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Gov. Herbert releases 10-year Utah Education Roadmap to State Board of Education

Posted at 6:10 PM, Dec 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-07 20:11:23-05

SALT LAKE CITY – Governor Gary Herbert unveiled his 10-year Utah Education Roadmap to the Utah State Board of Education.

In April of 2015, the Governor tasked his education team to come up with a 10-year education plan. After consulting with educators, researchers and parents, they created the Utah Education Roadmap.

Lt. Governor Spencer Cox was at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting and presented leaders with the plan on behalf of the Governor.

“You get a lot more done when you try to bring people together,” Cox said. “Let's put it in one document, a living document that can change over time.”

The plan focuses on four areas:

First is early learning – Utah wants to connect families with more early learning programs, especially for at-risk, low-income students.

Second is strengthen and Support Educators – Research shows approximately 42% of K-12 teachers who began their careers in 2007 were no longer teaching in a Utah classroom by the end of their fifth year.

“There's a teacher shortage not just in Utah but across our country; It's something we're anxiously engaged and focused on,” Cox said.

Third, Utah must Ensure Access & Equity in order to close achievement gaps.

“We want to make sure that kids living in Title One schools in rural Utah, for example, have the same access to the education possibilities that their counterparts on the Wasatch Front have,” Cox said.

And fourth, Utah will work to complete Certificates & Degrees. Cox says more emphasis should be placed on career and technical education.

“There are students that end up going to a university, and it's not a great fit and they end up not finishing then they have student debt that they didn't need.”

With nearly 2/3rds of the state budget going toward education, Cox stresses the governor’s commitment to fight for as many dollars as it takes to accomplish these goals.

“Our budget will be coming out next week," he said. "There will be another significant increase in the education, recommendation.”

The Utah Education Roadmap will officially launch in January 2018. For a look at the Utah Education Roadmap, click here.