Utah governor meets with elementary school students, teachers


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SALT LAKE CITY — Less than a half-mile from the state Capitol, Rep. Steve Eliason posed a question to a class of fourth-graders at Washington Elementary School: "Who can tell me what we do in the Legislature?"

An array of guesses rang out as half the class stretched their hands in the air.

"Try to help the government?" one student hypothesized.

"Decide to build roads and get more train tracks?" guessed another.

"Earn a lot of money?" a third student asked.

Once Eliason, R-Sandy, explained the role of the Legislature and his duties as House chairman of the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the discussion turned to weightier matters.

"Me and my friend live in The Road Home," said one boy. "There's a lot of people who are homeless in the streets. … I think we should have more shelters."

Another fourth-grader expressed frustration with what he sees when he's not in school.

"I live right by The Road Home. There's been lots of problems, like drug dealers and shootings," he said. "We need to fix that in our city."

Those and other concerns came up Monday as several state leaders met with students and teachers to better understand the needs of Utah schools. It was a meeting teachers and students hope will translate into helpful action when the Legislature convenes in January.

"It's extremely insightful," Eliason said of his visit with students and teachers. "It's motivating to hear it firsthand, to see the challenges they're dealing with. … It (will) hopefully keep us grounded in terms (of) where our focus should be on Capitol Hill."

It's a long list of needs. At Washington Elementary School, more than 80 percent of students live in poverty, almost 60 percent are ethnic minorities, 30 percent are chronically absent, and roughly 1 in 4 students are learning English as a second language. Of the 392 students enrolled, about 80 of them live at The Road Home.


It's motivating to hear it firsthand, to see the challenges they're dealing with. … It (will) hopefully keep us grounded in terms (of) where our focus should be on Capitol Hill.

–Rep. Steve Eliason


But it's also a place of bright spots that state and education leaders hope to learn from and replicate in other schools. Last year, the Title I school scored 7 percent above the state average in math on Utah's year-end SAGE exam, and student performance showed gains from the year before in both math and English.

Eliason said one of his legislative priorities for next year will be to improve opportunities and resources for at-risk students.

"I think going forward, (we'll be) looking at how we can target our money toward students most in need," he said. "A lot of our economically disadvantaged students are challenged in terms of test scores and other life factors. Looking at how we can specifically target those students is what we'd like to try to do."

Gov. Gary Herbert, who sat with a class of kindergarteners while they "stretched" out words, said he's mindful of how stretched Utah's education dollars are and of the need for additional funding.

The governor's budget proposal for this year called for $500 million in new money for schools, and the Legislature appropriated about $512 million — a 9 percent increase from last year.

Photo: Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News
Photo: Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

"It's not all about the money, but it is some about the money," Herbert said.

He also raised the need for more teacher resources in the classroom, including teachers aides, volunteers and technological helps.

"I think we have a need to increase our volunteerism specifically directed to helping in the classroom. Teacher's aides can make a world of difference in the outcomes and performance of the kids," he said. "The technology aspects in the classroom are remarkable. That's why we need to make sure our teachers are prepared, (that) they have professional training so they can utilize these new assets."

Next year, the Education Interim Committee plans to sponsor a bill to provide extra funding for professional development for teachers. The State School Board last week also approved an implementation plan for a statewide technology initiative, asking for about $100 million to launch the program.

Darcie Austin, a kindergarten teacher at Washington, said she's thankful for the resources she has to work with, but she hopes teachers and students will stand out when lawmakers consider priorities during the coming legislative session.

"It's hard as a teacher not to feel that things get cut and cut. I think the legislators are doing the best they can," Austin said. "It's hard, too, because there always can be more."

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Morgan Jacobsen

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