Utahns envision education as the key to improving their quality of life and creating better communities for themselves and for future generations.
Why We Focus on Education
At Envision Utah, we believe education is one of the most powerful tools to shape a thriving future for all Utahns. Through extensive engagement with parents, students, and community members, we’ve heard a clear and consistent message: education should prepare our children not just for tests—but for life.
Utahns expect education to:
Create a better quality of life and lift families out of poverty
Build confidence in students to pursue their goals and prepare them for life’s challenges
Strengthen our communities, economy, and future as a state
That’s why our education work is focused on understanding what matters most to Utahns, removing barriers to opportunity, and supporting innovative, practical solutions that help every student succeed—regardless of background or zip code. We’re not just imagining a better future. We’re working together to build it—starting with education.
To help illustrate these solutions, we have broken up our work into two major pillars.
Support Great Teachers
Our education staff worked with a task force of Utah’s most influential minds in education, business, and policy to tackle an important unanswered question: in Utah's current market, how do we need to compensate teachers in order to attract our best and brightest into the profession—and keep them in the classroom long-term? Together we’ve answered that question.
Look Beyond High School
In response to declining college and postsecondary enrollment rates, Envision Utah’s education team is working to better understand—and address—the barriers that keep students from pursuing opportunities beyond high school. Drawing on recent focus groups, surveys, and expert insights, we’ve identified key challenges such as rising costs, widespread misinformation, and limited awareness of available resources. With guidance from our education steering committee, we’ve developed a clear, student-centered vision that helps young Utahns see the value of continuing their education and equips them with the tools and confidence to take the next step.
Learn more
The Background
Since its initiation in 2013, the Your Utah, Your Future effort uncovered that Utahns value children more than anything. They recognize that a high-quality education is critically important to build great communities and to provide their kids with a good life. Well-educated people have better opportunities to get good jobs and provide for their families. Through education, people also gain knowledge and experience that make them better citizens, which in turn leads to a better, more secure community for themselves and future generations.
An educated workforce attracts employers and fosters innovation, creating a robust economy. In fact, Utah economists rate workforce education levels as having a greater impact on the state’s economy than any other factor. Those with postsecondary education also tend to be:
More civically engaged through voting and volunteering
Healthier
Less likely to be incarcerated
Less likely to commit crimes
Less likely to need social services, such as food stamps, unemployment benefits, etc.
In sum, education is the key to a safe, prosperous, and neighborly community.
We want to help Utahns understand what we can do together, to improve education. Explore the videos below to learn more about My Education, Our Future.