Jordan Supercast

Jordan Supercast

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Jordan Supercast episodes

  • Episode 102: Safety in the New School Year

    There are a lot of people who come together to make student safety a top priority in our schools. It is a combined effort on behalf of people who care.

    On this episode of the Supercast, we talk to School Resource Officer Mike Ashley about his role in keeping kids safe and how students can help. We also share some ideas for keeping students safe throughout the year when it comes to their mental health and wellness.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. There are a lot of people who come together to make students' safety a top priority in our schools. It is a combined effort on behalf of many people who care. On this episode of the Supercast, we talk with school resource officer Mike Ashley, better known as Officer Ash about his role keeping kids safe and how students can help. We also share some ideas on student safety when it comes to their mental health and wellness.

    We are here with Officer Ashley from the Riverton Police Department. He's one of our S.R.O.s - School Resource Officers. Officer Ash, thanks for spending some time with us.

    Officer Ashley:

    Thanks for inviting me. I'm glad to be here and I hope I can help out.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell us what are some things for us to be thinking about as we look to keep kids safe at the beginning of the school year?

    Officer Ashley:

    Well, first of all, if they're grade school kids, we want to make sure that, if they're walking, we want to make sure that they know the route of how they got to school and the time it takes for them to get to school and back. Also with the bus, the bus schedule and to make sure they know what buses they're getting onto. Even the bus driver's name is always kind of nice to know. And when they're expected to be home from their bus, either going to school or coming back from school.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So know the route, know the bus, and know the bus driver. What are some other tips, particularly for those students who are walking to school, what are some tips for staying safe that way?

    Officer Ashley:

    The other thing is know your phone numbers. Not just your mom, but your dad's, maybe your brother and sister, older brother and sisters. Know the neighborhood. Know what houses are probably safe to stop at if for some reason you feel uncomfortable with somebody, or somebody seems to be following you, or a group of kids are, you feel like they're bullying you. Somewhere you can go. Find those routes, those houses that you can maybe go to if you can't make it home.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Which is something that we look at whenever we're establishing those safe walking routes in partnership with the city. Is there someplace that a student could go if they had some trouble on the way home, which is a fairly rare, but you always want to know that you have a refuge available to you.

    Officer Ashley:

    Yes, that's correct. If it's a home, that's great. If it's somewhere else, a business, a business that you know, that's a good place to stop. Calling a parent is always one of the best things to do. Go back to the school if the school's close enough. Just turn back and go back and talk to one of the teachers or the principal, or even the hall monitors. They're always out and about around the school.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And if there is a problem, then students can report that to parents or the school or the police, really anyone who can then follow up.

    Officer Ashley:

    Yes, that's correct. If they call the parents, which happens all the time, they call the parents, the parents usually hopefully know the SRO, they call the SRO. If they don't, they'll call a patrol officer, the patrol officer will refer it to us.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me about students maybe reporting concerns that they have, or things that they've seen that they may be worried about or that they think maybe shouldn't be happening.

    Officer Ashley:

    In DARE, that's kind of what we teach. Where they need to go, who they need to come to. That they can be trusted or feel that trust between the officer or even the school staff. That they can tell us something maybe they don't want anybody else to know about. In the middle school, I actually go into each of the classes and talk about keeping our school safe. Oquirrh Hills has 1300 students. I tell the students that it's 1300 students, plus the staff that's here, that are supposed to keep our school safe. So if they see something that they feel we need to know about, that they need to report it. Instead of just an officer trying to keep the whole school safe, it's everybody working together as a neighborhood.

    It's as a neighborhood that we watch out for each other and we care for each other.  We take pride in our school, we take pride in who we are. We want our school to be a good school where people feel safe to go to. It's nice. I always try to tell parents to have their kids come meet me, the SRO, the hall monitors and the staff, so that the kids feel like they've been introduced and they can come at any time, with any problem. If it's just getting your locker open, finding a class. I'm doing push-ups and sit-ups with them during PE. That's kind of the stuff I did this morning. So that they feel comfortable coming up to any one of us talking about any given stress or issue that they may have.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And developing a positive connection with a police officer as a student is really important. It's a great, great benefit from having officers in our school.

    Officer Ashley:

    Yes. Like for me, I get to teach. I start with DARE, and this year I have my fifth graders as seventh graders. So they already know me. So they're like, "Hey Officer Ash!" and they're all excited to see me because we already have that relationship.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So that's really an important part of keeping our kids safe and there are benefits long after they leave school from having built that relationship.

    Officer Ashley:

    I've had students when I was in the high school, that graduated several years ago, come to me and say, "Hey, remember me?" And I remember them. So it's awesome to see from second grade to graduating from high school.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And the hours are a little better as a school resource officer. Aren't they? I hope.

    Officer Ashley:

    Yeah, we're typically 7:30 to 3:30, but sometimes we work later of course. If we get reports of a missing child or a runaway. Our phone is always on, so that patrol or any other officers can call to say, "Hey, we have this issue or problem or concern about a certain student. We need you to give us information if you can, so we can locate them, or find them, or work out whatever issue they were having".

    Officer Ashley:

    Well the job never stops for anyone who serves students.

    Officer Ashley:

    Nope, Never does. In the summertime I like to go out and do block parties, neighborhood parties, business contacts. I'm hanging out at the park. I'm trying to keep that connection with the kids during the summer. And then a lot of times their parents are there, so I get a chance to meet with them and introduce myself.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, I love the connection you've made with the community and the support that you give our schools. It's really great to be a partner with you and providing the best experience possible for students. So thank you, Officer Ash.

    Officer Ashley:

    Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Stay with us. When we come back, a conversation about the importance of mental health and wellness.

    Advertisement:

    Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at workatjordan.org.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're here with McKinley Withers and we check in with him on the Supercast on a regular basis because he does such a great job of keeping us in touch with how to take good care of kids in every way. Just to make sure that their social and emotional wellness is intact and that they're ready for the year. McKinley, thanks for joining us.

    MdKinley Withers:

    Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be back.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    This is a different year once again, from any we've experienced, things have shifted a little bit. Tell us what are some things that we should be keeping in mind to help kids feel confident going into the school year.

    McKinley Withers:

    This year there's a lot of talk about safety and feeling safe and being safe. I think it's important to not consider physical and mental safety as separate things. For students to be safe, it's best that all of them also feel safe. What that can mean, that could mean a lot of things. So that could mean, feeling safe, to feel free to have emotions, to express those emotions, identify them, talk about those feelings with adults or peers. That could mean safe to make mistakes. As many of them are adjusting to a new school year with new challenges, a new adjustment to the way that they're doing this again. Safe to try new things this school year as many of them tried new things with online learning or hybrid learning. Many students are going to be trying new things this year as with their teachers and their parents. Safe to be independent and feel like they can make choices and have consequences for their own choices. Then most importantly, I think we are all safer if the people around us feel connected to us and to each other. So we have to be able to feel safe around our fellow adults and our fellow peers in order to have that mental safety. That's the foundation of being safe.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So safety comes from connection.

    McKinley Withers:

    Yes.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And feeling safe really is rooted in a lot of those things that you talked about.  Being able to be independent, being able to make mistakes and to try new things.

    I participated in an exercise that was put on by teachers from Jordan and some other districts combined, where we were given activities that would be used in the classroom. It was interesting to experience it from the student side. I was given a sheet of multiplication that an elementary student would be given and I was supposed to do a timed exercise. Suddenly I'm thinking, 'I don't want to be the dumb one that doesn't know this, that doesn't get it done quickly, that doesn't get it done in time. I don't want to be wrong.' All those feelings kind of came rushing back that I hadn't experienced for a long time. It was interesting to experience that as an adult when we put students in that situation a lot, but we kind of forget what it's like, because we aren't always put in that situation ourselves. So maybe some empathy for how that feels to make a mistake, how it feels to try something new, and wonder if you're going to be good at it.

    McKinley Withers:

    Right, yeah. All of us are prone to forgetting what it was like when we were a lot younger when we first tried something.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, but we also think we remember, 'oh, I've been through this. I went to elementary school.' We probably don't remember. The independence, how do we foster that?

    McKinley Withers:

    As a parent, we want more than anything to protect and ensure our child's safety. Part of that requires parents or caregivers to be comfortable allowing children to be unsafe and then make their own decisions.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's an interesting twist because you don't think about independence and safety being combined. That independence is risky. You see the memes on Facebook about 'I was raised in the wild in the 80s or whatever. You know, we were just turned free in the morning, and then we returned some time at night. Nobody knew where we were.' It's striking a balance I guess.

    McKinley Withers:

    The root of anxiety is not having exposure or experiences. So if we avoid, avoid, avoid, if we aren't able to go out and try new things and even fail and have it not be so bad. The reason we are often anxious about failure, or when that test was put in front of you, and you experienced what it's like to not be so sure if you could do your multiplication tables. I really, that was one of those moments as a Superintendent, you expressed safety and feeling, or expressing your emotions because that's quite the confession to your audience members that you were nervous in that moment. But afterwards we are feeling better because we faced the challenge. We did fail and it wasn't so bad. So we have to have those experiences in order to continue to try new things. If we protect, protect, protect, and avoid, avoid, avoid the anxiety, the tension, the fear just escalates, it gets worse.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, that's something we can all benefit from. Failing or trying something new that doesn't work, even if it doesn't work, isn't going to be as bad as we think it is. Thanks again for joining us McKinley. It's going to be a great year.

    Thanks for joining us on the super cast. Remember education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

     

    15 min
  • Episode 101: Some Fun with Students at the New Aspen Elementary School

    It is a new year and a brand-new school for students at Aspen Elementary in South Jordan.

    On this episode of the Supercast, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey gets a look inside the newly opened school with a stop in the principal’s office. Then, he has a candid conversation with some 4th grade students about their impressions of the new school and the importance of learning and making new friends.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a new year and a brand new school for students at Aspen Elementary in South Jordan. On this episode of the Supercast, I get to look inside the newly opened school first with a stop in the principal's office. Then I head to a classroom for a candid conversation with some fourth grade students about their impressions of the new school and the importance of making new friends.

    All right, we are here at the brand spanking new Aspen Elementary school with Suzie Williams and April Thompson, her assistant principal. Suzie is the principal here and was principal previously at Eastlake. We have our principals assigned halfway through a school year to start opening a school for the next year. Here we are, the new school year is here and so is the new school. Tell us a little bit about it, Suzie.

    Suzie Williams:

    Well, it came quickly! You know, you anticipate, and I was able to be a part of the construction, and what I mean by that was they included me in the construction meetings. So I came out probably twice a month and toured the building and listened in on the meetings, which was so interesting.  I was able to give some input and work with the architect and  Hughes Construction. So it's been fun to watch this come from just as a skeleton to what it is now, and it's beautiful.  I have been at the District Office for the last six months just planning, ordering, hiring, and just getting ready to get us all moved in and have everything set up. I'm just excited that it's finally here cause we've worked hard to get it ready to go.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You certainly have, and there are a lot of details to think about. I'm amazed at how great it looks. I was here at the skeleton phase as you described it. The grass is in, the landscaping is done, and the school looks fantastic. Now, April, you are a new administrator in a new school, starting a new school year. How does that feel?

    April Thompson:

    Everything is so new, so I'm just part of all the new. It's so fun to have the kids here because that's what has made the school the school. It's been a building, but now that the kids are here, it's alive.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me about the color and mascot phase of things. I see a turquoise theme going on here in your office.

