Utah leaders set goal of 20,200 volunteers in schools

Gov. Gary Herbert joined business leaders at North Salt Lake’s Foxboro Elementary for a news conference on Tuesday to highlight a new project aimed at putting 20,200 volunteers into Utah classrooms by the year 2020.

Utah schools already have a number of parent and other volunteers. But the idea behind this new program, called Business Promise, is to leverage the power of the business community to help Utah meet a goal of having two-thirds of adults possess postsecondary degrees or certificates by the year 2020. The group also hopes to see 90 percent of elementary students proficient in math and reading.
 
Part of the way Prosperity 2020 hopes to hook business volunteers up with schools is through a new online portal at Prosperity2020.com. The portal, developed at Salt Lake Community College with direction from Herbert and his Education Excellence Commission, will allow businesses to choose the opportunities that best fit everyone’s needs. Salt Lake Tribune