SALT LAKE CITY — Isaac Chavez admits his senior year at Roy High School was "kind of a struggle."
His parents both worked two jobs, and his older siblings had moved out of the house. But he also worked 40 hours a week at a fast-food job, which helped with the family income but made going to school and getting homework done somewhat of a chore.
Sometimes the urge to catch up on sleep was stronger than the motivation to go to school, he said.
"Literally, right after school, I'd have 15 minutes to hang out at my house and go straight to work," Chavez said. "I was kind of wandering around (and) didn't know what people expected from me. … I really didn't see any motivation in going to school."
That changed when Chavez got a knock on the door.
A student advocate from the school's counseling department came to see what was keeping Chavez out of the classroom and to invite him back to regular attendance. As he started coming to school again every day, school staff continued to check in and help him finish his senior year.
Now several months later, Chavez is a graduate of Roy High School and is making plans to go to medical school. It's a new trajectory he says is thanks to the potential others saw in him and new resources for students and teachers.
"Just that they showed caring and interest in me gave me a big motivation to finish, to keep on going," he said. "I was getting that interest back because people started caring. … It kind of made me realize if people care, I want to do my full 100 percent."
Education and business leaders hope to see a similar transformation happen for struggling students across the state with a continued goal of making Utah one of the top 10 states in the country for student outcomes.
To get there, business-driven education initiatives, including Education First, Prosperity 2020 and the Salt Lake Chamber, are calling on state lawmakers to consider a budget proposal that would boost education dollars in several key areas over the next five years.
"We would point out that the Legislature did a nice job last year," Prosperity 2020 chairman Alan Hall said at a news conference Thursday. "But there are several areas we would invite the Legislature to look at in this coming session that might improve the outcomes, not only short term, but long term."
Proposed investments
The budget proposal calls for $165 million in new money for K-12 education next year, most of which would go toward handling Utah's growing student population, as well as a 2 percent increase to the weighted pupil unit, the state's formula for equalized per-pupil funding.
By the end of the decade, business leaders hope to see Utah's education budget increase by almost $840 million, including $593 million for student population growth and yearly WPU increases.
In 2013, Utah ranked 22nd in the country for fourth-grade reading and math proficiency on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But the budget proposal designates $30 million for next year in targets to help Utah improve its performance.
Those targets include money for voluntary preschool, expansion of voluntary full-day kindergarten for at-risk students, technology in classrooms, and professional learning opportunities for teachers.
Utah's 2012 graduation rate of 78 percent, which has since risen by 5 percent, earned the state a rank of 25th among other states. To become a top 10 state in graduation rates, education advocates say next year should start with $4 million in new money for additional counselors and student mentors, and professional development for educators.
The budget proposal also asks lawmakers to provide $16 million to increase salaries for teachers, counselors and new educators.
Hall said he hopes lawmakers will consider the proposal as a more targeted approach to creating better student outcomes and a template on which to form a long-term plan for education in the state.
"We know that tax revenues vary from year to year based on the economy. But even so, having a plan, just saying, 'We're going to do so much every year no matter what,' is going to be helpful," he said. "It needs a consistent, year-after-year look based on that."
Higher education would also see increases if the Legislature followed the proposal. Traditionally, Utah's colleges and universities don't get extra funding each year for student population growth as K-12 schools do. But business leaders proposed making growth, access and affordability an ongoing budget item, starting at $9.2 million next year.
Utah is still about 20 percent short of having 66 percent of its workforce with a post-secondary certificate or degree by 2020. But to reach the state goal, the budget proposal asks for $25 million for strategies to spur higher college graduation rates and to form programs that align with economic needs.
The proposal also asks for $10 million for scholarships and $32.4 million for enhanced professor compensation.
"These are lofty aspirational goals, and we recognize the competition in the state," said Richard Kendell, co-chairman of Education First and former commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education. "But this is the single most strategic investment the state can make. If you want to see real progress over time, this is strategic, and we think it's the most important thing in the state."
What's worked
Part of what brought Chavez back to class was an initiative in the Weber School District to improve student proficiency and graduation rates, fueled by a one-time grant of $500,000 from the Hall Foundation and state funds.
Since 2013, the district has used the funding to add full-day kindergarten in several schools, and to hire additional school counselors and student advocates to visit struggling students more frequently.
Since then, educators have found that students who attended full-day kindergarten are 45 percent more likely to read proficiently than those who attended part-time kindergarten.
Truancy at Roy High School has dropped from 29 percent to 10 percent. In just one year, the school's graduation rate jumped from 71 percent to 95 percent, according to Principal Gina Butters.
"We know that the things that we're working on right now are making a difference," Butters said.
While the district adopted strategies that were similar to those outlined in the budget proposal by Prosperity 2020 and Education First, Butters said much of the success has been because of the autonomy given to local educators in administering the extra funding.
"I felt like it was from the grassroots level. Teachers, educators, principals, administrators, counselors all had a say in what areas we need to hit hard in order to make a difference," she said. "I'm really proud that it wasn't a plan that was imposed on us. It was one that we created."
It's an example of what could happen in other places if the Legislature follows the recommendations from business leaders, Butters said.
"I think they have to, No. 1, empower teachers and instructional leaders in the schools. They know what needs to happen," she said. "No. 2, realize that it doesn't take a lot of money. Really, $500,000 over 11 schools for one year is not a whole lot of money, especially if it's used right. But it's making all the difference for us."
Email: mjacobsen@deseretnews.com
Twitter: MorganEJacobsen