    Suzie Williams:

    We're voting on that today. Each classroom is voting on the mascot and the colors. Right now I just checked, Alligators are winning.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Oh, the Alligators, the Aspen Alligators. Yeah, wow. Well, with a little bit of flooding the last couple of days, that really makes a lot of sense. What are the color schemes that people voting on?

    Suzie Williams:

    Green and black was ahead, so far, but we'll see.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Green and black, okay. Green and black with alligators would go along pretty nicely. I remember when Riverton High School was first looking at that and they were going to be the Riverton Raptors. That was one that was kind of a leader. Yes, but the purple color was also favorable. And when you thought about a purple dinosaur, that didn't work very well for high school kids, so they backed away from the Raptors but kept the purple. Anyway, for copyright reasons, we can't explain exactly why that would have been a problem, but I think listeners will pick up on that. What's the most exciting thing about opening a new school?

    Suzie Williams:

    To me it's been a little overwhelming, all the good people. It's been fun to, well, I've handpicked our staff and our faculty and oh, we have good people. And then the kids, you know, there's no kids at the District Office. It's not good, it's terrible. So it's been so nice to have the kids here. Our team leaders together, as we planned, we came up with our vision, which is "All belong, all learn, all succeed." Then we defined our mission, what that looks like. What does it look like to all belong, all learn and all succeed? So we're going over that with the students to help them understand what we're about. With the all belong, we've made an emphasis on learning each child's name. So we've had some fun story books about our names that the teachers are using this week to teach with. Then they've done some fun activities about learning the students' names and I'm making an effort to talk to the kids.  I truly do want to learn their names. So I guess the best part, the most exciting part, has been the people. Wow. We have good people.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's the best part of the job period. As I look out your window, I'm not exaggerating. I see in every direction, new homes going up. Tell me about the growth that you've already seen here at Aspen.

    Suzie Williams:

    Yeah, I've been a little bit surprised by that. Our projections were that we would start at 522 students. I was getting a little nervous because about 10 days ago we were still around 400. In the last 10 days we've enrolled about a hundred students. It fluctuates, it goes up and down a little bit each day. We were at 519 the other day, and then we dropped down to 512. That's to be expected. I think some students weren't aware that they were supposed come to a new school. So we're working all of that out. But yeah, so the projections are that we'll double in the next five years. So we'll see. I anticipate that we'll continue to enroll students.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, be ready to memorize a lot of names in the future. Now you approached building community in a unique way. Tell us about that.

    Suzie Williams:

    So I drug our sweet Tina, who's our administrative assistant, that's who truly runs the school. She and I, over the last few months, we took one day a week and walked through the community. We went door to door, meeting people, and we had a little flyer about Aspen Elementary with our contact information on it. Most people aren't home, just because people work, so we always left it under their mat. Oh, we had a good response with that. I'll be honest, it scared me. I wasn't comfortable doing that, but we didn't have anyone who was disrespectful. They were always kind. Most people when they answered the door, had a little scowl, like 'what do you want?' But when we tell them who we were, their faces soften and that, 'oh, that's awesome.' Then we had the nicest visits.

    I hired three people to be support staff here from people that we knocked on their doors. Because we mentioned that as well, that we need support staff, we're hiring, if you know anyone that's interested. So not only just to meet the community and get our name out there, it was just nice to build those relationships. We want to be school of choice because we have several schools around us that people can choose to go to. They don't have to come here, but we want to be school of choice, and we wanted to build those relationships early. Have people come to Aspen Elementary,

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's a great effort, that's awesome. That's awesome. April, tell us about the building itself. What's a feature that really stands out to you as a particularly exciting feature to have available for teachers and students?

    April Thompson:

    Oh, there's so much, it's hard to choose one. The first thing that comes to mind is it doesn't matter where you are in the school, you get that natural light coming in. So they have the natural light coming in from the ceilings and it bounces off. It just really lightens up the school, which I love.

    The STEM room is really exciting, having everything mobile so that the kids can go in and change and adapt to what activity there that they are going in. The Mindfulness room that is that something that will be really good for the kids, and we're excited about that.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    The Mindfulness room is the sort of thing that will start to become standard issue when you open a school, just because of the great positive impact that has on students. And the natural light. Learning in natural light is so beneficial, and it is nice when you can control that natural light with some good blinds too. So yeah, some nice features, Suzie, what stands out for you?

    Suzie Williams:

    Well, the same things April mentioned, plus the Kivas are nice. We have two large Kivas where we can bring in whole groups or the teachers can do small group instruction. So we're doing a new Walk to Read program where our aides will be working with small groups and to set up a table in there and work with small groups is going to be great.

    The technology, we were trained last Friday on all of the technology. I worked in a school, an older school that was built in the 70s and we plugged things in. Well, I said 'overhead' the other day. Yeah, I said something about the overhead, and people said 'what are you talking about?' So I was amazed at the technology in this building,

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Like you said, you got to build the faculty and the community and the school from scratch. Years from now, where do you want the momentum you've created to take everyone?

    Suzie Williams:

    Wow, a great question. I hope this building culture will always be inviting. I hope that it will be a place that people want to come. When they walk in, they'll feel welcome. Then, you know, you think of academics. I want the kids to be successful here. So hopefully we'll build a nice foundation where that will continue on. I appreciate what the District's done with literacy. We have tools now that we just didn't have before with literacy. I taught 6th grade and I'll be honest, I didn't know how to teach a kid how to read. We read louder or slower or sound that out. I just didn't feel like I had the tools or I knew where to get the tools, and we have them now. Our Teaching and Learning department with the literacy has provided us with tools that we can now hone in on what kids are missing, which individual skills kids are missing, and then we have the tools to know how to help them. So I'm hoping that starting that foundation now, that that will just carry on where we can truly help these kids know how to read.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Suzie, I'm so grateful to have you here as Principal. You're the right person to be opening this school. And I get to be part of that process of deciding how that works, and there's just no question that you're the person to be doing this. You and your administrative team are the right people to be setting this in motion, building this community and providing this great experience for our employees and our students. Most of all.

    Suzie Williams:

    Thank you. I do appreciate having Jarom Airhart and April Thompson here. They've been right beside us the last few weeks, getting this up and running and I appreciate them and our Administrative Assistant. She's carried a huge load.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It takes everybody doesn't it?

    Suzie Williams:

    Yeah, absolutely it does.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Stay with us. When we come back, you don't want to miss my conversation with some Aspen Elementary 4th grade students. Hear what they have to say about their new school.

    Advertisement:

    Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District, we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at workatjordan.org.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're in Mrs. Rick's class in Aspen Elementary school talking to some sixth graders, right? Fourth graders. I thought you guys looked more like sixth graders. No? Fourth graders. Okay, all right, we'll go with fourth graders. So tell me, what's it like to have a brand new school built just for you? Raise your hand. Whoa. All right, right here. What do you think about that?

    Caroline:

    Um, it feels nice and stuff.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Okay, awesome. Tell me your name.

    Caroline:

    Caroline.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    David, tell me what you think about being a student in a new school.

    David:

    It feels good because it's a chance to make new friends.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It is a chance to make new friends. You got a lot of great friends to choose from here. Toka, tell me about how you're feeling about being here?

    Toka:

    Good, like, everything looks way different though.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Oh yeah, how so?

    Toka:

    Like the office used to be on the right side, but it's now like on the left side I think.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So it's kind of like your previous school, but different.

    Toka:

    Yeah.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's kind of cool. That's a good combination. What do you like most about the new school?

    Toka:

    Um, that we have PE cause last year we didn't have P.E.

    Anthony Godfrey

    Ah, there's room for PE. I love it. Liam, what do you think?

    Liam:

    Um, it's nice not being the person that joins the school on the last year. Everyone's the first person so you don't feel left out.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, I didn't think about that. Everybody's new. So what does that mean when everybody's new at the same time?

    Liam:

    Um, it means that a lot of people don't have friends and it's easier to make friends. Because in other schools that have been going for a long time, a lot of people have friends, but in a first year of school, a lot of people can make new friends.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I love that several of you have mentioned making friends. That's really what this school is about is being connected to each other, being part of a community, making friends so that you can learn even better and make these great memories. All right, Luke, tell me about what what's on your mind.

    Luke:

    On the first day, everybody was kind of really nervous that they weren't gonna like have any friends and stuff.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    But being at a new school together at the same time, you were able to make friends quickly.

    Luke:

    Yeah.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's awesome. And everyone's nervous cause nobody knows where to go. Everything's new that way too. Ocean, tell me what you think about Aspen.

    Ocean:

    It's good because you get to exercise your brain a lot.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Exercising your brain. I love it! Is it Caroline? Caroline, tell me what you think about being at Aspen Elementary.

    Caroline:

    I like it. At my old school there was some trouble and I'm just glad that I can like refresh my brain and learn new stuff.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Oh wow, I'm getting lots of good catch phrases for Aspen. 'Aspen, Refresh your Brain'. 'Aspen, Leave your Troubles Behind'. 'Aspen, Exercise your Brain'. You guys have some great ways of thinking about making friends and learning. This is really exciting. You guys are very lucky. Della, how are things going for you?

    Della:

    Being at Aspen, it's a chance to see old friends and make new friends, and see the teachers that you had a long time ago.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So you get to see some of the teachers you might know, some people you know, lots of new faces, a building that seems familiar, but it's different. Sounds like a great combination to me. All right. Grayson

    Grayson:

    So it's like an explosion of happiness. When you get into fourth grade, you see what I mean. It's like when you first get into it, you look at all the things around you and everybody that will be your friends. And it's just like an explosion of joy in your heart.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    An explosion of joy, happiness, and friendship. What could be better? You're in the right place at the right time doing the right stuff. This is awesome. What a great way of putting it. Yes, Caroline.

    Caroline:

    It's just good to know that there's only a couple of germs. There's not so many germs as if there's an old school, then they would like build up bacteria. It's just nice to know that you're in like a new school, not as many germs and stuff.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So if there are germs, they're new, fresh and crisp germs rather than the old germs of previous schools. Very good. Okay, Quinn?

    Quinn:

    I like this new school because everything's so nice and clean. We have new teachers, and they're fun and nice teachers.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Speaking of which, Mrs. Ricks, let's talk about what it's like to teach fourth grade at the brand new Aspen Elementary School.

    Mrs. Ricks:

    Teaching 4th grade at Aspen's been really fun. I didn't come from any of the schools that these kids came from, they're all brand new to me. So it's been great to learn their names and to learn about where they come from and what makes them special.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And to have that chance to bring them together and make friends just like they were talking about.

    Mrs. Ricks:

    Definitely, I've already seen that. They've included each other and they're forming great friendships.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, being with you guys today is a great reminder of why we do all the stuff that we do. This is exactly why we do it, for experiences like what you're providing for these students.

    Mrs. Ricks:

    Well, thank you.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's been a blast talking with you and with these students. I officially declare this as Superintendent, the finest 4th grade class in all the land. Congratulations! Thank you so much for spending time with me. You have a great year ahead of you. I know that. So enjoy it.

    Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there. Go Alligators!

    20 min
  • Episode 100: An Emotional Trip Down Memory Lane with “Dr. Z,” Former Principal of the Old Bingham Middle School

    He is a former principal of the old Bingham Middle School in Copperton, and the man who offered Superintendent Anthony Godfrey his very first job in education.

