Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 1

8 I t’s been several months since the Legislature approved SB 38. I hope all of you are enjoying the fruits of SB 38. I think I speak for the entire charter school community in extending a hearty “Thank you!” to the Legislature for embracing funding equity for all students in public education. SB 38 will make it possible for us to fulfill the promises we’ve made to the tens of thousands of students in our charter schools. They chose your school because of these promises, and their confidence in your ability to fulfill those promises. Most Utah charter schools are succeeding in meeting those promises, and SB 38 is helping us do even better. In establishing charter schools, the Legislature asked us to make some promises to them also. They view us as education laboratories, where we can experiment with new ways of succeeding in the classroom. And we need to keep them, and our colleagues in the school districts, apprised of what we’re learning. Sharing our stories and our lessons allows them to see new ways to adopt and adapt. In the context of SB 38, it’s even more important that we follow through on this. We need to take the opportunity to showcase how we are using these new funds. In some schools, the SB 38 money is going into teacher salaries. Other schools may be going into paraprofessionals. Some schools may be upgrading curriculum, technology or dozens of other options. I would very much like to know how you are using these new funds. The Promise of Charter Schools BY ROYCE VAN TASSELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UAPCS I think I speak for the entire charter school community in extending a hearty “Thank you!” to the Legislature for embrace funding equity for all students in public education. SB 38 will make it possible for us to fulfill the promises we’ve made to the tens of thousands of students in our charter schools. They chose your school because of these promises, and their confidence in your ability to fulfill those promises.