Bishop Cheers Utah/USDA Agreement
WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue & Utah Governor Gary Herbert announced the implementation of actions stemming from a Shared Stewardship agreement between the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Following the announcement, Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01) issued this statement:
“This agreement will help to address the persistent and devastating wildfire problem. The state has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to wisely manage the land and now Utah will be all the more armed to combat these fires through active management. Utah resources will be supported; Utah communities will be safer; and Utah watersheds will be protected.
“I applaud Governor Herbert for pursuing this agreement and I am heartened to know that Secretary Perdue recognizes Utah’s strength.”
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Tuesday, July 16th Stories:
Time for education to match Neil Armstrong's giant leap....
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A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.
50 years ago this week, man walked on the moon. The space race propelled us to embrace and lead the world in science. Today our nation’s schools are lagging and are lacking in the scientific, technological advances that once allowed us to do the impossible. What is stopping us?
ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY. Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” allowed us to conquer outer SPACE, but we cannot seem to provide REAL SPACE for students to gain their own moonshot in communities nationwide. In Washington, DC, incomprehensible hostility toward choice for poor kids is still preventing one million square feet of abandoned school buildings to charter schools. The educrats strategy is clear - isolate, restrict attendance and strangle competition by any means available, no matter how many needy kids are hurt in the process. Besides D.C., we have other sad examples in Bedford, Massachusetts, Charlotte, North Carolina, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The establishment’s view is apparently that empty space is better than the space that will propel all students to do do to better, no matter where or how they learn.
ONE GIANT LEAP… BACKWARDS? As a point of reference from the “return on investment” file, the total cost of the Apollo Program in today’s dollars was about $200 billion, from which humanity reaped literally thousands of advances in technology and other disciplines that made millions of lives better. In the past 8 years California has spent an extra $28 billion per year on education. The results? Thirty two percent of California’s eighth graders are proficient in reading while twenty nine percent are proficient in math. That’s just one state. These sad results have been repeated many times over across the country – the “Big Ed” version of one giant leap – backwards.
INNOVATION GOT US TO THE MOON...can it get us to excellent education for all? The engineers and scientists of Apollo were risk takers and innovators willing to try new approaches – exactly the formula for success that charters use. The importance of teaching innovation is not lost on Charles Sosnik, who argues that “It is possible to create an innovative, open, creative and trustworthy place for students to grow, take risks, and feel comfortable in their own patterns of learning. It begins with the teacher. She sets the tone of the class from the minute students walk into the building. Most teachers were trained to educate solely from the teacher’s point of view. To change this type of delivery and make the classroom more innovative, she needs to think about her students as leaders too–acting as a guide rather than teaching content and asking students to spill out information on a standardized test.”
Sounds like the kind of learning going on mainly outside the traditional system, don’t you think?
17TH STRAIGHT GIANT LEAP. Huge kudos to The Villages Charter School in The Villages, Florida for receiving its 17th straight "A" rating from the Florida Department of Education. The school grade was based on test scores in specific categories, including English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. Students at the school continue to take giant leaps – space suits optional –as they navigate to success in whatever life journey they choose.
STARS IN THE SKY FOR DYSLEXIC STUDENTS. Just a few hundred planets west of the Sunshine state sits the brand spanking new Pinecrest Impact Academy in Fort Collins, Colorado. With a heavy emphasis on STEAM subjects, the smart folks at Pinecrest explain that the goal is to “bring every student to literacy proficiency in every grade”, because “children who cannot read cannot self-actuate.” The lucky students have specific, individual needs. Those will be fulfilled by specific, individual solutions. Because that’s what meaningful choice and innovation do.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT WITH SENATOR LANDRIEU. Talk about stars! This week’s episode of Reality Check with Jeanne Allen has Jeanne chatting with an increasingly rare commodity - a politician who spoke her mind and didn’t shy away from bucking the conventional wisdom in her party. Louisiana Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu was a leading booster in Congress of charter schools, and she pulls no punches in discussing the state of the charter movement, the current crop of Democrat candidates, President Trump and state of public affairs today. Tune in for a real breath of fresh air.
HILLARY BOOED AT NEA CONVENTION. Her star rose and fell that day. Okay, okay – it was 4 years ago when she was running for President, but we present this as a sad sign of the NEA’s zero tolerance for any dissent from their obsolete concept of education. What were the radical ideas that prompted the boos? Take a gander: “When schools get it right, whether they’re traditional public schools or public charter schools, let’s figure out what’s working and share it with schools across America,” she said to audible boos from the audience. “Rather than starting from ideology, let’s start from what’s best for our kids.” The boo birds obviously recognized that if “what’s best for our kids” is the guiding principle, most of their precepts are obsolete and non-starters. Though she later did a back slide netting their support, it didn’t get her the nomination. Should be a lesson to all you candidates out there!