    On this special 100th edition of the Supercast, Superintendent Godfrey takes an emotional trip down memory lane with his long-time friend, former boss and mentor, Dr. Al Zylstra.

    Audio Transcription

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    It's very good to see you.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    There's nothing to say except it's so good to see you. I've been thinking about this ever since we had it arranged. We're here at Bingham High School to celebrate the 100th episode of the Supercast, thanks to everyone who's been listening along the way.  I thought there's no better way to celebrate the 100th episode of the Supercast than to invite Dr. Z, the principal who hired me as a brand new teacher into Jordan School District back in the 1990s. The way that he did things, and the way he led our school, and cared about everybody there has really shaped me as an educator, as a teacher, as an administrator and as a person and who I wanted to be and what I wanted my legacy to be. So it's a great honor to have you here, Dr. Zylstra. Thank you so much for taking the time to be here.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Thank you.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I haven't seen you for probably, what's it been now? Since the reunion?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Since the reunion, we were just talking about that. That was a surprise. Wasn't it?

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, it was. I ran into you in Best Buy or Sam's Club or Costco or something.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    You needed a winter coat.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Oh yeah. Yeah, that's right, it was Costco.  People had just talked with me about the reunion and I was a rock star because I brought you, that's what happened.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    That was really something that was, it was special.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Middle schools don't do reunions. That's the thing that I found remarkable. Nobody says, 'Hey, you know what? Eighth grade, I'd really liked to relive some of those memories.' Yeah, they do, when you go through eighth grade with Dr. Z though.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Yeah. Well, thank you. It was our pleasure to be there though. It was a wonderful reunion for those kids. How they grew up and improved their lives. It was great.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    The sad thing was going to the field and seeing that there was no building left. I get a little bit sentimental about buildings.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    I've been meaning to do that, but I, oh, I've had a hard time bringing myself to do that. A lot of good memories there.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah. A lot of good memories. We went through some tough stuff too at that time.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Yeah, we had three boys die in one year.  That was some tough stuff. And then the boilers kept breaking down and flooding the gymnasium and the cafeteria. But it was good, the community really accepted us.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Especially since the pandemic, but just in general, as time goes on, we lose memory of exactly when things happened.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Some things get better, some things get better.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's true. How long were you principal at Bingham middle school?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    I think, five years, six years, and then I went to West Hills. I opened West Hills and I was there for three years, and then from West Hills, I went to Crescent View and finished my career Crescent View.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, I remember you were at Crescent View.  When did you retire?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    When I was 62, in 1999.  Sometime in there.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Sometime back in the 1900s.  Well, I gotta tell you, I have a lot of vivid memories of working for you and they shaped the way that I do things. Sorry, I do a lot of this now as I get older. You told people you love them before telling people you love them was cool.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Yeah. That's part of the podcast every morning. You're loved and we expect you to be great. Education is the most important thing you'll do today.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And you said, 'we'll see out there' at the end.  I did a video for teachers this year that ended with, we'll see you out there. And every single one of my podcast episodes ends with 'education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there'. What's interesting to me is that the first time we did this podcast, which this is the hundredth episode now. What's interesting to me is the first time we did this podcast. It's not as if I planned out, you know, 'what would be a good tagline? What should I say at the end? Let me think back, let me try to come up with something.' I was just sitting there at the microphone and they said, "well, you need a tagline, you need to say something at the end of each podcast." And it just, it was right there. So it's, it's been right there at the surface every ever since. And it's just one example of the lasting impact that you've had on me and that I know you had on the kids that at Bingham Middle. You told people that you loved them, there were lots of hugs. There were lots of conversations about how are you doing? But there were also lots of conversations about what you expected of people. There were hard conversations about how much better you ought to be doing.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Well, when we went up to that school, it it was a tough school. When we got there it looked like an inner city school. It had graffiti all over the lockers and all over the rooms, the tiles were coming off the floor. You remember?

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I remember. They dropped from the ceiling. They drop on top of you in class.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    The linoleum floors would be spinning off all the time. The kids would walk on them and they would come off. When it would rain, remember the rainstorms? We had trash cans all through the hallway. There was a lot of great experiences in there, but this idea of having kids telling them that you love them is been something. When they've come back to see me, one of the things that they keep bringing up is 'you told me you love me.'

    While I was at Crescent View we were having career day. So a lot of people were coming into the school to speak at the different classes. I was at in the office working on my computer and as I turned around, I looked and I saw shiny boots, like paratrooper boots, and blouse pants. Obviously military coming to talk to our kids.  I looked up and saw this handsome, studly man standing in front of me with a uniform on and he had his parade tucked into his collar. He said, "Dr. Z", and I looked up and he said, "You don't remember me?" And I said, "Well, if you tell me your name, I might." He said, I won't give his name, but "Jonathan." And I said, "No, you're not the little Jonathan that I would have in my office every day, because you were too afraid to go to school that I would go to class with you." He said, "Yes", and I said, "Well, what did you learn here?" He said, "Every day that I was in your office, you told me you loved me."

    And the transformation! If you would have said to me, 'that young man will end up being an army ranger when he's 20', I wouldn't have believed you. But it was that social connectedness with that child, letting him shadow me during the day, and letting him adjust to the school so by the time he was in the eighth grade, he was able to go to school every day. He had a safe haven with me and he knew that. And so that was just a fond memory of telling people you love them.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, that blend of love and expectations was just really unique. And like I said, ahead of its time, because we didn't talk about social emotional wellness then like we do now. And I know that was your focus. And it just became infused into the approach that I've at least tried to take as a teacher and as an administrator, because it was just clearly laid out for me by working with you.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Well, you've championed the cause. I remember the assemblies that we would have, how the kids would cheer you when you'd come out. Do you remember dropping out of the ceiling? You were in a harness and came down and I said, "where is Mr. Godfrey? Where's  Mr. Godfrey?" Then here he comes. Then there was an assembly.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I do remember that. Again, don't try this at home or at your school though. That was like I said, the 1900s, we don't do that anymore. I loved doing the morning announcements with you. It was really something. I'm sure you remember, you gave me a budget and you said, 'go down, go to the music store, get some CDs.'

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    We went together.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, that's right. We did actually. We grabbed a bunch of CDs and we'd play those.  Now you can pre-program music in the passing time and all of that.  We did it old school with, with the CD and holding up the microphone to the CD speaker, just to kick off the day and kickoff the announcements. I wish, I wish I had some of those recorded.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    And then we had the student of the day, the genius child.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah. Genius child. That's right. I forgot about that phrase, we called it the genius child.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    We had the genius child of the day. I had a star cutout for it and they had a piece of yarn around it, and they wore this big yellow star it said 'Genius of the Day'.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And you would think that a 14 year old, eighth grader wouldn't want to wear a star around with yarn saying he or she was the genius of the day, and they loved it! Absolutely loved it. We went through a few candy bars too, as I recall.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Yes, we would always give candy bars, that's right.

    Velarde! How are you?

    Jeramie Velarde:

    I'm good, how are you doing?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Good to see you! You've grown up to be a big man now.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Jeramie Velarde, who was a student at the time that Dr. Z and I were at Bingham Middle School and who now works for Jordan School District and has for quite some time, just joined us.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Jeramie was always a good boy. And he, and you know, he had a family that was supportive of the school and like most of the people in Copperton, they were very supportive of the school.  So it 's just a pleasure, so nice to see you again.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    Good to see you too, for sure.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Jeramie works for the District if you didn't know that.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    I think I do remember it. And I think your dad worked for them too. He worked at the, he was a custodian at Bingham.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    When I was getting ready for those assemblies late at night, Jeramie's dad would be working. He would be the only other person in the building and he always put on headphones. So he'd be walking around with headphones on and I was practicing and it would not be hard to convince me that building was haunted when you're there at three in the morning, practicing for an assembly. Again, don't try this at home. But I was doing the last minute crunch, practicing the chords for the song. I was gonna play onstage and you'd be playing the guitar and you'd hear these sounds and you'd stop playing. And like, 'what was that?' You'd start playing again, and then you'd stop. 'Wait a minute. What was that?'

    Then I went and found Lawrence, Jeramie's dad. And I'm like, "how do you do this?" He said, "That's why I wear headphones, so I don't hear what else is going on in school while I'm here." I got out of there. I went home where I belonged and you know, I don't think I stayed there super late again.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    That building creaked and moaned, creaked and moaned all night long.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, it's all personality. Well, I lived in the apartments a few blocks away and sometimes I'd just stay late and grade papers and then I'd eat with the custodians. What are some of the things you remember about Bingham Middle Jeramie and being there with Dr. Z?

    Jeramie Velarde:

    Do you remember the, so it wasn't a field day, but all the kids walked out of class, went up to the field. It was like a walkout. I don't know why we did it. We just all planned it, organized it. Instead of you getting upset, you came out and I don't know, played games with us. It was fun.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Reorganized it.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You kind of, you channeled it, is what you did.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    And then we tried it the second year, the year after, and it didn't fly over so well. It was like one and done, you know.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    No repeat performances allowed.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    I remember that.  We made big circles and had everybody hold hands, go around in circles. So they would, you know, we had two or three circles of kids holding hands all the way around. We talked about how important school was, and I had a bull horn, and we just went with the flow with the kids.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    I remember seeing you skateboarding to work when I was in high school, waiting for the bus. I'd see you skateboarding to work from the apartment to Bingham.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That was true simplicity, being able to ride my Cat in the Hat skateboard to work. That was like simpler times, simpler times for sure. But it was great. I loved living up there and seeing the kids around the neighborhood that I either had in class or that I knew from class in previous years. I was single at the time and would just walk downstairs and have a burger at the restaurant that was right next door. I don't know what it is now. It was The Pit! That's right, it was called The Pit. You'd eat there, be thirsty for a long time afterward. That was a pretty salty a place to eat. But yeah, it was nice. That was my little getaway. I'd eat there most nights actually. But doing that, you'd see. You'd just, it was fun to be in the community that I was teaching in. Yeah, it was great.

    Jeramie Valarde:

    Well, it was great. It's such an eyesore now that the building's gone.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Is the building gone?

    Jeramie Velarde:

    The building's gone, and it's just nothing. Oh no, not The Pit. I'm talking about Bingham Middle, Bingham High.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I go out there about every year, normally in the fall, and just kind of reminisce and walk around. I was on that field walking toward the street and somebody was riding by on his bike, and I'm sorry, I can't remember his name. He stopped, and he was like, "Are you Mr. Godfrey?" He had gone to Bingham Middle. He didn't live in the area, but he just rides his bike out by there. And he was talking about his brother and I remembered his brother. He had English from me and he's an attorney for one of the cities in Jordan District. It was just funny that I'm standing out there on a cold autumn day, just walking around that empty field where the school used to be, and a kid who used to go to school that are just rides by, on his bike out of nowhere. It's just, it's kind of a legendary place. I like that it's set off so I don't just drive by it every day. I like that you can just decide when you want to go and visit it.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Relax for a minute. One thing I remember going to Bingham Middle, early in the morning, there were always owls hooting. You remember that? There were always a couple of owls hooting back and forth. If you'd get there early in the morning those owls would be hooting. It was really a pleasure to listen to that, a good way to start school.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I forgotten about that. I used to take papers to the park. I'd walk over to the park to grade papers.  I would just kind of sit under a tree and grade papers. There was one tree where there was always the same owl up in that tree. He'd just kind of look down at me and twist his head in the weird way that owls do. Just kind of go, okay, go ahead. It was kind of a magical place.

