan School District, 9th grade class descriptions (course 02071, Peer Tutor) — https://southhills.jordandistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/9th-Grade-Class-Descriptions.pdf 4 Jordan School District Supercast, episode 348, "Mountain Ridge High Student Has Defining Moment" (special education teacher Alexis Sway on how the peer tutor program works) — https://supercast.jordandistrict.org/348-mountain-ridge-high-student-has-defining-moment-crowned-utah-miss-amazing-teen/ 5 Jordan School District, Bingham High School profile — https://jordandistrict.org/schools/high/bingham/