Issue Position: Education
Issue Position
EDUCATION IS ONE OF OUR SHARED CORE VALUES. WITH CHANGES IN FAMILY DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE RAPID GROWTH OF OUR POPULATION, WE NEED TO BE JUDICIOUS WITH OUR EDUCATION STRUCTURE, STAFFING, AND FUNDING IN ORDER TO PROVIDE OUR YOUTH AND COMMUNITIES WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND OUTCOMES THAT WILL LEAD TO SUCCESS.
Pre-K Education: 6 out of 10 low-income children in Utah are not kindergarten ready in literacy standards when they start school. The Utah School Readiness Initiative provides pre-kindergarten education for at-risk kids. 93% of the children who have participated in the program have avoided special education, resulting in $1.7 million in savings for taxpayers. We are expanding early learning to more families through the UPSTART program. These programs deserve more support from the legislature. It's fiscally responsible. More importantly, it puts these children in a position for educational success.
Elementary through High School: Education policy in Utah needs to be driven by analysis of education outcomes so that education expenditures can be more focused and effective. For example, children that are not reading at grade proficiency by 3rd grade are four times less likely to graduate from high school than those that are reading proficient at that age. STEM education is a priority in our state. Utah should be leading the nation in educational achievement. Current studies show that is not the case, and that Utah students may be increasingly falling behind. While financial investment is a key component of success, we must also be better at managing our education infrastructure and at reducing the administrative burden on our teachers, counselors and principals, so that more or our education investment is spent on, you know, education.
Applied Tech Colleges (ATC): Our state's ATCs are an underutilized resource for students that do not want to pursue a college degree. We have an acute shortage of skilled labor in key industries that can be addressed through this system. These are well paying jobs with potential for career advancement. The availability of skilled labor is a key factor in enticing industry to locate and expand in Utah. We need to capture these opportunities if we want our kids and grandkids to be able to live, work, learn and play in our state.
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