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By Lana Hiskey
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Janna Slye, a special education teacher at Sierra Bonita Elementary School in Spanish Fork, had the opportunity to meet with Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Lt. Governor Spencer J. Cox and Herbert’s Education Advisor Tami Pyfer. Others that were chosen to be a part of this elite committee included an elementary school principal, special education teacher mentor, high school counselor, elementary behavior unit teacher, elementary special education teacher, elementary teacher and high school teacher.
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Slye reported on the meeting recently before the Nebo School District Board of Education.
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Some of the celebrations of the meeting included discussion about grade schools, exceptional instructional leaders, Common Core, and Professional Learning Communities. Some educational challenges reported included performance pay, teacher salaries, year-end testing, class sizes and student behaviors.
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Herbert took the time to personally thank each educator in the meeting. He expressed commitment to increase Utah’s education ranking, and he intends to continue providing additional funding for education.
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Slye also told the board about the importance of strong leadership in Nebo district such as Mike Larsen, principal at Sierra Bonita.
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“Mr. Larsen is supportive and approachable and has the ability to create leaders throughout the school,” Slye said. “He exhibits quality leadership with his presence in school and classroom through interacting with students and supporting teachers.”
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Slye added, “The governor acknowledged teacher challenges and suggested we approach our school board and superintendent about inviting legislators into the classroom. The governor genuinely cares about education in Utah.”
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The board thanked Slye for reporting back on this important educational partnership with the governor of Utah.
