Ashley Espinoza signs the Prosperity 2020 vision on behalf of all Utah students.

Today is a very exciting day for business leaders, community leaders, education leaders and–most importantly–Utah students. We officially launched the Prosperity 2020 movement this morning at Junior Achievement City at The Gateway in Salt Lake City.

Fittingly, a student, 6th grader Ashley Espinoza from Copper Canyon Elementary School in the Jordan School District, served as emcee and signed the Prosperity 2020 vision on behalf of all Utah students.

The Prosperity 2020 movement is unlike any education initiative that has come before because of the broad support from the business community (13 chambers of commerce from across the state signed on in support) as well as influential business and community organizations including Citizens for Educational Excellence, Economic Development Corporation of Utah, Friends of Higher Education, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Junior Achievement of Utah, United Way of Salt Lake and Utah Technology Council and more. These organizations will all play an important role in the Prosperity 2020 movement.

“When we say prosperity, we are talking about more than bank accounts,” said Mark Bouchard, senior managing director of CB Richard Ellis, who will serve as chairman of Prosperity 2020. “We are talking about the overall well being of our state – the civic engagement, aspirations for good, generosity and problem solving that build strong families and livable communities.”

Prosperity 2020 sets ambitious goals for public and higher education over the next decade. By 2020, organizers want 90 percent of Utah students to read at grade level by the 3rd grade, they’ve set the goal for 90 percent of Utah students to achieve math and reading proficiency by the end of elementary school and for two-thirds of Utahns 20 years of age and older to have a skilled trade certificate or college degree.