April 7-10
April 8-11
April 13-15
Blog / Postsecondary & Workforce Outcomes for Utah's Charter High School Students
By Karen Tao, Senior Research Scientist and Britnee Nguyen, Assistant Commissioner, UX Data Narative | Posted March 20, 2026
Charter schools contribute to the educational landscape by introducing alternative approaches in diverse learning environments. Since their establishment in 1998, Utah charter schools have grown to serve 12.3% of K-12 students, totaling 81,810 individuals in the 2025 academic year.
To help inform evidence-based practices and policies for Utah’s growing charter student population, this study examined students who ever attended a charter high school with those who never did to contrast their postsecondary enrollment, graduation patterns, and workforce outcomes.
The study’s sample comprised 426,095 students in grades 9-12 who attended a school within the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) during cohort years 2012-2021.
Charter high school students earned twice as many concurrent enrollment credits, enrolled in a USHE institution sooner, and graduated with a degree slightly sooner than non-charter students.
On average, charter high school students had lower high school graduation rates (83% vs. 88%), USHE enrollment rates (36% vs. 43%), lower average postsecondary GPAs (2.56 vs. 2.70), and USHE graduation rates (25% vs. 31%) compared to their non-charter school peers.
Charter high school students had a lower workforce attachment rate (43% vs. 50%) and lower average earnings in the workforce one year after leaving education ($32,883 vs. $34,402) compared to non-charter peers.
UVU Conference: AI and the Herculaneum Papyri
WHAT: UVU Conference on AI and the Herculaneum Papyri
WHO: High School Students and Advisors
WHEN: April 7-10, 2026
LOCATION: Utah Valley University Campus
INFORMATION: We are pleased to invite you and your students to UVU’s upcoming conference on Artificial Intelligence and Ancient Civilizations on the Herculaneum Papyri. This Conference is focused on Ancient Texts being translated using Artificial Intelligence and is being hosted here on UVU Campus through partnerships with BYU.
This conference is an opportunity for high school students to engage in higher level conversations and explore careers in ancient scholarship and artificial intelligence represented at the conference. We believe that students will be able to have experience with higher education and network with Philosophy and Research professionals.
You may want to include this information to send students and teachers:
Hello students! Are you interested in a career in History, Ancient Civilizations, Philosophy, or Artificial Intelligence? You are invited to attend UVU’s Artificial Intelligence and Ancient Civilizations Conference at Utah Valley University from April 8th through the 10th. This conference will include researchers and philosophers from around the world who specialize in Ancient Herculaneum Papyri; these texts are among the oldest in the world. Please attend to engage with higher education and professionals to network with. Hope to see you there!
REGISTRATION: For more information and registration, please follow this link: https://engage.uvu.edu/scrolls
Join us on April 13, 2026, from 10:00–11:00 AM on Zoom to review the FY27 Perkins application. We will walk through key components, highlight updates, share important reminders, and answer questions. This session is intended for CTE Directors planning to apply for Perkins funding in FY27, registration is not required.
https://schools-utah-gov.zoom.
Contact: Libby.Giles@schools.utah.gov
We’re excited to announce our 2025-2026 Work-Based Learning Webinar Series:
“Telling the Story – Utah Work-Based Learning” 🎉
This 7-part training series is designed exclusively for Utah’s WBL community and will provide:
✅ Tips and strategies to strengthen your program
✅ Tools and resources to support high-quality implementation
✅ Fresh ideas for telling your WBL story in schools, communities, and with industry partners
Whether you’re new to Work-Based Learning or a seasoned coordinator, these sessions will give you practical takeaways and a chance to connect with peers statewide.
📅 The series runs throughout the year – join us live or catch the recordings if you can’t make every session. If you would like a calendar invite for ALL 7 webinars, please fill out the following Google Form:
We will also send out the Zoom link for each webinar on the Monday before the scheduled event.
👉 Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, grow, and share the impact of Utah’s WBL programs.
