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Public Education in Utah
tah’s public schools were in a unique position to face the challenges of 2020 and are prepared to build on those successes in the future. This preparedness begins with having clear vision, purpose and direction. What are the hopes, aspirations and dreams that our community has for young people? What skills and mindsets do young people need to ensure opportunities for their future? A few years ago, the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) engaged in an inclusive strategic planning process that began with addressing these questions. What resulted is Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate — a frame for student success and school quality that goes beyond academic mastery by also recognizing skills like communication and creativity, dispositions like resilience and respect, and other social and emotional dimensions of learning. The Portrait of a Graduate serves as a north star for system transformation. As school districts and charter schools tailor 54
LIFE IN UTAH 2021 | SLCHAMBER.com
the Portrait of a Graduate for their unique communities, state education leaders aim to create the conditions for school systems throughout the state to intentionally deliver on this powerful vision. To this end, USBE has adopted goals and strategies for our public education system focused on the following four areas: early learning, effective educators and leaders, personalized teaching and learning, and safe and healthy schools. These goals continue to be a guiding light through the uncertainties of the past year. While we learn and adapt in response to the pandemic, we remain laser-focused on our goals and advancing the aspirations for our students outlined in Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate. Utah’s forward-looking vision has yielded dividends. Long before the pandemic resulted in the necessity to provide remote and online learning options, state and local education leaders were prioritizing digital teaching
and learning. Since 2015, the state has invested in a Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Program. This initiative began with stakeholders from across the state including the local school systems, the Utah State Board of Education, Utah Education and Telehealth Network, and the Legislature creating Utah’s Master Plan to best leverage the power of technology for learning. This plan articulates “Utah has a powerful opportunity to act, and to harness technology as an extraordinary tool to our benefit… To move all students to high levels of learning powered by technology, all students will need access to infrastructure, devices and applications that can be most effectively incorporated into learning… With teachers serving as architects of learning combined with the knowledge to effectively integrate technology, schools can provide students with a pipeline to explore real world concepts, interact with real world experts, and analyze and solve real world problems.” This initiative enabled Utah to transition to
