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Letter: Put the education ‘specialists’ in the classroom

(Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo)  Hillcrest High School in Canyons School District.

(Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo) Hillcrest High School in Canyons School District.

I wonder what would happen if public education took all the specialists, coaches, administrators, directors, assistants, board members, state wonks, consultants and other miscellaneous experts and put them in classrooms to help kids?

I wonder what would happen if we took a year moratorium on testing and got students back from charter schools?

What if the Utah State Board of Education had continued to offer free professional development to teachers? Would we still need to be coached, and co-plan and co-teach with “specialists”? (Yes, it has come to that.)

What if we quit paying out millions to consultants who shame and blame test results on teachers? Could we lose all of these experts who are so smart to get out of the classroom, just get a high-paying job trying to force outcomes out of the real teachers in the classrooms?

What if Utah had visionaries leading education instead of followers?

Linda Williams, Salt Lake City

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