WHO: School administrators, prevention staff, behavior specialists, school counselors, social workers, teachers, school mentors, and staff who work directly with students.
WHEN: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. (MST)
Third Thursday of each month from August 2025 to June 2026.
WHERE: Virtual Zoom Meeting
ACTION: 2025-2026 Prevention and Student Services Webinar Series Zoom Registration Link
INFORMATION: For additional information contact the Prevention Team (prevention@schools.utah.
The prevention specialists at USBE are now working together on all prevention related matters. Please send any prevention related requests to prevention@schools.utah.gov
For all training requests, please use the Student Services Training Request Portal (TRP).
TalentReady is excited to invite your students to attend the annual statewide Diesel Day on April 16, 2026 at MTECH in Lehi!
Diesel Day is a hands-on career exploration event designed to introduce students to diesel, automotive, and other technical career pathways through interactive activities and direct engagement with industry professionals and educators from across Utah.
Event highlights include:
Interactive games and hands-on activities
Exploration of heavy-duty diesel equipment
Opportunities to connect with industry and post-secondary partners
Learning about pathways to becoming a diesel technician
Who should attend:
Students interested in automotive, diesel, or other hands-on career pathways
Students enrolled in related CTE programs
What they’ll provide:
Drawstring swag bags
Lunch vouchers for each student
A punch card activity with opportunities to earn prizes from industry partners (Secondary students)
Event program includes:
Vendor floor with industry and post-secondary education partners
Educational sessions
Lunch
Industry partner prize drawings
How to prepare:
Share the student flyer with eligible students
Promote the event within your program or school
RSVP the number of students you plan to bring
To RSVP, please fill out the survey through this link by March 27th: https://forms.gle/
Please save the dates for this year’s WFN Region Meetings. We’ll be meeting on the third Friday of each month from 1:00-2:30 PM at the Davis School District offices in Layton. The address is 2195 University Park Blvd, Layton, UT 84041. The CTE Office is located on the east side of the building in Suite 103.
Below are the scheduled meeting dates.
Upcoming Region Meeting Lunches
Looking forward to another year of collaboration!
-Rachelle Ackley
Eric Himle 3:45pm – 4:45pm
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🗓 When: Tuesday, May 5th, 2026
⏰ Time: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Where: Utah Valley University – Orem (Clarke Building)
This year’s theme is 🎶 “Speak Through Sound!” 🎶 and we have an INCREDIBLE lineup planned—student competitions, workshops, networking, awards, and an inspiring keynote from award‑winning sound designer Michael McDonough 🎧🏆
🚨 IMPORTANT UPDATES 🚨
✅ Rodger will be reaching out soon with details on how to enter student work into the DMAF Competition
✅ He’ll also be sending the registration link very soon 🔗
✅ Start talking with your students NOW and get them excited! 🤩
✅ Reserve your bus ASAP 🚌💨—you won’t want to miss this!
✅ Posters are attached!
This festival is always a highlight of the year, and I can’t WAIT to celebrate creativity, innovation, and student talent with you all! 💥🎬🎨
Let’s make it loud.
Let’s make it creative.
Let’s SPEAK THROUGH SOUND! 🔊🔥
See you at the festival!!! 🎉🙌
Take care!
— Kristina 💜🎶
We’re excited to announce our 2025-2026 Work-Based Learning Webinar Series:
“Telling the Story – Utah Work-Based Learning” 🎉
This 7-part training series is designed exclusively for Utah’s WBL community and will provide:
✅ Tips and strategies to strengthen your program
✅ Tools and resources to support high-quality implementation
✅ Fresh ideas for telling your WBL story in schools, communities, and with industry partners
Whether you’re new to Work-Based Learning or a seasoned coordinator, these sessions will give you practical takeaways and a chance to connect with peers statewide.
📅 The series runs throughout the year – join us live or catch the recordings if you can’t make every session. If you would like a calendar invite for ALL 7 webinars, please fill out the following Google Form:
We will also send out the Zoom link for each webinar on the Monday before the scheduled event.