    That middle courtyard, I don't know if I ever went in the middle courtyard very much. But the birds were really loud in there.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    We had a lot of birds in there. But the owls, it was just a pleasure to hear those hooting back and forth. Yeah, that was fun. Good memory.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We were talking about the tiles that fell from the ceiling, just randomly, you'd just be sitting in class. I think a few people use those as yearbooks at the end of the year and had people sign their tile. I'd love to see one of those. The sunken cafeteria. We don't have any of those anymore, down in the basement there.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    I remember running down those ramps. I had to get my Fanta, you know.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's right, that's right. Who were some of the teachers that were there at the time?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Joanne Mattes was the Assistant Principal there.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    She lived just at the house next door. Right?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Mr. Pietro, He was the math teacher.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    Rock climber, wasn't he a rock climber? Mrs. Patterson, do you remember Mrs. Patterson?

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, Candy Patterson.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    Her son, Andy recorded my band. Andy Patterson. Yeah, he's like the recording guy.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yeah, he and his band, I'm trying to remember the name, I have the signed CD from them. They actually auditioned for Clive Davis at one point. But yeah, Candy Patterson passed away.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Jerome, Coach Jerome.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Oh yeah, he worked in the District for a long time.

    Jeramie Velarde:

    I think he just retired.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Did he?  James Sebaski taught history at the time.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Just right across the hall from me.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    On my prep, I would go and grade papers at the back of his class cause I liked his class. So I sat back as a teacher and graded and just kind of overheard some of those history discussions.

    Earlier Jeremy, we were talking about the announcements. Do you remember what Dr. Z used to say on the announcements?

    Jeramie Velarde:

    I do. He would open it with 'Good morning Bingham Middle' and then he'd close it every day with 'education is the most important thing you will do today.'

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I told you, everybody remembers. That's really something. You made the most of the opportunity that you had as a Principal to impact lives. You really maximized that. You could just feel that you didn't want any moment to pass without making the most of it.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Oh, thank you. I loved it. I was just telling you, I'm still using that tagline. I work with parolees and felons at the Department of Corrections, Region 4 in Prove. These are guys that have been in prison or many, many years in jail. So what I'm trying to do is to give them evidence-based information that they can hang their education to. What is needed for them is to have a behavior change. They've all had therapy for years and years and years. So when they come to class, I give them something that they can hold on to, something that they can use. Right at the top, education is the most important thing you will do today. Then I close it with the same thing, you know, don't waste the miracle that you survived. And then, education is the most important thing you'll do today.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, we're all using it. It sounds like. When I was hired as superintendent I told the story of how you hired me into Jordan School District. Why don't you tell that story and let's see if we tell it the same way.

    Dr. Al Zylstra::

    You've probably told the better version.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We all get to tell better versions as time goes on, don't we?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    It was the job fair at the University of Utah and we had people who were looking for jobs and we needed teachers. I needed an English teacher. So we were interviewing people and we had interview sheets and people had signed up to be interviewed for a job. I had interviewed my people that had signed up for English classes and I looked over to the side and you were sitting there looking at me and I said to you, "Young man, do you have an appointment?" You said "No". And I said, "Why don't you come on over? And I will interview you." You remember that? And then I have interviewing questions and then I'd ask a question and you just stared at me and you kept staring. And I said, "You know, a good answer would be this."

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Yes. I absolutely remember that. And the question that it was, was 'How do you need to improve? What should you do better?' So obviously, I wasn't very humble because at the time I couldn't think of any way that I could improve. I was perfect in every way. And you just said, "Well, a good answer would be to say 'I lack experience'". And I said, "Oh yes, I lack experience. And the ability to answer a question in an interview." Yeah.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Yeah, and I wrote that down and then I asked another question and you just kind of had that look on your face again.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Now wait, I thought it was just one question.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    No, it was more than one. I was coaching, I was coaching here, and I said, "A good answer would be something like this." And you would say, "okay" and you would say it. We got through the interview that way, and I said, "You did a great job, I couldn't have done better myself."

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Ok, maybe I shouldn't have asked this question. The other part I do remember about it is that that was a time when it was really hard to get a job as a teacher, and it was hard to get an interview.  I really wanted to work for Jordan because I knew it was growing. I knew it was big and growing and I thought there'd be a lot of opportunities. So I went to this job fair and I ran in, everybody ran, it was like they were dropping the rope at Disneyland. I ran in to get signed up and I couldn't get a slot. So I went there trying to look as sad and pathetic as I could, because I didn't actually have a slot.  I went up and talked to you and you said, "Well I have this slot, but it's assigned to somebody."

    I said, "Well, I'm just going to go sit over there in case he doesn't show up." So I sat, and that's why I sat and stared at you, just kind of waiting. And then you, I swear, I can absolutely see you just kind motion over. All right, come over. And I sat down and this guy walked up about 10 minutes later, that was supposed to be there for the interview and just kind of walked away because he realized he was too late.  I thank you for giving me that first job.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    You looked like a good one just standing there.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I remember I was late to the second interview, the Bingham Middle School interview, because Bingham Middle was so far out at the time. But you said, "Oh, everybody's late."  We just sat down and we talked it through and fortunately, fortunately, you took that chance on me.

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    That was a great decision on my part, another one of my good decisions. One of the few.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Would you do me the honor of signing off on this podcast?

    Dr. Al Zylstra:

    Jordan School District, this is Dr. Z, education is the most important thing you will do today. You are loved and you're expected to be great. We'll see you out there.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thank you.

    26 min
  • Episode 99: HHS Teacher David Kozlowski Talks About Teens and Social Health

    He is a former University of Utah football player not afraid to tackle any topic or issue when it comes to teens and improving social health.

    On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with Herriman High School teacher and licensed marriage and family therapist David Kozlowski. Find out about a class Mr. Kozlowski created at Herriman High called “Level Up,” which is getting statewide recognition and helping students improve their relationships with family, friends, teachers and others in their lives.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He is a former University of Utah football player, not afraid to tackle any topic or issue when it comes to teens and improving social health. On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with Herriman High School teacher and licensed marriage and family therapist David Kozlowski. Find out about a class Mr. Kozlowski created at Herriman High called 'Level Up', which is getting statewide recognition and is helping students improve their relationships with family, friends, teachers, and others in their lives.

    We are here at Mountain Ridge High School with David Kozlowski, who just spoke with all of the administrators in the District for our Administrative Leadership Conference.  I couldn't let him get away without stopping to talk with him about some of the ideas he has for connecting with teens and with each other, and just to share some of his insights with our listeners. Thank you for joining us, first of all. Thank you for the message you have to share with administrators today.

    David Kozlowski:

    It was a great pleasure for me, especially now that I'm a teacher at Herriman High School to talk to peers and people that are in the trenches. It's really cool, because usually I just talk to parents, but now I feel I got to talk to parents and professionals in education. So it was huge enjoyment for me.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell everybody a little bit of your story and how you got to where you are, and then I want to talk about your connection to teaching after that.

    David Kozlowski:

    I never once in a day in my life woke up and said, 'I think I want to talk about feelings for a living when I get older." I was trying to go the macho route.  I have two older brothers that played in the NFL. Well, I was adopted, it's a long story. My grandmother adopted me. She raised me with her kids and her new husband. So I was raised by my half uncles and aunts as my siblings basically. So I thought I wanted to be a sports athlete like them. I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to the University of Utah to play football, but I really didn't love football. It wasn't really like the thing I loved to do, and I had a lot of problems in college.  I just got done talking about it here to the administrators, but to make really long story short, I had a very serious suicide attempt. I'd had a bad relationship breakup with my girlfriend, fiancé at the time, and been told that I could never play football again because I had concussion problems. I was in a coma for two days from an accident. So it was like a really bad, traumatic brain injury, with a speech impediment and everything. I started going to a therapist and a counselor and one thing led to another. I was like, "so you just listen to people, talk about their struggles, you ask them questions to help them express himself and they feel better?" He's like, "Yeah", I'm like, "that's a cool job. I want that job." So I graduated from the University of Utah, went to graduate school, to become a licensed marriage and family therapist and I've been in mental health for 22 years.

    That kinda got me up until recently, and then with becoming a teacher that was not even a plan thing either for years. I just saw this pattern working with teens and kids. You know, when you see a pattern in something you try and make sense of it first. Then after you see it over and over for years, then you start to go, oh, wait a second, maybe we need to talk about the problem completely differently. It's called an orthogonal approach. Right? Einstein was famous for that, he looked at what other scientists did. He's like, "yeah, I'm not interested in that. Do something totally different just to kind of think outside the box." So for years I've been telling school districts and people that I have this idea for a curriculum that was based upon what I saw with private practice. I put on free social support groups for teens and here in the Herriman community for 11 years. So these kids freely are coming every week and I'm just taking notes. It felt like that guy who lived with lions in Africa for like 10 years, they came back to see him, they accepted him.  These teenagers forget I'm even there because I look like I'm 12 still, right? I wear vans and I look like an adolescent.

    Then I just figured out all these unique things that really led to their problems and all the things that were connected to their solutions. It was pretty simple. The ones that had bad relationships, family, friends, relationship with themselves, always had issues with mental and emotional health. The ones that didn't have bad family or friend relationships, they happen to have a different type of health that fortified them when things got tough because they had support, but they knew how to ask for it, and they also knew how to get it. For whatever reason their parents, teachers influential people in their life, modeled this for them. They pick up on it.

    The families that were really struggling when they started come in with depression, anxiety, suicide, all these issues, I started to see that these issues were all connected to relationships. So my curriculum that I came up with a long time ago was a social health curriculum. It just so happens, when I started thinking about this, about 10, 12 years ago, a bunch of research had been happening simultaneously that I didn't even know about. This research was showing that our social brain actually learns better than our analytical brain. When we are socially, like when we're curious, that's a social trait, right? Because curiosity leads to adventure. Adventure leads to discovery. Discovery leads to people need you around. You matter if you're a person that invents things. Right?

    So in this curriculum, I just started thinking, man, we need to focus on the social health of our adolescents as equally, arguably equally, as important as math, English, and science. With the suicide epidemic, with the depression, and self-harm going up, I'm like, we need to have social health, meet it and like capture it. So we don't try to save all these kids that are dying. We get to them long before they can get that point. I just happened to mention my idea on a podcast. I was actually kind of disheartened because I talked to a couple of the schools that looked like they were going to do it and it never worked out. I mentioned it on my podcast, it just so happens, one of your vice principals, Julie Scherzinger, love her to death, man, that woman was a pit bull. She heard it on my podcast and she started blowing me up. So I call and she's like, 'we need to talk about this. Can we do something here?" Then everything fast forward through the pandemic or before the pandemic?  I said, yeah, I have it all outlined put together. I just put the finishing touches on it. Pandemic year, oddly enough, that was the year we tried to help kids connect socially wearing masks. And man, we found out that their social health is a serious issue.  I mean, think about you only get better at what you practice. If you're staring at a phone all day long and texting and messaging, are you getting better at reading social cues? Are you getting better at facial expressions, understanding if someone didn't like, didn't say something to you because they didn't like you or because they're in a bad mood. Was that person hating you? Or did they have a bad burrito at lunch? And they have an upset stomach. They can't really tell the difference.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    There are lots of ways to escape having to figure those things out and having to actually engage with others around us.

