From Deseret News archives:
Leavitt and education
He stuck to goals, but how much did they help?
With news media in tow, he would walk schoolkids across a busy street; sport a Cat-in-the-Hat cap and read to little ones; gather elementary students around him to announce how much money he wanted to give schools.
More than half of the initiatives he rolled out in 11 state-of-the-state speeches addressed education primarily, elementary, middle and high schools.
Some of the initiatives caught on. Others faded into obscurity, though they continue in a few school districts alternative middle schools in Box Elder County, for instance.
Leavitt believes he has left schools in better shape than they were in 1992, when voters elected the Cedar City native to lead the state for the first of three terms.
"My goal as governor has been to leave it better than I found it, plant seeds for a future generation, and give it all I have," said Leavitt, fresh from one in a series of U.S. Senate hearings before he was confirmed last month as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
And I hope the things we have done have sown seeds of improvement."
Politically, Leavitt has done well for schools, many public education officials say. He has kept schools at the center of attention in the legislative budgeting process, and their needs and concerns at the forefront of public discussion.
And his successor, Gov. Olene Walker, made it clear during her inauguration speech Wednesday that she would continue that legacy.
"Truly effective political leaders mobilize the thinking of citizens. They communicate a vision and inspire us to do better," said Richard West, professor and executive director of Utah State University's Center for the School of the Future. "We've got a long ways to go (in education), but it's exciting. It's not that we don't know how to be better; we just have got to figure out ways of providing a complete implementation of what works."
Leavitt, in his 1992 run for governor, outlined ways to do just that. He touted long-term improvements over more quick or radical fixes, including vouchers for private school tuition. And that won Leavitt, a moderate Republican, a loyal following that included the 18,000-member Utah Education Association.
Over time, Leavitt has not wavered from his education goals, from literacy to class-size reduction.
Comments
- The Light of Thy Childhood Again 12:13 a.m.
- Touching others with your life 12:12 a.m.
- You gotta cook 12:12 a.m.
- Mormon chaplain honored 12:12 a.m.
- Mormon Times national calendar 12:12 a.m.
- Oklahoma Mormons win trivia night 12:11 a.m.
- Flames shutout Red Wings 12:06 a.m.
- Ute tribe halts fish hatchery 12:04 a.m.
- Sports on the air 12:01 a.m.
- Griz lose to Aces 11:59 p.m.
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
264 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
211 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
202 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
133 - Boys basketball rankings
128 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
112 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
109 - Letters: Trump card for believers
93 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
84
I wanted to tell them not to go. I dropped subtle hints. "My money is on...
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....
I thought it was a great parade. Isn't it the only one in Salt Lake County?...
is struggling in some aspects of his game. We saw what he did last year early...
Having explored caves as a youth and spent 31 yrs working occasionally...
How do the Utes continue to do this? They are bad enough to lose to lousy...
A little help here. Harmon says Utah should be on a 3-0 win streak. I assume...
disgruntled parents need to stay off the blogs...
Honk if you intercepted Max Hall.
however it pertinent to look at their schedule and then look at ours. Because...
and there are no ute fans, only bandwagon fans, nice try though
Maybe you need to check the rebounding stats. Only JT had more rebounds and...




You can be the first to comment on this story.