Putting the Best Interest of Utah Students First
Last week Utah Governor Herbert held a press conference to discuss the Utah Core Standards in Mathematics and Language Arts. You can read the text of his speech here http://blog.governor.utah.gov/2014/07/governors-remarks-strengthening-utah-education-for-our-students/. As part of his plan, Governor Herbert has created a task force to review the mathematics and ELA cores. He is asking for input regarding the standards. You can participate by taking a survey at http://utah.gov/governor/standards/. Please note that the governor is asking for specific feedback, not general impressions.
I urge each of you to get involved and voice your opinions concerning the Common Core Standards. I have attached the link to the governor's survey to teachers, parents, and community stakeholders on our district website as well as Twitter and Facebook. There are also many links to factual information and frequently asked questions on our district website. I would encourage each of you to study the facts and voice your honest opinions.
There is much to learn from states who have dropped out of the Common Core and the time and funding lost. My personal opinion is that if we will stick with it and continue to improve upon it, overtime we will improve our system. I believe that if the standards were dumped and Utah put together a group of educational experts to create a Utah Core in ELA and Math, we would end up with a very close match to what already exists. I also believe that educational leaders and teachers from Utah will continue to be involved in efforts to improve and build upon Utah Core Standards. One of the worst things we could do is continue to move the target and lose focus.
It is imperative that each of us become more involved in supporting quality educational initiatives in the political arena. Please feel free to share this information with family, friends and neighbors.
Thank you. Thank you for all that you do to improve our community and our schools.