Can education get Utah's kids 'off their phones' and 'doing things with their hands'?

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz remembers being the sort of junior high student that walked into a classroom and immediately claimed a desk near the window.

He would then spend much of the period looking outside "so I didn't have to focus on what was being said the whole time inside the classroom."

The House's ranking Republican has often said he was once, like many of Utah's K-12 students, not always an ideal fit for a traditional public school classroom.

But Schultz's enthusiasm for school, he told the House Education Committee on Monday, grew once he discovered the junior high wood shop. He later enrolled in auto mechanics class and, along the way, developed an appreciation for career and technical education.

Schultz remains a CTE fan and the value it provides to Utah students, prompting his sponsorship of HB447, which helps establish and fund expanded CTE programs in schools called "catalyst centers."

"CTE training has kind of taken a back seat inside of our public education system — for no other reason than probably lack of funds and prioritizing other portions of academics," Schultz told the committee.

Committee members Monday voted unanimously to move the bill to the House floor.

Schultz's bill aims to establish the Catalyst Center Grant Program which would support CTE-anchored programs — or "catalyst centers" — in participating Utah public schools.

The centers, according to HB447, would provide students with learning experiences that mirror workplace practices in, say, health care or construction management. In most cases, the centers would operate inside existing public schools and utilize in-place faculty that would not be funded by the grant program.

Instead, grant funds would typically be used to, say, modify classrooms and purchase new equipment needed to provide advanced technical training essential for today's evolving industries. Meanwhile, participating schools would be required to align its CTE curriculum with Utah's labor market and meet the state's technical education industry goals.

Schultz, R-Hooper, said the state's Public Education Economic Stabilization Account would fund the catalyst centers with earmarked funds.

"As long as the money is there, then $65 million a year would go into this program — recurring every year to keep making sure those (industry) needs are met all across the state."

Connecting Utah students with Utah industry

A recent visit to the Davis School District's Catalyst Center provided Schultz with a working vision of what CTE can be for Utah's students — and inspiration for his bill.

The Catalyst Center draws students from the Davis district's 10 high schools and offers studies in business marketing, culinary arts, video production, computer science, construction management, aviation and medical assisting.

The Catalyst Center also aims to prepare its students for careers by exposing them to industry professionals and collaborative group projects.

"Not only were (students) learning the types of technical education skills that they need to be successful in those particular industries — but they were also learning skills to be successful inside the workplace," said Schultz. "That's what I fell in love with."

Schultz originally envisioned similar CTE programs expanding to his native Weber County — "And then I thought, 'You know what — I want every part of the state to have this opportunity.'"

The sorts of CTE offerings that the proposed catalyst centers would provide benefit participants in their academic pursuits, added Schultz. Studies indicate "that 99% of students who complete a CTE program actually graduated from high school."

That's 11% above the state's high school graduation rate average.

Schultz added that the proposed catalyst centers would connect Utah students with Utah businesses.

"As I talked to some of the industry partners … they were excited to be there because not only were they training the future workforce — they were also able to look for their future (employee) prospects."

The proposed catalyst centers, he noted, would facilitate students pursuing academic "first credentials."

"Then they can take that first credential and go get a job right out of high school — (or) they can continue going to one or our amazing universities or technical schools throughout the state to build upon that first credential to earn more certifications and credentials."

The committee's chair, Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, called the proposed catalyst centers "game changers."

"We have to find ways to make the American dream more of a reality for Utahns, and also to truly meet the needs of all kids in our state," she said.

Schultz concluded his presentation saying CTE programs satisfy essential needs for Utah's students and industry.

"We need to find ways to get kids off of their cellphones, get them interacting and get them doing things with their hands and learning these types of skills," he said. "And I think this is the perfect program for that to happen."

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