👉 Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, grow, and share the impact of Utah’s WBL programs.
Utah HOSA advisors are invited to participate in Operation Outbreak, an interactive, app-based simulation developed by the Broad Institute in collaboration with Harvard and MIT. These simulations will be held the mornings of May 14th and 15th, from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and immerse students in the fast-paced challenges of managing an infectious disease outbreak. Using a mobile app, participants take on key roles—such as government leaders, healthcare professionals, researchers, and public health officials—and must collaborate to contain the spread of a virtual pathogen.
Through this experience, students gain a deeper understanding of epidemiology, decision-making, teamwork, media, economics, socio-economic status, and the interdependence between science, policy, and healthcare. Every action affects others, highlighting how cooperation and communication drive real-world outbreak response. Operation Outbreak transforms complex public health concepts into an exciting, hands-on learning experience that connects directly to HOSA’s mission of preparing future health leaders.
Our team will provide advisors with clear preparation materials and support to ensure students are ready to participate and make the most of this unique event.
We’d love for your chapter to join us!
Simulations: May 14th and 15th
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Duration: 90 minutes of simulation plus preparation and debrief
To participate or learn more, please complete the following survey soon, as space is limited!
Survey Link: https://forms.gle/
Utah HOSA advisors are invited to participate in Operation Outbreak, an interactive, app-based simulation developed by the Broad Institute in collaboration with Harvard and MIT. These simulations will be held the mornings of May 14th and 15th, from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and immerse students in the fast-paced challenges of managing an infectious disease outbreak. Using a mobile app, participants take on key roles—such as government leaders, healthcare professionals, researchers, and public health officials—and must collaborate to contain the spread of a virtual pathogen.
Through this experience, students gain a deeper understanding of epidemiology, decision-making, teamwork, media, economics, socio-economic status, and the interdependence between science, policy, and healthcare. Every action affects others, highlighting how cooperation and communication drive real-world outbreak response. Operation Outbreak transforms complex public health concepts into an exciting, hands-on learning experience that connects directly to HOSA’s mission of preparing future health leaders.
Our team will provide advisors with clear preparation materials and support to ensure students are ready to participate and make the most of this unique event.
We’d love for your chapter to join us!
Simulations: May 14th and 15th
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Duration: 90 minutes of simulation plus preparation and debrief
To participate or learn more, please complete the following survey soon, as space is limited!
Survey Link: https://forms.gle/
Please save the dates for this year’s WFN Region Meetings. We’ll be meeting on the third Friday of each month from 1:00-2:30 PM at the Davis School District offices in Layton. The address is 2195 University Park Blvd, Layton, UT 84041. The CTE Office is located on the east side of the building in Suite 103.
Below are the scheduled meeting dates.
Upcoming Region Meeting Lunches
Looking forward to another year of collaboration!
-Rachelle Ackley
Eric Himle 3:45pm – 4:45pm
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All meetings are held in-person at Murray High School’s Spartan Cove, which is next to the Main Office. We begin at 7:30 am and wrap up by 8:30 am.
Each meeting will also have a Zoom Link to participate remotely if needed. Each meeting will be recorded and summarized and minutes will be sent out for followup.
We are grateful to Murray High School and their willingness to host our Board Meetings. Thank you to Chantel and her team for making that a possibility!
Zoom Link: https://slcc-edu.zoom.us/j/
The agenda will go as follows:
1 – Welcome/Introductions
The question this week will be “Mountains or Beach or Desert or Backyard”
2 – Dr. Nate Thomas presentation on Resilience
3 – Review any To-Do Items
Mission
Shared Calendar for Events
Grants from IH?
4 – “Around the Table” sharing responses to the above questions.
5 – Next Meetings scheduled for:
November 20, 2025
January 15, 2026
March 19, 2026
May 21, 2026
And please peruse the list below for any corrections – Thank you!