We end on a good note…
NEW BEGINNINGS WHERE AMERICA’S DAY BEGINS. We are heartened that the little island of Guam is moving to expand charter schools! While the 7 additional charter schools are not as many as needed) , the move passed the Senate by a 12 – 2 margin. As the bill’s author said, "You're looking at what the public is wanting, the parents are wanting for their children and complying with them." Complying with what parents want for their children…are you listening, Randi, Mayor deBlasio, Bernie, and all those allegedly progressive parents who have the money to live in “better” school districts (usually white) and show up at hearings decrying the charter schools that help everyone else??
Drop us a line, as always, please reach out with any input and suggestions.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
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Sutherland Institute announces new board chair
SALT LAKE CITY—Today Sutherland Institute announced Stan Swim has stepped down from its Board of Directors after more than a decade of service. Ron Daw, a seasoned entrepreneur who co-founded Daw Technologies, has taken his place.
“I’m grateful to have served as part of Sutherland’s board for the last 12 years, and for what the Institute has accomplished in that time as we have pursued the vision of my father, Gaylord Swim,” Stan Swim said. “Dad was not a native Utahn, so he looked at our state’s culture and opportunities with a special gratitude. He founded Sutherland 25 years ago to help strengthen what he valued about our people and communities, and I believe he would be pleased with the influence Sutherland has today. He would also keep challenging us to be and do better at what he termed ‘making sound ideas broadly popular.’ Ron Daw brings exactly the perspective and capability to meet this challenge, and I’m confident that he, Rick, and the Sutherland team will continue on with great success.”
“I, along with the other members of the Sutherland board, want to express our deepest gratitude to Stan for establishing a strong foundation on which we will have the opportunity to build,” Daw said. “Sutherland’s future is bright, and I look forward to working with the board and the incredible team at Sutherland led by its capable CEO and president, Rick Larsen.
“My goal is to further establish Sutherland as a respected institution through democratizing its brand in Utah and throughout the United States. I believe that we can be a significant creator and distributor of content that will help people understand the issues that we face today and create an inviting, inclusive platform that will bring people together. We will continue to emphasize our commitment to faith, family and free markets, and to promoting solutions that serve community needs and build on areas of agreement. I, with Sutherland, believe that policy matters, principles matter more, and people matter most.
“My thanks to the Sutherland Board for the confidence and trust they have placed in me.
As we move forward into this next chapter, the members of our board will be actively involved in contributing to the success of Sutherland. I am committed to expanding a board that will demonstrate inclusivity and diversity while staying true to our mission.”
“Successful organizations are built on the shoulders of its leaders,” Larsen said. “Stan Swim has ensured that Sutherland will remain true to the vision of its founder – his father, Gaylord Swim.
“Ron Daw will apply these founding principles as we explore new avenues for growth and innovation. The Sutherland mission remains – to serve Utah policymakers by convening voices on all sides of an issue, promoting community-driven solutions, informing public policy with independent research, and empowering informed and engaged citizens. It’s a mission that has never been more important. Thanks to Stan and the Swim family, Sutherland can stand amid division and turbulence, offering a bright hope for this and each subsequent generation’s New Birth of Freedom.”
About Stan Swim:
Stan Swim recently accepted the position of vice president of programs and partnerships at the Bill of Rights Institute. He previously served as the president of GFC Foundation, a Utah-based grantmaking foundation. He was senior analyst for Probity Advisors, a registered investment advisor in Dallas. He worked in the technology industry as a software engineer and database developer. He serves on the board of the State Policy Network and was board chairman of the National Council for Adoption for four years. Stan received an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BS in computer science from Utah Valley University.
About Ron Daw:
Ron is currently founding partner of Viaggio Resorts, which is developing a network of high-end fractional owned properties throughout Europe. Ron is also a founding partner in Warboy Productions, which is producing an episodic TV series about a 10-year-old boy’s journey to become a man after being separated from his family following an EMP strike in North America. Ron is also a founding partner of a Utah-based film production company making a series about the renovation of a 200-year-old palace in Italy. Previously Ron was CFO of The Chosen LLC, which produced a multi-season TV series on the life of Jesus Christ. Ron was a co-founder, CEO and chairman of Daw Technologies Inc., which was the leading global turnkey supplier of integrated ultraclean manufacturing environments to the worldwide semiconductor market. Ron served on the board of trustees at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, and was a finalist in Utah for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award – an award that recognizes outstanding and innovative entrepreneurial business leaders from nominees in more than 125 cities and 40 countries.
