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SALT LAKE CITY -- Our kids--all of them--are our greatest resource. The better education they receive, the more we will all benefit. We asked you and community leaders about the role we should all play in bridging the achievement gap. When we put the question on Facebook we got mixed responses and saw a lot of blame get tossed around.
Regardless of who is at fault we can all be part of the solution. If we want Utah to stay competitive, business leaders believe raising the education level for all kids is key, especially for our minority population.
It is not an issue that we can simply look at and say that is the responsibility of mom or dad. Utah is changing and as a result that change is requiring that we look at this more from a societal perspective.
–Mark Bouchard, Salt Lake Chamber Education Task Force
"Without the workers and without the skilled workers it is going to be very difficult for us to compete on a national level, but really on a global level, which is where Utah is," said Mark Bouchard, Salt Lake Chamber Education Task Force.
He says Utah's enrollment rates for college are falling behind the rest of the country. There's an even greater gap among the Hispanic population. A Pew research study shows Hispanics still need at least a generation to reach the same education levels as other American races.
"It is not an issue that we can simply look at and say that is the responsibility of mom or dad. Utah is changing and as a result that change is requiring that we look at this more from a societal perspective," said Bouchard.
Not everyone shares the "village" mentality, though. On Facebook Taunya Lofgran told us, "We can certainly enlist schools to help with that, but if there is a gap the fault lies on the parents, not the school or community."
Other parents pleaded for help. Erin Firkins wrote: "Everyone is so easy to jump to conclusions that parents don't do enough! I do work with my children, but can't go spend a day in their class having to work fulltime."
To close the achievement gap many educators believe we have to pay attention to a lot of factors. "There are gaps in opportunities and gaps in expectations. There are gaps in terms of experiences kids have before they come to school and while they are at school," said Salt Lake City Superintendent McKell Withers.
Many community leaders believe by richly educating and encouraging minority students while they are young, Utah will have a better business force and more adept workers in the future.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