Brent & Chantel
WHO: School administrators, prevention staff, behavior specialists, school counselors, social workers, teachers, school mentors, and staff who work directly with students.
WHEN: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. (MST)
Third Thursday of each month from August 2025 to June 2026.
WHERE: Virtual Zoom Meeting
ACTION: 2025-2026 Prevention and Student Services Webinar Series Zoom Registration Link
INFORMATION: For additional information contact the Prevention Team (prevention@schools.utah.
The prevention specialists at USBE are now working together on all prevention related matters. Please send any prevention related requests to prevention@schools.utah.gov
For all training requests, please use the Student Services Training Request Portal (TRP).
This year we will be changing things up a bit by offering 3 different locations for the Summer Training. This training will be for Sewing/Fashion Pathway ONLY and will be the same at all three locations.
May 28th – SNOW College
June 9th – USU
June 11th – Roy High School
You only need to go to one of the training dates and locations. I hope this flexibility will allow you to plan your vacations and attend a training that is a little closer to home.
Please save the date for one of these days and look for an email about how to register in April.
Have a great week everyone!!
Utah State Board of Education
CTE Education Specialist
250 East 500 South
PO Box 144200
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Phone: 801-538-7890
Cell: 385-315-6976
Please save the dates for this year’s WFN Region Meetings. We’ll be meeting on the third Friday of each month from 1:00-2:30 PM at the Davis School District offices in Layton. The address is 2195 University Park Blvd, Layton, UT 84041. The CTE Office is located on the east side of the building in Suite 103.
Below are the scheduled meeting dates.
Upcoming Region Meeting Lunches
Looking forward to another year of collaboration!
-Rachelle Ackley
This year we will be changing things up a bit by offering 3 different locations for the Summer Training. This training will be for Sewing/Fashion Pathway ONLY and will be the same at all three locations.
May 28th – SNOW College
June 9th – USU
June 11th – Roy High School
You only need to go to one of the training dates and locations. I hope this flexibility will allow you to plan your vacations and attend a training that is a little closer to home.
Please save the date for one of these days and look for an email about how to register in April.
Have a great week everyone!!
Utah State Board of Education
CTE Education Specialist
250 East 500 South
PO Box 144200
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Phone: 801-538-7890
Cell: 385-315-6976
Maren Hansen
CTE Education Specialist
Health Science and Protective Services
Utah State Board of Education
Career and Technical Education
250 E 500 S
PO Box 144200
Mark your calendars for the 2026 UEN Tech Summit, June 10-11, at Brighton High School in Canyons School District. Designed for IT professionals in K-12 and higher education, the Tech Summit is packed with informative sessions, opportunities for networking with peers, and the latest from industry experts.
📅 June 10-11, 2026
📍 Brighton High School, SLC, UT
Help us shape this year’s conference by taking a quick survey on the topics and skills that matter most to you.
Registration and our Call for Presenters will be opening soon. In the meantime, feel free to reach out at techsummitinfo@lists.uen.org.
Thanks,
Kevin Quire
UEN Tech Summit Committee Chairman
Website: summit.uen.org
This year we will be changing things up a bit by offering 3 different locations for the Summer Training. This training will be for Sewing/Fashion Pathway ONLY and will be the same at all three locations.
May 28th – SNOW College
June 9th – USU
June 11th – Roy High School
You only need to go to one of the training dates and locations. I hope this flexibility will allow you to plan your vacations and attend a training that is a little closer to home.
Please save the date for one of these days and look for an email about how to register in April.
Have a great week everyone!!
