Deborah Speaks On Issues…
Lines of Effort (Areas of Focus):
People - Students, Educators (incl. all school staff), Parents & Families, and Communities all have essential roles to play in the education of Utah’s schoolchildren.
Standards - Licensure & Certification, Instruction & Assessment, and Ethics & Business Practices require clear standards defining professional practice and boundaries for all educators.
Supports - Partnerships, Legislation, Resources, and Health & Safety are essential in creating effective learning environments.
Facilities - Building code, ADA & Title IX compliance, and Environmental considerations are foundational in creating safe and welcoming learning environments.
Rules & Policies - Federal & State Law compliance, Best Practices, Collaboration, Innovation, & Data Collection and Reporting, Transparency, and Local Control are key to continuous improvement.
People
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Student needs are at the heart of all we do as educators and education policy-makers.
Students learn best when they have supportive families and high quality teachers.
Students must learn values of responsibility & hard-work to succeed in school and life.
There are many paths to student success, and they need guidance to find their strengths and develop their talents.
Critical thinking, problem-solving, life-long learning, effective communication, civil dialogue, and engaged citizens are the hallmarks of a quality education.
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Educators need quality preparation, mentoring, coaching, and on-going collaboration, professional development, and leadership opportunities throughout their careers.
Classroom teachers need adequate time to prepare and refine lessons, facilitate high quality learning, and provide meaningful feedback.
Educators need clear and concise policy guidance as well as rigorous standards with clear learning targets that allow customization to meet student needs, especially for special education and language learners.
Supporting and retaining quality educators must be a priority.
Educators should be trusted and respected as the professionals they are.
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Education is a partnership, and schools work best when parents are involved through PTA, Community Councils, as classroom volunteers, etc.
Parents have the right to choose schools that work best for their children.
Parents are primarily responsible to make sure students come to school ready to learn, but when there are gaps schools must ensure all students are safe and cared for.
Parents encourage responsibility and hard-work by monitoring student learning and communicating with teachers about concerns early.
Standards
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Ensure licensed educators meet professional standards through rigorous preparation and evaluation processes.
Ensure licensed, certified, and classified support staff meet professional standards through clear preparation requirements and evaluation processes.
Maintain a process for suspending, revoking, and reinstating licenses that includes due process protections.
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USBE develops & regularly updates age-appropriate content & skill standards to facilitate rich instruction through transparent educator-led processes.
Assessment is aligned to standards and limited in duration & frequency to what is essential.
As appropriate, technology is utilized to ensure students have access to instruction and assessment in multiple languages to support newcomers.
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All educators must conduct themselves in accordance with clear ethics standards.
Policies for reporting and correcting ethical violations must be clear at each level.
Governing boards (state and local) must likewise bind themselves to a code of professional ethics.
Business practices are subject to audit and must meet professional standards.
Supports
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Schools must partner with parents through community councils & Parent Teacher Associations & Organizations.
When applicable, schools should seek to partner with relevant booster and alumni organizations.
Schools should engage with community businesses & non-profits through sponsorships, appropriate volunteer & mentoring activities, and other relevant activities to ensure student needs are met and opportunities are available to all.
Gun Violence Prevention is a community effort where schools can participate by providing gun locks and other relevant information to patrons annually.
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The Utah Legislature should focus on funding USBE and USBA priorities.
Legislation should be limited to what is needed to meet public school needs based on their priorities.
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Public education funding must cover growth, inflation, and resources needed to support and retain teachers each year, at the minimum.
Funds allocated to districts and charter schools should be flexible above that required by legislative mandates, to ensure districts can meet their unique needs and priorities.
Programmed spending needs regular periodic review to ensure it is still aligned with school priorities and student needs.
Educator compensation must enable them to live in the communities they serve and adequately provide for their own families.
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Class sizes in urban areas must be reduced to empower teachers to spend more time meeting each student’s individual needs. We have an opportunity to make this happen now since birth rates have declined but the economy remains strong.
Support personnel, to include school administrators & counselors, paraeducators, social workers, school psychologists, custodians, nutrition service workers, and nurses should meet recommended professional ratios to ensure teachers can focus primarily on instruction.
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Immunization exemptions must be limited to medically necessary and religious exemptions to protect medically fragile students from infectious disease outbreaks.
Students and staff must have access to anonymous reporting tools such as the SafeUT app.
School Resource Officers should complete NASRO training and meet their professional standards in addition to POST and local agency standards.
Emergency plans must include clear, concise, & consistent crisis response guidance
Discipline policies must be designed to correct behavior and mitigate harm without sacrificing the learning environment for all.
Facilities
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Facility design and upgrades must be made with current best practice AND stakeholder input.
Fiscal responsibility is essential in planning and managing construction to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.
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Utah is earthquake country - facilities must be designed to withstand collapse.
High quality HVAC systems are essential to protect students from temperature extremes, poor air quality due to inversions and dust storms, and stagnant air where radon settles and airborne infectious disease concentrates.
Rules & Policies
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USBE provides model policy templates to assist LEAs in developing local policies
USBE partners with ULEAD on curating a best practices warehouse/website.
Teacher Leaders have opportunities for distributed learning, action research, and classroom improvement.
USBE develops strategic plans, SMART goals/objectives, aligned resources, progress monitoring, and periodic re-evaluation.
USBE ensures that rules and policies are clear and concise.
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Educators need regularly scheduled, protected time for meaningful collaboration within buildings and across districts.
As the hearts of communities, schools need meaningful partnerships with engaged parents as well as private and public organizations that can provide additional support.
School and District leaders must collaborate with teacher leaders to capitalize on talent within buildings that can strengthen teaching & learning across the enterprise. Teachers need access to paid professional development leave during the school day.
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Educators should be encouraged (not forced) to adopt new technology intentionally as tools evolve to meet old challenges in new ways.
Professional educators should be supported in experimenting with new tools and empowered as the subject-matter experts in their schools.Innovations in the classroom must be thoughtful, considering student needs and abilities, and mitigating potential harmful effects.
Efforts to bridge digital divides and language barriers at school and at home, and educator capabilities and confidence are critical factors.
Student privacy, data privacy, and network security must be protected.
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Most problems are best solved at the local level.
Districts and Charters must comply with state and Federal law, with appropriate oversight.
State Board rules must be broad enough to allow LEAs to customize policies in ways that meet specific needs, within the law.
Decisions about curriculum, instructional materials, and library books belong at the district and school levels to ensure they are aligned with local community values while supporting instruction that meets state standards.
Core Principles
Integrity
I took an Oath to defend the Constitution when I Enlisted in 1999. I believe in doing what is right, regardless of personal cost. I will listen to constituents, treat people with respect, and consider good ideas no matter the source.
“Be first with the truth - even on bad days.” - David Petraus
Responsibility
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. When there are problems to be solved, I work to find win-win solutions. If I can’t answer a question, I find someone who can. When I fall short, I own it and try to fix it.
”The buck stops here!” - Harry S Truman
Community
Strong families are the foundation of healthy communities & schools. Healthy schools provide learning & opportunities for growth that build personal responsibility and community pride.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir
Strategies
Collaboration
Work with districts & charters, municipalities, metro townships, state & Federal governments, & private organizations to maximize efficiency and synergy inherent in shared goals & projects.
Prioritization
Identify what is essential, what maximizes impact short and long terms, what is and isn’t USBE business, what is and isn’t sustainable, and treat taxpayer funds as the widow’s mite.
Information
Get data necessary to make informed decisions, consider multiple perspectives, establish and communicate decision making criteria, and clearly articulate the rationale behind decisions.