Article Follow Up: School Board Maverick Stirs Teacher Debate at Legislature (Tribune)

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  The above picture is the article that ran in today’s  front page of the Tribune. This same article is in electronic version with a different title: Lawmakers: Is Salt Lake City School District Serving West Side Students This blog entry is more of a follow up to the article in order to address the multiple emails and phone calls I am receiving from those that want clarification on several issues reported in the Tribune. … Continue reading →

Education Task Force: School Governance Testimony (Audio)

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  Audio of Michael Clara Testimony – BROKEN AUDIO LINK REPAIRS IN PROGRESS see below for other option  “Board members have historically been criticized for not getting involved in diagnosing problems or developing constructive solutions, as well as evading opportunities to become creatively proactive. Consequently, some scholars suggest that this is has resulted in a shift in local control to the state level.” Local District Responsiveness: Who Governs, Who Participates, And Who Gets Represented? University … Continue reading →

Lawmakers: Is Salt Lake City School District Serving West Side Students? (Tribune)

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Lawmakers: Is Salt Lake City School District serving west side students? BY RAY PARKER THESALT LAKETRIBUNE PUBLISHED: AUGUST 27, 2013 09:32PM UPDATED: AUGUST 27, 2013 10:18PM Utah lawmakers on an Education Task Force questioned Tuesday how well the Salt Lake City School District is serving children in west-side schools, encouraging school board member Michael Clara to continue investigating. Clara filed a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights in February, asserting there are too many inexperienced … Continue reading →

Public School Bureaucracy Running Amock (Again!)

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As a local elected official, the Utah state legislature has given me the authority to exercise my fiduciary duty over the finances of the school district (Utah Code 53A-3-402) My neighbors decided at the ballot box, that I should have the power to exercise that authority. I find myself, yet again, attempting to navigate the road blocks that the school district bureaucracy throws in my path. Case in point: I recently filed a  GRAMA Request … Continue reading →

PACE: Partnership for Accessing College Education

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpSV86c7N8o#t=12 While attending West High 9th Grade Orientation, I learned about the PACE Program. It is a two year scholarship for tuition at SLCC. PACE—Partnerships for Accessing College Education—is a program created to increase college participation and graduation rates for underserved high school students. The project was created by a partnership between local high schools, businesses, and Salt Lake Community College (SLCC).   Eligibility requirements to become a PACE Scholar Students must be 9th grade freshmen at West, … Continue reading →

West High School: 9th Grade Orientation

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Had a great time this morning at West High’s 9th grade orientation. We all met in the auditorium and then broke up into five groups and we rotated into various workshops. I was particularity impressed with the fact  that the staff and administration was aware of the dropout rate of their freshmen and were not afraid to to embrace that ‘truth’. Unlike the mindset and masking I see happening in the Echo Chamber (school board … Continue reading →