Utah State Board of Education
CTE Education Specialist
250 East 500 South
PO Box 144200
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Phone: 801-538-7890
Cell: 385-315-6976
Dear Friends,
On behalf of Salt Lake Community College and the school districts of the Wasatch Front South Region, I would like to invite you to participate in an expanded advisory opportunity. As many of you are aware, Salt Lake Community College and several of the school districts along the Wasatch Front have been operating independent of one another when it comes to seeking advisory input from local construction trades partners. This practice has resulted in many of you sitting on multiple advisory boards in your efforts to support the local education programs. As education partners, we have determined this to be an unnecessary duplication of efforts and would like to remedy the situation in honor of the time being requested from our industry partners. Effective immediately, there will be a single construction trades advisory committee to serve the educational needs of the entire Wasatch Front South Region. These advisory meetings will be held at the Association of General Contractors (AGC) headquarters, located at 2207 South 1070 West Salt Lake City, Utah, and will be chaired by Joey Gilbert. The first meeting is scheduled to take place January 21st from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., and we would love to have your participation. Subsequent meetings are being planned for September 9, 2026, January 13, 2027, and April 21, 2027. Please save these dates on your calendar and plan to join us. If there are other members of the construction trades community who may be interested in participating with this committee, please feel free to share this invitation. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me at the numbers listed below. I look to seeing you on January 21st.
James A. Taylor Career and Technical Education, Director Granite School District
Phone: (385) 646-4340 Mobile: (801) 673-4024 Email: jataylor@graniteschools.org
2500 South State Street Salt Lake City, UT 84115
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Dear Friends,
On behalf of Salt Lake Community College and the school districts of the Wasatch Front South Region, I would like to invite you to participate in an expanded advisory opportunity. As many of you are aware, Salt Lake Community College and several of the school districts along the Wasatch Front have been operating independent of one another when it comes to seeking advisory input from local construction trades partners. This practice has resulted in many of you sitting on multiple advisory boards in your efforts to support the local education programs. As education partners, we have determined this to be an unnecessary duplication of efforts and would like to remedy the situation in honor of the time being requested from our industry partners. Effective immediately, there will be a single construction trades advisory committee to serve the educational needs of the entire Wasatch Front South Region. These advisory meetings will be held at the Association of General Contractors (AGC) headquarters, located at 2207 South 1070 West Salt Lake City, Utah, and will be chaired by Joey Gilbert. The first meeting is scheduled to take place January 21st from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., and we would love to have your participation. Subsequent meetings are being planned for September 9, 2026, January 13, 2027, and April 21, 2027. Please save these dates on your calendar and plan to join us. If there are other members of the construction trades community who may be interested in participating with this committee, please feel free to share this invitation. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me at the numbers listed below. I look to seeing you on January 21st.
James A. Taylor Career and Technical Education, Director Granite School District
Phone: (385) 646-4340 Mobile: (801) 673-4024 Email: jataylor@graniteschools.org
2500 South State Street Salt Lake City, UT 84115
|
Dear Friends,
On behalf of Salt Lake Community College and the school districts of the Wasatch Front South Region, I would like to invite you to participate in an expanded advisory opportunity. As many of you are aware, Salt Lake Community College and several of the school districts along the Wasatch Front have been operating independent of one another when it comes to seeking advisory input from local construction trades partners. This practice has resulted in many of you sitting on multiple advisory boards in your efforts to support the local education programs. As education partners, we have determined this to be an unnecessary duplication of efforts and would like to remedy the situation in honor of the time being requested from our industry partners. Effective immediately, there will be a single construction trades advisory committee to serve the educational needs of the entire Wasatch Front South Region. These advisory meetings will be held at the Association of General Contractors (AGC) headquarters, located at 2207 South 1070 West Salt Lake City, Utah, and will be chaired by Joey Gilbert. The first meeting is scheduled to take place January 21st from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., and we would love to have your participation. Subsequent meetings are being planned for September 9, 2026, January 13, 2027, and April 21, 2027. Please save these dates on your calendar and plan to join us. If there are other members of the construction trades community who may be interested in participating with this committee, please feel free to share this invitation. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me at the numbers listed below. I look to seeing you on January 21st.
James A. Taylor Career and Technical Education, Director Granite School District
Phone: (385) 646-4340 Mobile: (801) 673-4024 Email: jataylor@graniteschools.org
2500 South State Street Salt Lake City, UT 84115
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