    David Kozlowski:

    Exactly. So that's just the nuts and bolts of it. Thanks to Julie and Quarnberg at Herriman, by the way, I don't own this whole social thing. I don't own this. I don't try to own this. I just created a course. I think that social health, and that's what we're working with right now with the Orrin Hatch Foundation, I think social health should be a curriculum and a course. Very similar to how we introduced physical education into academics. If we're not getting better, at face-to-face negotiation, communicating difficult conversations, what example are we as a country in society showing our kids? Last time I checked when parents drop off their kids kindergarten, first, second grade, whatever it is, they're not sitting there going first day, I hope they do get a math today. They're saying, I hope they make a friend. I hope they don't get bullied. I hope they're not the bully. Right? Like you're so worried about their relationships. I hope their teacher likes them.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Great point. That's the focus exactly. When you say that, it's exactly my thought every time my kids start school.

    David Kozlowski:

    Right? And so in my mind, I'm like, this is too basic. This is too simple. Fortunately, doctors like Matthew Lieberman from UCLA, Harvard trained psychologists, a lot of other great doctors out there, did the research to back up that our brains have evolved, become more social. If you are not good at social, it doesn't matter what you're selling. It doesn't matter what you're trying to convince people to do. No one's going to buy it. No one's going to connect with it. They have to feel like there's a relationship. Hence the root of the word relationship is relate. There's gotta be some sort of connection there. So when I saw his work, when I took my experience and I was started working with kids in schools, I just figured we got to put this in curriculum somehow. So I've been doing a slow, this isn't like a sales pitch, this isn't like, oh, we know exactly what schools need. I'm a teacher now because I didn't want to create a curriculum without teaching it because how would I know what teachers need?

    Anthony Godfrey:

    What are some of the things that you have found have worked in that class?

    David Kozlowski:

    So what I found, first of all, by listening to other teachers, listening to students before I even created this. I've just listened to parent's complaints, teacher's complaints, student's complaints. Then I turned around to solutions, because everyone can complain and point fingers at who's not doing what they're supposed to be doing, but where's the solution at? So one of the things I found out, um, well, I'll use it. It was specific to this last year, but I think it bears repeating, is the masks showed us a really big blind spot is in human beings of how we communicate. Kids were so used to communicating digitally that when all their communication was only digital kids started to get really uncomfortable with it. They were nostalgic for the days where they could just hang out with their friend. They could sit in the class.  I'm not saying, I've got to be careful when I say this, when kids get bullied in class, it's not good, but I had some kids come talk to me. They would tell me they would be okay with feeling uncomfortable in certain classes, around certain kids, for the payoff of getting to see their friends, getting to connect and getting to ask a teacher questions.  Where over Zoom they felt so much more disconnected and were scared to do any of those things.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So they were ready to take the good with the bad just to have some level of connection.

    David Kozlowski:

    But because they came back to school with masks, they were all like, something's wrong. Giving kids a real life experience. You take away a super power from them. Their ability to read people's body languages. They were lost. They were scared. That's why we're seeing as the results come in, it did not get better mental and emotional health with young people over the pandemic.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Stay with us. When we come back more with Herriman high teacher, David Kozlowski.

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    Anthony Godfrey:

    You said in your presentation that after over two decades in mental health and social health, coming in as a teacher, you learned a lot quickly that you hadn't learned over those decades as a social and mental health specialist. Tell me some of the things that you learned coming into the classroom.

    David Kozlowski:

    I learned that kids are far more scared of school than I realized, and they're not scared of the book. They're scared of the social. The most important thing in school, I'll explain this after this, I'm a school teacher, and like I say, the most important thing in mental health is helping people with their social health. The most important thing in school for students has always been social. But what I learned, to answer your question, what I learned with these kids, their fear is extraordinarily real. Their stress is extraordinarily real, and it can change in a heartbeat from one class to another. They can be confident in one social class because that teacher established that place.

    I call my classes, it's Switzerland. We don't bring politics, we don't bring religion, We don't bring any of those things here because those cause differences. At the end of the day, hurt and pain, fear, these are all natural connectors with people. We're all scared of something. Okay, well, we can connect on that. We'll feel less than at times. Okay. We can connect on that.Once we start to connect in my classes, I have these kids do these highs, lows, and who knows? So to start off the day, they'll say their name, they'll say the high for me this past week or over the weekend was "hung out with my friends". The number one high reported is I spent time with my friends. Then number one low that was reported is drama with their friends or their family members. After that, if they're unsure, like one of the things they're unsure of, like, I'm dating a girl that I used to date and we got back together. So that's a "I don't know".

    Our brain can really do a good job of saying, I know this, I don't know that, and this isn't an unknown. Those three categories, with their name, saying over and over. I'd see kids walk up to another kid and say, "Man, you have a problem with your dad too. Like when you were talking about your dad, I thought you read my diary. That's just like me." They make connections without us having to force the connection. They just have to have a safe place where they can feel that they can talk about things that aren't going to marginalize them. They can talk about things that are going to bond and connect them.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Finding out that there were other kids who may have the exact same struggles, creates a connection all its own. And if they don't talk about it, they know someone else is in the same situation and it validates theirs

    David Kozlowski:

    You hit it right on the head. The nicest kid can be mean and quasi bullying if there's enough kids in a group talking bad about another kid. All it takes is one kid to say, "Hey, that kids actually pretty cool. I liked them." They'd all go, "oh, whoa. We're not saying we didn't like them." They pull back really quickly. But sometimes kids say, "I'm not brave enough to stand up." I said, "you don't need to stand up, you just need to speak out."

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I've never been in your class, but I walked in one day to Herriman High School. I saw kids running around, pairing up, stopping suddenly. It looked like chaos, but it looked like pretty exciting chaos, very engaging chaos.  I'm just having a conversation with an Administrator, and I said, "What's going on?" In a positive way,  because I'm thinking these kids are engaged in what's happening. And he said, "Oh, that's something David Kozlowski put together. It's a way to get kids connected with each other." I mean, these kids, these are high school kids that can sometimes be very difficult to engage. They were at a full sprint to get to each other in whatever activity it was. And they were obviously connecting in a very meaningful way. So it was fun to see that. And you obviously are transferring the energy that you have for improving social health to those kids that you're working with.

    David Kozlowski:

    Well, I thank you for that, and I definitely can't take credit for all of that. What you saw was probably a specific thing.  Those group of kids were going around doing that. But basically what it is is that the school, the fact that I'm even there trying the curriculum, let's face it hurt and pain is the connector of all human beings. What Herriman went through in 2017, I think we can all say that was not something any school wants to even be remotely associated with. There's two different approaches. We either sweep it under the rug, pretend it didn't happen, or we just go, hey, we've got to make this better. And we just come full out there, and that's what they did. So by bringing me in, I just happen to have these cool Jedi mind tricks with teenagers. I call them Jedi mind tricks. It's like, "Get off your phone you will." "Respect your teacher you might", because what happens is you guys put curiosity in your slogan right now. I can't tell you how powerful curiosity is, not to just human beings, but specifically to teenagers. They're the most curious human beings on the planet. But they're also human beings that want their own autonomy. They want to break away and they have really bad habits of being taken care of and given everything they want when they want it. So this is a really tough bridge to cross with them. I want everything done for me, but I want all the freedom to do what I want to do.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You hit that on the head. that is a big frustration.

    David Kozlowski:

    Certainly. Yeah. And so they're really semi-professional adults. They have all  the desires of adults. They have intelligence, they know how to like download an app. Like they can do adult stuff better than some adults can, but they're not quite good enough at the relationship connection and realistic expectations where they can be professionals at it. No one's going to pay them in a job to show up as an adult. So when we're working with them at the school, those are the things I taught them. I only got that information because of 22 years of working with the most intense situations with teenagers and kids. Life-threatening, horrible parents in jail and stuff like that. You have to learn how to think on the fly. You can't go to a book and say, "so how does this make you feel" to a kid that just told you they're suicidal. And they're like, "I just told you how I feel like, were you not listening?" Right. So what I figured out throughout all these years were things that everyone does that lands perfectly get someone to put down their guard, sparks their curiosity, because if you can spark a curiosity in a teenager, good luck getting them to pay attention longer than three seconds because that phone has a whole lot of things that sparks their curiosity. You're competing against a phone.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, I'm so glad to have you at Herriman High School.

    David Kozlowski:

    And I'm glad to be here, really glad.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I'm glad we had a chance to hear from you and that teachers will have a chance to tap into these ideas. Stay close, we need you, and we appreciate all that you're doing for our kids.

    David Kozlowski:

    Well, thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to be on the podcast. I appreciate the opportunity to speak, to teach. You know, if all my wishes come true, I would like social health to be a curriculum in every school from kindergarten to 12th grade. Just as a way to develop skills, but more importantly in middle school and high school. And it just be a curriculum where everyone, all the social and emotional learning out there, there's a lot of great curriculums out there. The problem is there's no lane. They're all like standalone.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's a little bit here and there.

    David Kozlowski:

    It's here and there. So if we create one curriculum, which is called social health, my classes Level Up. I just want to compete in it like in competition. Let's see how we can be the best version of helping our kids learning social skills. We need competition. So just to be clear to any listener, I'm not like "I invented it, I own it," I want everybody that has this ability to meet those standards. We're creating the standards and for it to be a thing. Now, if it never turns out to be that way, I'm going to give it my best shot. But, you know, I appreciate the opportunity.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, I love that this is an added layer to taking care of kids at Herriman High School. I love that you're there and that we got to hear from you today. And I really look forward to what's ahead. So thank you so much for spending time with us. Thank you.

    You can hear more about David Kozlowski's work on improving social health for teens, by tuning into his 'Light the Fight' parenting podcasts. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there.

    20 min
  • Episode 98: Southland Elementary Student Climbs to the Top in USA National Bouldering Competition

    A Southland Elementary student is literally climbing his way to the top in a sport that is making its debut in the Summer Olympic games right now. We’re talking about Sport Climbing.

    On this episode of the Supercast, we catch up with Landers Gaydosh inside the Momentum Indoor Climbing gym. Landers demonstrates some of his Sport Climbing skills and tells us about the recent USA Climbing Youth National competition where, at just 11-years-old, he finished 2nd in Bouldering and 3rd in Top Ropes. Landon is already beating out some of the best in the United States.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. A Southland Elementary student is literally climbing his way to the top in a sport that is making its debut in the summer Olympic games right now. We're talking about sport climbing. On this episode of the Supercast, we catch up with Landers Gaydosh inside the Momentum Indoor Climbing Gym. Landers demonstrates some of his sport climbing skills and tells us about the recent USA Climbing Youth National Competition, where at just 11 years old, he finished 2nd in Bouldering and 3rd in Top Ropes.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We are here with Jonathan and Landers Gaydosh to talk with Landers about his climbing. But first let's talk to your dad. Jonathan, you teach at Herriman High School.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yes, sir.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me a little bit about that.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    I teach Resource at Herriman High School, co-teach an Algebra II / Trig class, and I had to teach a Personal Finance class. It has been an absolute joy to be honest. The first time I've really enjoyed teaching was when we landed in Utah and I 100% feel like we have the greatest Special Education team in the world there, because we truly are a team.  I feel like our Administration is just 100% supportive of the faculty and staff and the children. It's been a blast. I've really enjoyed the last three years and am looking forward to number four.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's great. I'm really thrilled to hear that. Now, you guys came from North Carolina?

