Check out a few of Envision Utah’s education tools below to learn more about our research and our education projects.
Through a series of focus groups, surveys, and in-depth research studies, we’ve gathered valuable insights into Utahns’ hopes, concerns, and priorities for education across the state. Below, you’ll find a collection of reports and research findings that shed light on key themes and challenges, as well as opportunities to strengthen our education system for generations to come.
EDUCATION REPORTS
2025 Utah College Advising Corps (UCAC) Report →
Summary: Key findings from high school student and college advisor interviews about access, readiness, and barriers to higher education.
2025 Teacher Focus Group Report→
Summary: Perspectives from teachers across Utah on current challenges, resources, and policy priorities in K–12 classrooms.
2025 Values Study (Coming Soon)→
Summary: A comprehensive look into Utahns' deeply held values around education, student success, and future preparedness.
2024–2025 College Student Career Survey (Coming Soon)→
Summary: Insights from Utah college students on career aspirations, perceived preparation, and alignment with state workforce demands.
Barriers to Higher Education →
One of our goals at Envision Utah is to encourage more Utah students to pursue some level of education after high school. In the summer of 2023, we offered a survey for high school students that will help us better understand the factors that influence students’ post-high school decisions so we can better encourage or facilitate greater post-secondary achievement.
In 2016, Envision Utah surveyed the general public to gain a greater understanding of how Utahns think about and value education in our society. This report outlines those findings.
Vision for Teacher Excellence Webinar
We understood that the events of 2020 were likely to make Utah’s teacher shortage even worse and have heightened the need for world-class teachers in every classroom.
That’s why in October of 2020, we hosted a webinar to hear from our staff and two members of the group that generated the Vision for Teacher Excellence: Derek Miller, President & CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber, and Dr. Sydnee Dickson, State Superintendent of Public Instructions.
Check out the webinar to learn more, or visit our Teacher Vision page for greater detail.
Envision Utah Education Blogs
CELEBRATING UTAH TEACHERS' STARTING SALARY INCREASE
Education | December 2023 | Stephanie Ott & Jason Brown
Utah recently achieved a milestone in education by raising starting teachers' salaries to $60,000 in eight school districts, potentially mitigating the state's teacher shortage. While current data shows Utah's teacher vacancies have remained steady compared to other states with a 35% increase, concerns arise about the future shortage due to declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs, prompting upcoming surveys to understand student perspectives and encourage more individuals to pursue teaching careers.
WE'RE GETTING CLOSER ON TEACHER PAY, BUT ARE WE THERE YET?
Education | March 2023 | Stephanie Ott & Jason Brown
Utah has already been grappling with a teacher shortage for over a decade—but, as with almost everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the problem. As K–12 schools navigate coronavirus testing, hybrid teaching and learning, and the stress of a global health crisis, teachers are leaving the classroom in even greater numbers than they have in previous years. And with all this stress and uncertainty, it’s likely that fewer and fewer college students might decide to pursue careers in education. At the same time, though, it has become even more critical that our classrooms are led by the best, brightest, and most adaptable people our stateUtah has to offer.
TEACHER PAY IS ABOUT STUDENT SUCCESS
Education | February 2021 | Nain Christopherson
Teacher pay is not just about teachers. Of course, it starts out being about teachers. Like all other professionals, educators deserve to be compensated for their skills and expertise. They should have the resources they need to be successful in their jobs. But the benefits of improving teacher pay extend far beyond teachers’ own finances—all the way to students’ academic performance and even their attitudes about education. If we raise teacher pay, more people—and, importantly, more highly qualified people—will want to become teachers. From there, classroom instruction will improve, and since teachers are the single most impactful factor in a child’s school experience, so will student outcomes.
SOLVING THE TEACHER SHORTAGE WHEN THE WORLD IS ON FIRE
Education | January 2021 | Nain Christopherson
Utah has already been grappling with a teacher shortage for over a decade—but, as with almost everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the problem. As K–12 schools navigate coronavirus testing, hybrid teaching and learning, and the stress of a global health crisis, teachers are leaving the classroom in even greater numbers than they have in previous years. And with all this stress and uncertainty, it’s likely that fewer and fewer college students might decide to pursue careers in education. At the same time, though, it has become even more critical that our classrooms are led by the best, brightest, and most adaptable people our stateUtah has to offer.
RAISING UTAH TEACHER SALARIES WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING
Education | March 2020 | Nain Christopherson & Jason Brown
In the fall of 2019, Envision Utah released a set of recommended changes to our school system aimed at ending the teacher shortage and improving student outcomes statewide. The report – “A Vision for Teacher Excellence” – received substantial media coverage, was recommended for inclusion in the governor’s 2020 budget by the Education Excellence Commission and factored into tax reform discussions on Capitol Hill. Its most notable suggestion was that all Utah teacher salaries be raised to an average starting pay of $60,000 and grow to $110,000 by retirement.
Your Utah, Your Future Podcast Education Series
EPISODE #15: “EDUCATION (PART 2)”
Tune in for Part 2 in our series on education in Utah, which is all about teachers! In today's episode, we're doing a deep dive into one of the top challenges facing the teaching profession today—Utah’s teacher shortage. We sit down with the experts to talk about what the teacher shortage actually looks like, its' impacts across the profession, and a few of the other top challenges teachers in Utah are facing today.
Then we look at the Vision for Teacher Excellence: a detailed analysis of the top recommendations for improving students’ outcomes in Utah, including strategies to not only stabilize the teaching profession but optimize it as well—and the right compensation is the key.
Special thanks to our expert guests for joining us in this episode: Aaryn Birchell, English teacher at Uintah High School, Nain Christopherson, Language Arts and Reading teacher at West High School, Mary Burbank, Director of the Urban Institute for Teacher Education in the College of Education at the University of Utah, and Keith McMullin, CEO of the Deseret Management Corporation.
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EPISODE #14: “EDUCATION (PART 1)”
Tune in for part one of our series on education in Utah! In this series we’re looking at the importance of education, the challenges our education system is facing, and what the future of education can look like in Utah.
In our first episode, we sit down with the experts to lay the groundwork for everything a Utahn needs to know about our state’s education system and the impacts it has on our communities.
Thank you to our expert guests for joining us in this episode including, Brittney Cummins, Senior Advisor of Education to Governor Spencer Cox, Theresa Foxley, former President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, Dr. Sydnee Dickson, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Dr. Richard Nye, Superintendent of Granite School District.
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