Utah

Great Public Schools Criteria

Great Public Schools Criteria refers to the seven elements needed for closing the achievement gaps and raising achievement for all students. The seven elements are: (1) readiness to learn, (2) high expectations, (3) quality conditions, (4) qualified staff, (5) accountability, (6) parental involvement, and (7) funding.

Read more below about the Great Public Schools Criteria in Utah.

Readiness to Learn

Full-day Kindergarten:

• State Policy: A definition of the minimum number of hours for full-day kindergarten is not specified in Utah state statutes. Districts are not required to offer full-day kindergarten and children are not required to attend. Utah provides the same level of funding for both half-day kindergarten and full-day kindergarten.
• Definition, District Offering and Pupil Attendance: Utah defines kindergarten as 450 hours per year.
• Funding: Utah provides less funding for full-day kindergarten than for grades 1-3. Source: Education Commission of the States (ECS) Kindergarten Database, 2007

In 2002, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $3.9 million to Centro de la Familia  in Salt Lake City to continue its Migrant Head Start program for one year. Centro de la Familia de Utah is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1975 to address the unmet needs of the Latino community. The center's Migrant Head Start program offers comprehensive child development services that include education, health and family services, parent involvement, services to children with disabilities, transportation, and nutrition components for low-income, mobile migrant children and their families. Seven sites throughout Utah serve over 2,000 children and their parents. (UDE)

Quality Conditions

Class Size. Legal Basis: UTAH CODE ANN. § 53A – 17a-124.5. Enacted 1992 This statute mandates that districts must reduce average class size in grades K-8, with emphasis on K-2.  The budgeted state contribution, for the 2004-5 fiscal year, toward the class size reduction program is $65,902.946. (UTAH CODE ANN. § 53a-17a-1404) Current Average Elementary School Class Size: 23.7

Accountability

Utah does not reward or sanction districts on the basis of performance. The schools too are neither rewarded nor sanctioned on the basis of performance.