United Way of Salt Lake

A Publication of United Way of Salt Lake
President and CEO Deborah Bayle Nielsen  

 COMMUNITY  

 MATTERS

Removing Education Barriers Empowers Children and Adults
Businesses looking to expand or relocate are attracted to Utah because of its young, educated workforce. That’s not surprising, since 51 percent of Utah’s children have at least one parent with a postsecondary degree, while the national average is 43 percent, according to Editorial Projects in Education, the nonprofit publisher of Education Week.

While we can take pride in our educated workforce, there are barriers to education that, if not taken down, will eventually impact our quality of life and diminish the economic health of the state. “Barriers to education” is one of the 17 priority problems identified in United Way of Salt Lake’s (UWSL) 2007 Community Assessment. These barriers come in a variety of forms, including language differences, insufficient funding and lack of support for teachers, insufficient early learning options, and accessibility problems. (Read the full article)
 
 Deborah S. Bayle
 President and CEO


IMPACT MATTERS

Overcoming Educational Barriers
Through the Community Learning Center Model


Barriers to education impact every age group, from toddlers to adult learners. But United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) and our Community Partners are working to overcome these barriers and put educational achievement within reach for all schoolchildren and adults.

For example, “foster grandparent” volunteers with Volunteers of America have tutored 276 students in just the past six months, helping them increase their reading level to their current grade or higher. And 85 percent of the children enrolled in a class for 4-year-olds at Guadalupe Schools increased their school readiness by 40 percent.

But to more fully address barriers to education in our community, United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) has been developing a strategic initiative to strengthen the Community Learning Center (CLC) model within our service area. The CLC model is an integrated approach to addressing the roadblocks to learning. CLCs provide resources and services not only to students, but to entire families . By meeting the multiple needs of the family that often prevent learning—issues such as health issues, parent involvement, and school readiness—schools see an increase of student achievement and overall success.
(Read the full article)


July 26, 2007

Action Box

How are Utah’s high school students faring in basic skills testing? This Salt Lake Tribune article takes a look at the 26 percent failure rate for high school students taking the mandated UBSCT exit exam. See detailed UBSCT statistics from the Utah State Office of Education here.

IN THE NEWS
Community Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

- Cops say CHIP's mental health funding for troubled kids crucial
- Number of bankruptcies in Utah up 25% over '06
- Lawmakers agree on CHIP increase
- Foundation ignores realities of teaching in Utah
- Dual Immersion Academy aims to make students flourish in Spanish, English

Deseret Morning News

- Utah's tax system is called regressive despite reductions
- Health care in Utah gets high marks
- Utah may have gained 5,270 jobs
- Leavitt, Hatch in standoff over children's health insurance
- Utah fares well in report on U.S. children

Tooele Transcript

- County's health among poorest in state  

KCPW

- Healthcare Advocates Pleased With CHIP Proposal
- Citizenship Drive Helps Immigrants Apply Before Fee Hike

Chron.com

- Dual language education strengthens children in two idioms

San Francisco Chronicle

- Senate panel OKS expansion of child health insurance

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE


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CALENDAR


United Way Day of Caring -- Sept. 6.

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