Hewlett Packard and Idaho Business for Education have released the initial results from a extensive five-month study of education and the economy in the Gem State.
Recommendations range from focusing on early literacy to dealing with mental health issues in Idaho schools that are detracting from teaching and college and career counseling. HP funded the study itself, including bringing in experts and contacting 2-thousand Idahoans through surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Company officials say the study comes from HP’s desire for an educated workforce.
Researchers say the main finding is a consensus from business, students, teachers, parents, stakeholders, and others that Idaho’s education system needs to equip kids with “grit and determination, personal responsibility, and flexibility to learn technologies and fill jobs of the future.
The study’s top five recommendations include a statewide vision for education that honors local autonomy; a focus on literacy, from pre-K to 3rd grade; amplifying college and career pathways, so students as early as middle school know what’s available to them; elevating the teaching profession so teachers feel valued, including addressing appropriate credentialing in subject areas being taught; and urgently addressing mental health issues.
The study will go to Governor Brad Little’s newly formed education improvement task force. (Idaho-Press)
