In a few short days, the back-to-school bells will ring again, and more than 670,000 students across Utah will return to the classroom, learning content, sharpening life skills and forming friendships, as they continue along the path of growth and self-discovery.
The last few years have been challenging, to say the least. This year, parents, educators and students face a daunting challenge: How to create a supportive and inclusive educational environment that transcends the divisive narratives that have come to permeate our society in recent years. In an era of unprecedented polarization, the pressing need to find common ground for our students has never been more apparent.
Our teachers and administrators are feeling the impacts of this phenomenon. One study conducted last year found that nearly half of all principals felt that political issues were causing stress in the workplace. Forty percent of teachers claimed the same. Another study found that a third of teachers and 60% of principals reported being harassed during the 2021-2022 school year over topics that have become politicized amid the growing ideological entrenchment that we are seeing both nationally and at the state level.
Amid the myriad of political differences that sometimes feel like they are pulling us apart, there are some things I know everybody can agree on: we want to see our children succeed. We want to procure a solid future for them so they can have the opportunity to achieve their dreams. We want to see them tap into their potential and one day grow into bright, knowledgeable, well-rounded adults who understand the importance of civic engagement and contributing to the betterment of their communities. We want a world-class education system focused on high academic standards and opportunities for all. It is here, in working for our children, that we can come together and find common ground.
Five years ago, Utah parents, teachers, students, and other members of the public who were interested in education initiatives, came together from various communities and backgrounds to share ideas about different ways to ensure students are prepared for the future. The convenings, surveys and focus groups centered on the topic of what we expect our students to know and be able to do when they leave our K-12 system. These conversations led to the creation of an aspirational framework system, Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate.
Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate focuses on three key areas: mastery, or the ability to demonstrate depth of knowledge and skill proficiency; autonomy, which is having the self-confidence and motivation to think and act independently; and purpose, which guides life decisions, shapes goals, offers a sense of direction and creates meaning. Many districts and charter schools have adopted, adapted or created their own version of a portrait of a graduate to ensure the work is community informed and contextually relevant.
In working with students, parents, educators and school administrators throughout the state, I have found that Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate and local portraits can serve as a useful tool for promoting the finding of common ground and collaboration across divergent viewpoints and ideologies. While the initiative itself may not explicitly address political divisions, its principles and emphasis on collaboration, critical thinking, empathy and civic engagement contribute to creating a more cohesive and understanding society.
The framework also encourages a collective effort toward shared goals that help to ensure the success of our students and, in turn, our society and our future. By emphasizing essential skills, character traits and holistic development, the initiative fosters an environment where individuals from various backgrounds can find common ground and work together more effectively. I encourage all parents, students and educators to examine the framework and see how it might be applied to your education and to the education of your children and your students.
There will always be problems to solve and challenges to face — that is an indisputable fact of life — but we need to remember that when these problems and challenges arise, solutions are often best achieved by finding common ground, rising up and working together. As a middle school teacher from Canyons School District recently said, “A student cannot ascend without a fabric of lives rising together around them.”
As we move into this new school year, I have hope that the polarization and bitter divisiveness we have all seen and experienced in recent years might start to give way to a spirit of cooperation, understanding and mutual respect. I believe that if we rise up and work together, empowering our local schools, supporting parents and educators, advocating for policies that are parent and community informed and student centered, we can start to find common ground while we work to inspire and prepare the next generation of leaders and lifelong learners.
Sydnee Dickson has been serving as Utah state superintendent of public instruction since June of 2016.