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Utah board highlights statewide writing supports after survey finds many educators lack confidence
Summary
Superintendent Dixon reported a statewide professional-learning effort to boost classroom writing instruction after a survey found roughly half of educators said they lacked confidence teaching writing. The program enrolled nearly 225 teachers from a field of more than 400 applicants and will follow workshops with coaching.
Superintendent Dixon told the State Board that a recent survey of Utah educators showed roughly 50–57% of respondents lacked confidence teaching writing, prompting a new statewide professional-learning initiative focused on writing instruction and coaching.
Dixon said the state opened an application window in March and received more than 400 applicants for its initial professional-learning cohort; staff planned roughly 250 slots and ultimately enrolled a little under 225 teachers. She said the program will include ongoing coaching rather than one-off workshops, and reading specialists will provide follow-up support beginning in April.
“We just had a lot of positive follow-up,” Dixon said, describing coaches and sustained support as integral. She told board members the work aligns with the state’s science-of-reading rules and is explicitly meant to help teachers build students’ writing skills across subjects.
Board members praised the emphasis on practice and feedback. Member Green described how writing assignments in a robotics class helped her son improve through multiple drafts: “It was such a beautiful gift … to see how the ability to write in a robotics class completely transformed and developed his idea.” Member Lear urged consistent, high-quality writing in board documents and classrooms: “Words matter,” Lear said, adding the board should model careful writing in its communications.
Why it matters: Board members said writing skills affect learning across subjects and that embedding writing instruction in varied courses — from literature to robotics — can deepen learning and student expression.
Dixon said the department plans additional cohorts to accommodate those who applied but were not initially enrolled and that the program’s next phase will focus on coaching and classroom implementation rather than single-session workshops.
Ending: Board members welcomed the initiative and flagged artificial intelligence as a timely reason to strengthen classroom writing instruction and assessment practices.
