Politics Archives

Tag: Politics

#UTedChat Questions for 09/19 – Teacher Advocacy and Involvement

Written by Cody Plumhof on September 19, 2018. Posted in #utedchat, Advocacy.

Tonight’s #UTEdchat is hosted by Dave Horan (@downrightdave). Dave is an Innovative Learning Coach in Alpine School District and a former 4th-grade teacher. He is also a member of the UCET Board and a Hope Street Groups Utah Teacher Fellow and loves being involved with both groups and helping teachers in Utah. Dave will be leading tonight’s #UTedChat with an awesome topic of Teacher Advocacy and Involvement. Prepare for some great discussion and a lot of fun tonight.

If you haven’t already followed Dave via Twitter (@downrightdave) you should probably do so because it will help you to better follow the chat.

As always, please be sure to include #UTedChat in your responses so everyone participating can see your thoughts and ideas.

Q1- Who do you think the most influential decision-makers are in education? Explain.

Q2- What do you know about how decisions about education are made at a state, district, and school level? What would you like to know?

Q3 – What experiences have you had with your state/local school board members? If you haven’t had experiences, why would these relationships be important?

Q4 – How do the state and local school boards affect your life as an educator?

Q5 – Do you believe it’s important for teachers to be involved in local politics? Explain.

Q6 – How do teachers influence decisions made about education on a school, district, or state level?

Q7 – How can you help non-educators understand education issues on the ballot?

Dave Horan is the 2018 UCET Outstanding Young Educator of the Year as well as the 2018 Freedom Elementary Teacher of the Year. He spent 10 years in the classroom as a 4th-grade teacher and is currently an Innovative Learning Coach in Alpine School District. Dave is a Hope Street Group Utah Fellow as well as an elected UCET board member. He is the Inspiration of #DaveWeek and can often be found on Twitter talking education and LOTS of Utah Jazz and BYU sports.

You can follow Dave via Twitter at @downrightdave.

– Chat Archive available via Wakelet.

Get Ready for the 2017 Legislative Session!

Written by Charice Carroll on January 12, 2017. Posted in Uncategorized.

It is almost time for that most wonderful time of the year…the Utah State Legislative Session. Beginning January 23 and running through March 9, the 2017 session promises to be exciting and, as always, to have a big impact on education. Several bills have already been filed that will affect different areas of education and more bills are expected. If you are interested in keeping up with the latest happenings at the State Legislature, there are several resources that can help you track bills and other events. Some of the more helpful sites are:

Utah State Legislature: http://le.utah.gov/

The official page of the State Legislature is the best place to get updated info on Bills and other happenings during the sessions. It also has helpful tools like a list of all legislators and their contacts, a feature to look up who your representatives are based on your address, and live streams and recordings of many proceedings going on during the sessions.

USBE Legislative Page: http://www.schools.utah.gov/law/Legislative-Session.aspx

The Utah State Board of Education page includes documents outlining the USBE Legislative Priorities and tracking of Education Bills. One of the best features of this page is the “Public Education Legislative Summary” that is available after the session has concluded. This gives a really concise overview of all the outcomes of the session. It includes archives of past sessions, which can be interesting for comparative purposes.

UEA Issues & Action Page: http://www.myuea.org/issues_action/uea_under_the_dome.aspx

The UEA has a team that spends countless hours at every legislative session and keeps a detailed record of how the session is proceeding. In addition, UEA sponsors the “UEA Educator Day on the Hill” every Friday during the session for all educators who would like to become involved. The schedule and more information can be found on the above page.

The Legislative Session can be an uncertain and stressful time for educators. The more we stay involved and informed, the better we are prepared to make a difference in our profession.