One Time Needs in Public Education, August 2006

Prepared by Patti Harrington, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Printable Version

Note: This is an appendix to a position paper describing the State Board of Education's recommendations for education funding reform.

1. Repair and upgrade playgrounds and equipment
2. Purchase textbooks so that each child may take theirs home for homework and help
3. Purchase additional library books and media materials
4. Purchase laptop computers for every teacher and begin to purchase one per student, with expectation of online learning and assessment as much as it may occur, given the supply of text ware and test ware.  This would move toward full acquisition of “e-mints” classrooms.
5. Provide extensive, but one-time professional development for all educators in the use of laptop computers for improving and tracking student achievement as well as for increasing the power of daily lessons.
6. Develop a 24/7 online professional development “school” for educators, with early emphasis on reading, math, science and technology education.
7. Provide extensive, but one-time professional development on COGNOS, the state’s system of data analysis for student achievement.
8. Update audio-visual equipment in every school.
9. Implement sound amplification for every classroom.
10. Purchase computer software, especially software that can be used by the child in the classroom for additional instruction or extension of learning.
11. Purchase a multi-year contract for the new secondary school writing software so that teachers can insist upon more frequency in student writing with immediate feedback, without adding hundreds of papers to their own load of work.  Expand this project from high schools to include middle schools.
12. Pay for endorsements for teachers so that they can become experts in reading in younger grades and more proficient in math in upper grades
13. Require and pay for all K-12 teachers to obtain a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages [TESOL] Endorsement, similar to the initiative underway in California.  Nearly all Utah teachers are currently impacted by the arrival of English Language Learners and all districts are susceptible to Office of Civil Rights complaints without such endorsements.  Provide for best practices in TESOL endorsements. 
14. Provide start-up funds for a pilot program in establishing “Newcomer Schools” wherein English Language Learners attend a year of intensive English instruction in a nurturing environment.
15. Give a one-time stipend to teachers and/or provide for a much greater sum for teacher supplies and materials, all to benefit our children.
16. Purchase musical instruments, art supplies or physical education equipment.
17. Prepare our schools for earthquakes and other natural disasters, including some costly but needed capital upgrades and repairs.
18. Retire worn-out buses and purchase new ones that are safer, cleaner, and more efficient for our children.
19. Purchase science lab equipment and provide more field experiences in science so that our children really get connected to science in middle school and high school.
20. Increase the number of books available in our guided reading (leveled at reader’s level) libraries and expand libraries to include all genres.  We increasingly need children to be exposed to nonfiction and technical writing at an early age, given the demands of technical reading and writing in today’s workplace.
21. Purchase math manipulatives to provide for multi-sensory and differentiated math instruction..
22. Provide comprehensive teaching materials for teachers of English Language Learners.
23. Provide books on tapes/CD and MP3 players for students to read along with as they learn to read or practice their reading.
24. Provide stipends for high school teachers to intern with businesses and industries during the summer to gain current expertise in their fields.
25. Provide for replacement printers, copiers, letter presses, scanners, white boards, and laminators and purchase a supply of materials needed for operation and use of these machines and tools.
26. Purchase lands or establish a teaching housing subsidy fund to provide for housing relief for educators in hard-to-afford or hard-to-access areas of Utah, such as Washington County, Park City, San Juan County, and Wasatch County.
27. Provide for a pilot of a ninth grade (or tenth grade, if tenth grade is the beginning of high school) science camp, lasting three weeks, for an entire district.  Attach a carefully designed evaluation component with longitudinal data to watch performance in subsequent years.  This type of experience might ensure:
    1. Greater awareness and appreciation for science and thus the beginning of a science career.
    2. Early connection to specific teachers and staff who can mentor and help students through their first year of high school.
    3. Prevention of drop outs, which are most likely in the first year of high school as students will have advocates and early friends.
    4. Provide field experience for all children, including those who may have come from limited field opportunities.
28. Bring giga-byte internet access to elementary schools through UEN
29. Invest in the capital outlay program and allow schools to be paid for with cash rather than through bonding.  Will save millions of dollars a year in interest payments.
30. Establish some sort of permanent fund where interest would be used to offset or eliminate student fees.
31. Hiring bonuses.
32. Startup funding for new district schools.
33. Pay “Summer Stipends” for teachers to pursue advanced degrees and other professional development activities in the summer (a means of providing year-round employment opportunities for teachers).