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Transylvania county, if I'm not mistaken,

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Transylvania county, a small town called Brevard, North Carolina, just south of Asheville.  We moved from a little tiny pond to a big pond.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And your wife taught me how to say Appalachia properly.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yeah, yeah. Appalachia, that's right. The Appalachian mountains.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Your wife April works in the District Administration, and so we're really glad to have your family as part of Jordan School District, and to bring that perspective from North Carolina.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    We enjoy being here. Utah has been a blessing for our family, just from the job perspective and then meeting new friends and people and getting to see the world.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Now you strike me as an outdoorsman and Utah must be a nice place to be into camping and that sort of thing.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Oh yeah. There's a saying, especially in the climbing world, that climbers don't die and go to heaven, they die and go to Utah. This is the perfect place for that, and we also love to fly fish and it's a phenomenal state for fly fishing as well.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You were a climber when you were a kid a little bit, right?

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yeah, I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and believe it or not, there's quite a pretty good climbing scene in that area. I grew up climbing at a place called Horse Pens 40, which is a very unique kind of rock with very unique features. Believe it or not, rock does have different textures and features from the granite here in the Wasatch to the granite in the Yosemite. It's very different.  I grew up fortunate to be able to be outside and climb, but I was not very good.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Now Landers is carrying the tradition on. Landers, thanks for talking with me. Now, tell me what grade you're in and where you go to school.

    Landers:

    I'm going into 6th grade and I go to Southland Elementary.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    How do you like it here compared with North Carolina? Probably miss your friends a lot.

    Landers:

    Yeah, I definitely do miss my friends, but the mountains are quite a bit more fun.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So the mountains kind of offset the loss of the North Carolina friends a little bit.  So, tell me what got you into climbing?

    Landers:

    When I was in preschool, my dad worked at a climbing gym. He used to pick me up and he would always take me to the climbing gym because my mom was still at work.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So while you were at the climbing gym, you figure, why not climb? Now preschoolers tend to climb a lot anyway, but you decided to get serious about it.

    Landers:

    Yeah, when I was in preschool I wanted to travel the world. Climbing was like one of the few sports where when you're a kid, you can travel the whole United States.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So you've been climbing from what age?

    Landers:

    About like 3 or 4 to 11.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So you're 11 years old. You have done more climbing than I will ever even think about doing, I'll just tell you that right now. We are here at Momentum in Sandy and I walked in to see these walls.  I brought my son, who's 12, here a few times.  I'd forgotten how high these walls are. Do they look high to you when you're walking in or not anymore? Are you just so used it? This is something you conquer daily.

    Landers:

    Mainly when you go outside it can be a little scary cause how much bigger the walls are than in here.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    How much do you like to climb indoors versus outdoors?

    Landers:

    I definitely like outdoors a little bit better just because you're not pulling on the same walls and the same handholds.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I don't know a lot about climbing, but I do understand that there are names for certain paths up the mountain. Is that right? And those names get a little crazy don't they? Can you tell me some of the crazy names out there for the way up a mountain?

    Landers:

    There are a couple that are like Midnight Lightning, which is a very famous climb.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Have you done Midnight Lightning?

    Landers:

    No, it's in Yosemite.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Something you aspire to maybe. Jonathan, what are some of the names that you remember, those routes?

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    He just did one called Poker Face Alice in Wyoming in an area called Wild Iris.  I guess the wall is called the OK Corral, and so all of the climbs have Western names. Poker Face Alice is one, Give My Love to Rose is another one. It's funny because you know, I think about all the Western movies, what situation is the guy saying, 'Hey, give my love to so-and-so in case I don't return.'

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That would be a daunting climb. Now that you mentioned that, you know, 'give my love to rose', now I'm going to climb and who knows if I'll return?

    Speaker 4:

    Then of course he did white Buffalo. He climbed a really famous Southeastern climb called Bumbly, which is such a unique rock. He's the youngest to climb one right here in little Cottonwood canyon called Big Guy. It's a pretty historical landmark because it's a boulder, that's about 45 feet tall and you climb it without a rope. The LDS church had drilled into it to break off the granite to build the temple downtown. So not only is it historical climb in little Cottonwood, it also has a historical story to the rock itself. It's a beautiful piece of rock.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's a 45 foot boulder. What goes through your head when you stand in front of a 45 foot boulder and say, you know what? I think I'll climb that?

    Landers:

    I'm thinking, 'is this doable for me?' Because Big Guy was not super hard or out for me, and so that's why I was like, 'I kind of want to do that.' Cause it looks really cool and it just looks so cool, cause it's right on the river.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Are you always looking for the next challenge? Do you want it to be challenging in that? That's what it sounds like.

    Landers:

    Yeah, because I'm like not even halfway. There's so much to climb and I'm not even close.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Do you repeat climbs very often or are you always looking for the next new climb?

    Landers:

    Outside? I don't normally repeat climbs, but inside when I'm training, I might do a climb and be like, okay, that kinda got my muscles going, I might do that again.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I love that mentality 'that got my muscles going. It's a challenge. I might try that one again.' But mostly you're looking for a new challenge.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Stay with us when we come back, find out if this amazing Southland student has his eyes set on future Olympic competition.

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    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me a little bit about competition. I'll let you tell the listeners what happened at your last competition.

    Landers:

    So my last competition in Nevada, I got second and third. I got second in bouldering and third in ropes and I was very surprised.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Now, that was a national competition, and I saw the people you were up against. You're at the bottom of your age group, right? So you were climbing against some other kids that are taller. They have an advantage just by reaching up.

    Landers:

    Yeah, but not all the time. It makes a big difference, but sometimes, they might have to get in this tiny space and grab these tiny holds.

    Landers:

    So sometimes you use your size to your advantage?

    Landers:

    Yeah.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Jonathan, tell us a little bit about how those are structured. What are some of the categories and how does the scoring work?

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    The categories they have Youth Junior all the way down to Youth D.  Youth C, which is what Landers is in, is ages 11 to 12, and then B is 13 -14,  A is 15-16, and then Juniors is 17 and 18 year olds.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So he was competing in the national competition, bottom of his age bracket, and took second and third in different categories.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yes. If he was one month younger, he couldn't be any younger for his age group. So he is at the very, very bottom of his age group. It's a two day competition for rope climbing, and then he took a two day rest because he doesn't speed climb, and then it's a two day competition for bouldering. He had to climb two routes for qualifier, and he made it through that round. Then they had semifinals the morning of, and in the semifinal rounds, they have to go to an isolation room with all the other kids that are in their age group.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Isolation. So you don't see the path other people take up the climb.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Exactly, they don't let them see the routes. Not only do they have to have the ability to climb it, they have to have the ability to read what the route is supposed to make them do or make their body movements and their foot work.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I think we ought to go out and see you go to work. You can kind of talk me through how this all works. We're here in the cathedral, if you will, of climbing Momentum, these huge walls, that curve back at us with lots of colorful shapes and bumps, you probably see a route right there. Don't you?  So tell me how you get ready to climb.

    Landers:

    So I have my climbing shoes. I'll put those on.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    They look like they're made out of hard rubber.

    Landers:

    Some of them are made of hard rubber to last longer, but these are made out of soft rubber, so when you step on a hold they take the shape.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    They give a little bit.

    Landeres:

    They're really bendy, they don't really break easily.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Okay, you've got  two climbing shoes on now, what's next? Is there a harness here?

    Landers:

    Yeah, I'm putting my safety harness on.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You trust a lot to those clips. I put keys on him before, but never my whole body.

    Landers:

    My kind are a little different.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Kind of do the double check of the equipment here.

    Landers:

    Tighten the waist.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I can see you've done this a time or two.

    Landers:

    Yeah.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're here in the corner. It looks like this wall has a terrible skin condition.

    Landers:

    I'll be doing this white one, a 5.10 b.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So you're going to be taking the white. So you're tying in, what do you call it now? You're tying the rope around your harness.

    Landers:

    Yeah, the knot is called a figure 8 because it looks like an 8. You just follow that rope all the way around.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Back through. I'm already lost, but it looks really good. Wow! That's a perfect knot, it looks nice too.

    Landers:

    When you fall it tightens. If you have a little more extra, you might tie a pretzel. I don't have enough, but you might try that just so it doesn't fling around.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Just to tie it off. Okay, cool. All right. So now it's being hooked into a pulley and a clip, right? Are you going to clip that pulley to the front of you?

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yep, so now he's on belay.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    He's on belay.

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    So as he goes up, he'll clip the rope into the quick draws.  So that way, if he falls, he still falls, but he gets caught there.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I don't walk as well as he climbs. He's just like, oh, step, step. And now the wall is curved back. So that changes fast

    Jonathan Gaydosh:

    Yeah, it's steeper, I mean, I've done this one right here and it's steeper than it looks.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It looks pretty steep. Landers, you just scampered up there. That was just crazy. So  is that like your happy place to be climbing and then gliding down like that? That is awesome. So does that wear you out at all or is that just like a routine thing?

    Landers:

    That one is like a warmup, so when I get on like harder things, I don't pull a muscle or anything.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It kind of took my breath away to see how fast you go up there and how confident you are just with your next step. That was awesome. Very cool to watch.

    Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there.

    18 min
  • Episode 97: Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary Teachers Ready to “Rock” the New School Year with Amazing Students and Creative Classrooms

    It is the opportunity of a lifetime for teachers at Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School. They can’t wait to start teaching in their virtual classrooms this school year, leading the way as pioneers of sorts in personalized learning for students in Jordan School District.

    On this episode of the Supercast, we talk with some of the Rocky Peak Elementary teachers who say they are ready to rock the new school year with amazing students and creative virtual classrooms where learning will be fun and engaging.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is the opportunity of a lifetime for teachers and students at Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School. They are thrilled to let the learning begin in their virtual classrooms this school year, leading the way in personalized learning for students in Jordan School District. On this episode of the Supercast, we talk with some of the Rocky Peak Elementary teachers who say they are ready to rock the school year with amazing students and creative virtual classrooms where learning will be fun and engaging.

    We are here at Hidden Valley Middle School to talk with Ross Menlove and members of the faculty of Rocky Peak Elementary School, our virtual school, that launches in the fall. Ross, thanks for taking some time.

    Ross Menlove:

    It's a pleasure to be here with the Superintendent.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me about some of the preparations that are happening for the fall. We're excited about not one, not two, but three new virtual schools launching, giving students some additional options that they haven't had in exactly this format before. What is some of the preparation that's been happening this summer?

    Ross Menlove:

    Some of the preparation that has been happening is we brought in all of our teachers from all the levels, from the elementary, middle school and high school, and we did a few days of training on competency based education and personalized learning. So providing that choice and voice for students as they go through their learning process. Part of the training was training the teachers on competency based education and providing time for teachers to work on their curriculum. The teachers have been spending quite a bit of time this summer building out curriculum, specifically designed for personalized learning for their students.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    One of the more common questions we get as educators is, 'so what do you guys do all summer?'  I know that there's always a lot of work that goes on, and this year in particular, for these teachers in particular, there's a lot of work. Not just to create content and be prepared to help students learn virtually, but also to be, as you say, competency-based and truly shift the way that we look at learning overall. That combination is powerful. You can give us some more details about this, but really this type of approach can work very well for a student who struggles and feels like they need some extra individual help, but also for a student who sometimes may get frustrated because they feel they're beyond the instruction that's happening in the classroom.

