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Voices: How Utahns can build a better education system — in spite of national uncertainty

Poor educational outcomes are primarily due to enormously complex socio-economic factors – and these socio-economic challenges simply cannot be addressed by schools alone.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Individual classrooms hold hands as they exit school buses.

As with many things related to federal policy at this time, there is enormous uncertainty around education programs, funding and federal vs. state vs. local roles in providing the best possible education to our nation’s children.

As school district superintendents, mayors and business and community leaders, we are all practitioners and champions of local, community driven approaches to improving educational outcomes for kids. Promise Partnership Utah, a network of community-based cross-sector partnerships, works to empower families, inspire students, rally support for teachers and mobilize the power of communities to help every child succeed. We do so through education programs for new parents, high quality preschool, community schools that remove barriers to learning, mentoring, tutoring and out-of-school time programs to enhance learning, and post-secondary planning and support to graduate from high school on a career path.

Utah has tremendous educators and does well in many measures compared to other states. It is also true that too many of our children are not reading on grade level, not proficient in math and science and are not prepared for college or career when they graduate high school.

Addressing these challenges effectively requires acknowledging that poor educational outcomes are primarily due to enormously complex socio-economic factors — and these socio-economic challenges simply cannot be addressed by schools alone.

Because of that, the work of improving educational outcomes must be understood as a team sport. Like any other team that expects to succeed, we must build a teamwork infrastructure that allows many organizations within a community to work together with shared goals, clear roles, a single game plan and effective measurement aimed at continuous improvement.

This type of team approach to improving outcomes is often referred to as “place-based infrastructure” or “civic impact infrastructure.” It starts with family empowerment and embraces shared local accountability for better results. It is parents, teachers, superintendents, business leaders, mayors, local and state government leaders, volunteers, faith communities, philanthropies and nonprofits — all aligning efforts, measuring progress and honestly confronting challenges together. This type of local team infrastructure doesn’t occur randomly, it must be built and sustained over time.

Imagine if every community worked in this way — relentlessly pursuing improved educational outcomes in ways that bring together the best of what people, neighborhoods, cities, regions and our nation has to offer. We are proud to be part of Promise Partnership Utah and the civic impact infrastructure that enables us to work together as a team.

Analyses of schools and communities that use this approach show better reading and math outcomes and higher graduation rates compared to schools and communities without this infrastructure. We even see other benefits like reductions in crime and improvements in health in communities that have fully committed to this approach.

Regardless of how the federal uncertainty plays out, place-based civic impact infrastructure is essential. The current debate about roles in education should focus more on the critical and harder work of supporting what is working with adequate funding — including building the local civic impact infrastructure necessary for all our children to be on the path to economic mobility. Our hope is that more schools and communities embrace this approach. To learn more and to become part of the Promise Partnership team, visit www.promisepartnership.org.

(Harris H. Simmons) Harris H. Simmons is the chairman and chief executive officer of Zions Bancorporation.

Harris H. Simmons is the chairman and chief executive officer of Zions Bancorporation, a $90 billion (assets) bank holding company that operates over 400 full-service banking offices throughout 11 western states. He has served as chairman or president of the American Bankers Association, Utah Symphony, Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah Foundation, Utah Board of Higher Education, Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and Shelter the Homeless, Inc. He currently chairs the Utah’s Promise Philanthropic Alliance which aligns philanthropic and policy efforts to support Promise Partnership Utah.

(Cherie Wood) Cherie Wood is a trailblazing leader and lifelong resident of South Salt Lake, where she became the city’s first female mayor in 2010.

Mayor Cherie Wood is a trailblazing leader and lifelong resident of South Salt Lake, where she became the city’s first female mayor in 2010. Her guiding philosophy—“What I wish for my family, I wish for everyone in my community”—led to the formation of Promise South Salt Lake, a groundbreaking initiative providing free youth, adult, and family programs that empower more than 3,000 individuals annually, and part of Promise Partnership Utah. Under Mayor Wood’s leadership, South Salt Lake has become a national model for community stabilization and commitment to student success.

This op-ed is co-signed by the following members of Promise Partnership Utah and Utah’s Promise Philanthropic Alliance:

Dustin Gettel is the mayor of Midvale.

Ben Nadolski is the mayor of Ogden.

Mark Shepherd is the mayor of Clearfield.

Jeff Silvestrini is the mayor of Millcreek.

Erin Mendenhall is the mayor of Salt Lake City.

Elizabeth Grant is the superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District.

Ben Horsely is the superintendent of the Granite School District.

Dan Linford is the superintendent of the Davis School District.

Luke Rasmussen is the superintendent of the Ogden School District.

Greg Peterson is president of Salt Lake Community College.

Scott Anderson is the former CEO of Zions Bank.

Lauren Call is a board member of the Call to Action Foundations.

Bill Crim is the CEO of Utah’s Promise and United Way of Salt Lake.

Lisa Eccles is the president and COO of the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation.

Christian Gardner is the President and CEO of The Gardner Group

Crystal Maggelet is the CEO and chair of FJ Management, Inc.

Kathie Miller is trustee of the Mark and Kathie Miller Foundation.

Mark Miller is trustee of the Mark and Kathie Miller Foundation.

The Salt Lake Tribune is committed to creating a space where Utahns can share ideas, perspectives and solutions that move our state forward. We rely on your insight to do this. Find out how to share your opinion here, and email us at voices@sltrib.com.