    Ross Menlove:

    So at Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary our mission is personalized education. We focus on the student, what the student needs. So parents as they look at the virtual elementary, they have two curriculum choices for their students. They have synchronous choice in which they are able to learn live with their teachers, and the teachers are designing that curriculum specifically for those students. Or they have an asynchronous choice in which they are able to learn at their own pace, their own place. They don't meet with the teacher live every single day in the asynchronous, but they have the teacher there available to meet with them daily, if they need. It's very personalized and designed specifically for that child and for those students.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I think that is uniquely possible through a virtual approach and the way that you structured it. It even gives a lot of choices within the virtual school because we've talked about virtual learning as a choice. Even within virtual learning, you have synchronous, asynchronous, and you have opportunities to come in person as well. Tell us a little bit about that option.

    Ross Menlove:

    So one of the options we have for students it's called 'Peak Time'. We have two physical locations for Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary, one at Majestic Elementary, at the north end of Jordan District, and one at here at Hidden Valley in the south end of the District. Students can come in two days a week to do hands-on science, STEM, art, P.E., and social studies. Those 'Peak Time' activities are taught by the teachers. So it's a very enriching curriculum, but it's a fun opportunity just to come and learn and grow and be social with other students.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So there really are a number of different layers to being able to learn at Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, and that's what I love about it. It's all the choices within that virtual option. Let's talk with a couple of the teachers who are on your faculty.  I just am going to note that we had a ton of applicants, so we really have some of the best teachers anywhere that are working on this and launching Rocky Peak. Introduce yourself, tell us where you were teaching and give us a little bit about yourselves.

    Kasey Chambers:

    I'm Kasey Chambers, I'm the fifth grade teacher at Rocky Peak Virtual. I have been with Jordan School District since I graduated from BYU, for nine years now.  I've been at Butterfield Canyon for all of those nine years, so it was a hard choice to change, but I couldn't resist the opportunity. I'm really excited to be teaching virtually.

    Ashley Tanner:

    I'm Ashley Tanner. I have been teaching for seven, eight years and I've taught kindergarten through fifth. This is actually my second year in Jordan School District.  I will be teaching third grade this year and I'm really excited.  I taught online last year and I'm really excited to take a more proactive approach to virtual education this year.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I think you make a really good point that it's going to be different from the online and virtual learning that has happened previously. I like to look at it in kind of three phases. There was the phase where we just shut down immediately and we all had to kind of do the best we could with what we had. I think we did really well given the circumstances. Then the next year that was really pandemic learning, that was available virtually for every student who wanted it, and every teacher who wanted to teach that way, and some teachers who didn't plan on teaching that way, but were asked to. And again, I think that went very well. There were certainly always things that could be better when you do something that fast and that dramatic of a change. But again, given the circumstances, I thought that teachers and students and families pitched in together and did an extraordinary job of making that available. A lot of those choices were based on the need to be home for personal health reasons, and now going forward, the virtual option is really available for those who feel that teaching and learning in a virtual environment is going to be best for them personally. So Ashley, tell me, what was it about teaching virtually that made you want to continue to do that?

    Ashley Tanner:

    I think the unexpected part of virtual teaching last year that I enjoyed so much was the support from home.  I would bring to the table the curriculum. The what do we need to learn, and how is the best way to learn it. All of that science and the education that I bring as a teacher. Then I got to combine that with the experts on that child. With their family, with their guardians and we combine that together.  I would present here's what I want to teach, here's what you should learn, here's why you should learn it. Then the parents would say, great, I know my child, here's their strengths, here's their talents. We're going to combine those things together, and I had kids that soared. I mean, it was so exciting by the end of the year to see them above not only where they should be, but they excelled. They did more than I thought they would do. They did more than I thought they would do, even if I were in a brick and mortar school with them. So it was really exciting to be a part of that team where the parents, and the guardians, and me, and the school, all came together and something great, unexpectedly great, came out of it.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Kasey, tell us about your experience and what made you want to continue teaching virtually

    Kasey Chambers:

    Kind of like Ashley, I was asked to go online, and Ross will tell you I went on kicking and screaming. But, we're here and I ended up really, really enjoying it, obviously. One of the things that I loved about it was that there's a lot of things that go on in a school that don't need to go on at home. So like the PE, the transition time, going to lunch and having recess. The 'I need you guys to read a book for 15 minutes while I grade this quiz' type of things. There's a lot in a school day and all of it's great, but what's really cool about virtual is that it's kind of formulaic in a way.  I can say these are the five things we're learning today. We're going to teach it and you can do it on your own time. These are my clear expectations. I taught more social studies, more science than I have any other year just because of how our days are filled if they're just at home. So I don't need to send them to recess. I don't need to have them take a break unnecessarily for a recess or whatever. We don't have to go to lunch. So it was really cool just to see how much I could fit in and the unique ways that kids could tell me that they learned. There's many different ways, they can make a video, they can do all of these things. It felt a lot easier to differentiate for my kids as well.  I had several students who just excelled and loved it so much, which was really unexpected. I think for a lot of teachers, we thought, 'oh, this is just going to be terrible. They're going to miss seeing me every day in person,' but they loved it and they did well, and they helped me keep getting better because they were doing so well. So it was awesome.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You both mentioned a deeper level of connection. Connection with family, and the connection between the teacher and the student. When you clear away some of what is necessary when you're in person, but not necessary when you're virtual, it creates some space for additional learning. I find it remarkable that both of you were able to teach more and saw more from students in a virtual environment.  I think that has actually been true of a lot of people I've talked with and in articles I've read about adults who are working from home and productivity has gone up. So it sounds like that's been your experience with students as well, that productivity went up, interest levels went up, and really they were able to focus on the things that they needed or that were important to them.

    Kasey Chambers:

    I agree. I think a big thing too, is that we all recognize that online learning is not for every kid. There were some kids who needed to be in person and we all recognize that.  I was very surprised at how there's so many different things that we just didn't think about that would help a kid do better at home.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    What are some of the other positive experiences you've seen as students have learned virtually Ashley?

    Ashley Tanner:

    Well, obviously every year teachers are trying to better themselves. We're trying to educate ourselves more on how to really teach these children, and we know that students learn differently.  I think one of the things that I really enjoyed about teaching students in their home was that I had some students that were more kinesthetic learners, so they got to move around more and they got to be more physical with their learning. There were some students that were more auditory and they could really doodle. There were so many different ways that these students could learn. They would build things, they would want to talk in groups in breakout rooms, but they would also just want to be introspective. We had the space and the teaching virtually to allow them to process what they were learning and the way that they learn.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I hopped online to read as part of a reading initiative. And I read to an entire third grade class in a school. So the whole grade was together on a huge zoom call. A couple of kids hopped on and said, "oh, no, if you do this, then..." They were giving me advice on how to hold the book and angle the camera and turn off my mute button, you know, those types of things.

    When we come back, we'll take you on a tour of the new Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School.

    Advertisement:

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    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're here at Hidden Valley Middle School with Ross Menlove, Principal of Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School. We're excited that there's space in our newest middle school here at Hidden Valley to provide time for students and teachers to interact for 'Peak Time' a couple of times a week, as you have described. This is where the offices will be, with a counseling center, and there are a few modifications being made. Can you kind of walk us through the facilities?

    Ross Menlove:

    As students walk in, they're going to walk into this really big open area. The open area is designed for 'Peak Time' for kids to be able to come in, interact with their teacher, do some hands-on learning, do some science experiments and STEM activities. We also have three classrooms specifically set aside for 'Peak Time' for kids to be able to come in. One of those classrooms is a science specific classroom.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Let's walk over there.

    Ross Menlove: One of those classrooms is a science room where we have linoleum floors. We have gas piped in, you have water. So kids are able to do some actual science projects. It'll be fun to see what the teachers do with the students during 'Peak Time'.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I can see that this is a totally separate wing with a separate entryway at the back of the school. So really, there isn't going to be any interaction with the middle school students who are here day in and day out.

    Ross Menlove:

    Yes, that is correct. We're specifically designing this space for elementary, middle school and high school. So as the kids walk in, there's going to be spaces designed specifically for those elementary students. Lower desks for kids to be able to work together in groups, but also for the middle school and high school to come in and work independently on their work they need to.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    This is a lab that wouldn't normally be available at the elementary level. So they're getting access to some things that they wouldn't normally see.

    Ross Menlove:

    Yes, it's pretty exciting. We're going to do some really fun science experiments and some STEM to be able to deepen our love of learning. 'Peak Time' is a time for kids just to come and enjoy learning and enjoy being with their teachers. Teachers are able to teach without having to worry about a test or anything like that. Just do it for the love of teaching.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Just as a reminder, it's not required that anyone come to 'Peak Time' or that they do anything in person.

    Ross Menlove:

    That is correct. In our school they can be at home for the entire thing or wherever they're at. We can customize their learning for what they need and wherever their location may be.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I saw that there's also a separate counseling area and there'll be computers where students can come and work. That's been something that students have wanted to do over time. We've had virtual students for a long time in the district, not virtual schools, but students who wanted to learn virtually. Now if elementary students need individual, in-person help, they can to get that as well.

    Ross Menlove:

    Yes, that is correct. We invite the elementary students to come in individually to meet with their teachers one-on-one. The elementary students can be learning from home for their major curriculum, but if they need that individual time, they can either come in during 'Peak Time' or schedule a time one-on-one with the teacher.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's exciting. There's so many different layers, so many different aspects to the way that students can learn directly, individually and in a personalized way.

    Ross Menlove:

    Yes, we're personalizing the instruction for the student. The student is in the driver's seat and the student and the parents are the ones who get to make the educational choices. What's best learning for them and for their learning needs

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I love how you're adapting this wing of the school to make it a very welcoming and interactive environment.  I think it's a great component to a virtual school.

    Ross Menlove:

    That's when it's pretty exciting. Rocky Peak Virtual is going to be pretty awesome.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Ross, thanks to you and your faculty and everyone else who's worked to make this possible. I know you've been involved in this type of learning for a very long time. So all of your experience has prepared you so well for this.  I'm thrilled to offer this to families and students in Jordan District.

    Ross Menlove:

    That's when it's pretty exciting. Rocky Peak Virtual is going to be pretty awesome. The website for the school is rockypeak.jordandistrict.org  It has information there and some videos. Go on and meet the teachers.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thanks again for the time. Great talking with you.

    Students can enroll now in Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, by going to connect.jordandistrict.org. Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.

    18 min
  • Episode 96: Behind the Wheel with a JSD School Bus Driver

    They spend hours behind the wheel transporting thousands of students safely to and from school, on fun field trips, to athletic events and more.

    On this episode of the Supercast, we hop on board the big yellow school bus to find out what it’s like to be a school bus driver. Hear why our drivers love the job and the students they serve, driving countless miles with safety in mind each and every day.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host Superintendent, Anthony Godfrey. They spend hours behind the wheel transporting thousands of students safely to and from school, on fun field trips, to athletic events and more. On this episode of the Supercast, we hop on board the big yellow school bus to find out what it's like to be a school bus driver. Hear why our drivers love the job and the students they serve, driving countless miles with safety in mind each and every day. The school bus is here, let's climb on board.

    We're here at Eastlake to take the kids home on an afternoon, joining Sean on his route. Sean is a driver extraordinaire, very popular, not just with the kids on the bus, but in the neighborhood as well. And we're excited to take a ride.

    Sean: Hi kiddos. Can you guys all say "Hi"? This is the Superintendent kiddos.

    Anthony Godfrey: Hi guys!

    Sean: All right, kiddos. We're taking off, everybody sit down.

    Kids: Can we be Fortnite taking off?

    Sean: Nope, we're being the red alligator today kiddos. All right, kiddos, everybody sit down, remember to keep my aisles clear. Do we stand up while the bus is moving?

    Kids: No!

    Sean: That's what I thought. Thank you.

    Anthony Godfrey: What's the, uh, red dragon or red alligator or Fortnight?

    Sean: They are the red Dragons, but every day before we take off, I let somebody choose what we are. Sometimes we're a magic school bus, sometimes we're a hippopotamus, I let one kid choose, and today they chose alligator. So we're going to be a red alligator today.

    Sean: We get lots and lots of random questions on the bus.

    Anthony Godfrey: Well there's time and space. It's like a little road trip.

    Sean: Do you guys remember what you were going to do up here at the crosswalk?

    Kids: Yeah!

    Sean: Okay. As soon as we go through the crosswalk and pass and then you guys can start.

    Kids: (Singing) 'Wheels on the Bus'

    Anthony Godfrey: Sean, I've got to admit, it's nice to have somebody else driving.

    Sean: I've always enjoyed driving. Even when we go on vacations, everybody's like, you need a break and I tell them, "Nope, I'd rather drive."

    Anthony Godfrey: Well, Sean, it's a relatively short time with them, but boy, there's a lot of interactions.

    Sean: A lot of interaction.

    Anthony Godfrey: What other schools do you serve on your routes?

    Sean: I drive Mountain Ridge High School and Copper Mountain Middle School.

    Anthony Godfrey: How are high school, middle school and elementary kids different on the bus?

    Sean: My high school kids like to sit down and keep to themselves and be quiet. They'll talk to me every now and then. The junior high kids are very vocal. They have their own little groups that they'd like to stay with. And as you can tell, the elementary kids are the rambunctious bunch.

    Anthony Godfrey: Well, they're rambunctious because they want to talk to you. You're doing a great job of it and I love your interactions with the kids. It's so, so fun to watch.

    Sean: I appreciate you. Thank you for coming out today.

    Anthony Godfrey (04:19): We are here in the transportation offices in the new building to talk with three of our finest bus drivers about what their experience is. Please introduce yourself and tell everyone how long you've been driving.

    Jerri: I'm Jerri Ellsworth. I've been driving for about five years.

    Val: I'm Val Asay, six years.

    Sean: Sean O'Brien and this is my first year.

    Anthony Godfrey: Okay, great. I'm really excited to talk with you guys. First of all, tell me what made you want to be a bus driver?

    Jerri: When I was released from the job I had previously, I received some paperwork from that former place and I said, "Consider me retired." Then I looked in the little town newspaper and they were hiring bus drivers, so I said "I'm retired, I'll go drive a school bus."

    Anthony Godfrey: How about you Val?

    Val: That's about the same for me. I've been retired about 10 years and I thought that I needed something to do to keep myself busy, and this was a perfect fit for me.

    Anthony Godfrey: Great. How about you, Sean?

    Sean: I have a nine-year-old. I worked at Terra Linda last year and this year I worked doing buses and I have the same days off as him. It works out perfectly.

    Anthony Godfrey: That's awesome. It's really nice to have the same schedule. What do you guys like most about being a bus driver?

    Jerry: I like driving the different buses and I like the kids, the interaction with the kids. They're all different. Some are challenging and others are just really good. Really good and sweet kids.

    Anthony Godfrey: I'm sure that there's a good blend there. How about you Val?

    Val: I have driven regular ed buses, but I drive a special needs bus. I enjoy those students. I have had some of the same students for five years, and the parents get to know me and the students get to know me. Those special needs kids melt your heart and they are really good kids. Once you get to know their needs, their wants and the things that upset them or the things that make them relax, it's really special. It's special to know that all children are offered an education, even those who have very special needs. I love my special needs kids.

    Anthony Godfrey: I'm sure that seeing you is one of the things the kids really look forward to in the morning and on the way home. Just getting to spend that time with you after they get to know you for as long as they do.

    Val: Yes, there are a couple of instances where the parents are glad to know that the same faces are coming back to pick their children up, to take them to school. They get used to our faces and who we are. That is very reassuring to most kids, but especially to the special needs kids.

    Anthony Godfrey: I can only imagine that it's comforting to say, "Yeah, there's Val taking care of me getting me to school." That's awesome. Sean, what do you like most about it?

    Sean : It's got to be the kids. At Terra Linda last year, I worked in the Strive unit, the autistic unit, and was one of the 'pink ladies' outside doing recess duty and just fell in love with them.

    Anthony Godfrey: What's most difficult about driving a bus that maybe people don't realize?

    Sean: People not following the stop signs. That is just downright scary that people are on their phones, not paying attention. When you see the stop signs come out, just please slow down and don't go around them. It's almost a weekly thing. And you have to sometimes grab the kids, honk the horn as loud as you can, and make sure that they know the rules, jump back in front of the bus because you don't want to see another child get hurt.

    Anthony Godfrey: How about you?

    Jerri: Well, regular drivers have a tendency to cut us off.They'll swerve right over in front of you. I have a front end bus, a nose, and it's like, they just wipe the nose off the bus to get off and make a quick turn, or they see a bus coming from a stop sign and they pull right out. You always have to be aware of your surroundings, everything around you and, and look forward because you never know what's going to happen.

    Anthony Godfrey: Val shaking his head in agreement.

    Val: Yes, everybody's in a hurry and the bus is just another obstacle that they've got to try to work around. That's a scary thought that they think that way. That's my personal thought, I don't know how they feel, but it seems to be that everybody's in a hurry. We need to slow down.

    Jerri: That's right. I had a driver that got tired of waiting I guess. We were close to a four-way stop where I picked up my elementary this morning and she just decided to go. I honked, and she just kept on going. It scares me when they do that. They don't realize that something can happen or that a kid can come running across the street. They aren't going to take the time to wait a couple of minutes.

    Anthony Godfrey: It takes every driver out there to be more cautious and to be careful to keep everyone safe. What are some of the things that people may be misunderstand about what it's like to be a bus driver?

    Jerri: I've had people say, 'how can you do that? Have all those kids behind you?'  You have to let your kids know from the start that you are serious about what you're doing. "You guys have to stay in your seats to be safe and you have to do it. Everybody is an example to one another." You have to follow through if somebody's misbehaving. You have to let them know, "Hey, I mean business, if I'm pulling over because somebody's jumping across the seats, you're either going to come sit up up behind me, or I'm going to have to write you up and it's going to involve the principal and your parents." I think that's something they don't realize. And then you have to remind them, "We have cameras on the bus. We can see everything you're doing and hear everything you say."

    Anthony Godfrey: That's something parents who are listening to this, aren't thinking about probably. Go back to your childhood and think about it. If there' would've been cameras on that bus it would have been a little bit different. I can tell you that.

    Sean: We're the first point of contact for these kids in the morning. We're the first thing that gets them going. If you're in a bad mood, then the kids are going to be in a bad mood. Even if you're having a bad day already, we try and make it happy so that the kids can go to school and be happy all day. Just tell them when they're getting on "good morning" when they get off, "I hope you have a good day. We'll see you guys after school". As they're getting on your bus, talk to them, say, "how's your day going?"  Just making the kids happy is a good thing.

    Anthony Godfrey: I love that because really, that is what you are. You're the first point of contact. You set the tone for the day and I'm sure, like we talked about it earlier, it's a comfort to see a familiar face and to start things out that way. To know that there's someone asking how they are right from the start. Someone who knows them.

    Jerri: I had a middle school girl a couple of years ago that wrote me a note on the last day of school and thanked me for making her day better by wishing her a good day or saying good morning to her, asking her how she was. Ever since then I make sure I always greet everybody because it was important to her that her day was started out on a positive note when she was feeling bad.

    Anthony Godfrey: It doesn't surprise me at all that that was important to her. I know what a great role you guys play. Safety is of course the main thing, but feeling important, feeling like you belong, having someone make a contact, say "I'm glad to see you".  I'm sure that when you see that someone you're used to coming on the bus, doesn't come on. Then you're able to say, "Hey, how's everything going? Are you okay?" because they missed a day.

    Sean: Especially this year.

    Anthony Godfrey: You guys are awesome. I'm so glad that our kids see you first thing in the morning. You're taking such great care of them and I just can't thank you enough. Thank you very much.

    Stay with us, when we come back more behind the wheel with our school bus drivers.

    Commercial (14:03):

    Are you looking for a job right now, looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at workatjordan.org.

    Anthony Godfrey (14:56): We're talking now with Paul Bergera, the Director of Transportation.

    Anthony Godfrey: Paul, tell us some of the numbers. How many employees do you have in the Transportation department and how many buses do we run in Jordan district?

    Paul: Great question Superintendent. We have about 272 employees in the Department of Transportation. Our fleet comprises over 110 CNG buses, compressed natural gas buses, our entire fleets is around 265 buses. So we're quite large. We have the largest CNG fleet west of the Mississippi, and it's a natural resource for the state of Utah. So it makes sense for us to reduce the carbon footprint in our valley and take advantage of a natural resource that's right here at our doorstep.

    Anthony Godfrey: I know that we've received some nice awards and some grants associated with that. What would you tell someone who is thinking about applying to be a bus driver, describe kind of what the options are and how they would apply.

    Paul: You bet. We have all varieties and all walks of life. We have young people who are here, we also have middle-age folks who have expressed an interest in driving buses and retired people. It really depends on the person because we have a lot of different options for drivers. They can come and be a substitute bus driver if they don't want to commit to driving all year round. We have some contracted positions, so we do offer benefits for anybody that works at least 27 and a half hours up to 40, is benefit eligible. So it really kind of depends on the individual and what he or she wants as an employment option in driving a school bus. What I hear all the time, from drivers that I talk with, is how much they enjoy what they're doing and how much they wish they would have started at a much earlier point in their life. Driving a school bus is just extremely rewarding, like was mentioned, with the drivers. They're the first face that kids see in the morning, the last face they see in the afternoon. What an impact drivers can have on the students of Jordan School District.

    Anthony Godfrey: They certainly do have a tremendous positive impact on kids. It makes a big difference to see a smiling familiar face that gets you there to school on time in the morning. We're always looking for drivers, so anyone who's interested really should get online and apply, and like you said, there's a lot of flexibility in it. If you want to be a substitute driver, and there are routes that are stacked with three or four schools, and there are others where it's a single school route and you can spend less time driving during the day. So that's, I think, that's one of the appealing things, is there's a lot of flexibility.

    Paul: Absolutely. Depending on your kind of day to day activities, some drivers choose to do mid day runs. So they'll have a preschool or a kindergarten, some drivers like to drive their morning run, go home, have some lunch, spend some time at home and then come back and drive their afternoon routes. So a great point, yes, a lot of flexibility and just such a great career.

    Anthony Godfrey: Now it's not just drivers, we need mechanics, we need attendants. Tell me about some of the other jobs in transportation.

    Paul: Excellent. Attendants are always a hot commodity. Our attendants are specifically assigned to buses with students with special needs. Mechanics, especially in our new facility, we've grown, so we are looking for a loop tech currently, for example.

    Anthony Godfrey: Great, well, lots of opportunities, a great place to work and a brand new facility. We got a tour of that  recently, and we'll do a podcast about that soon. Just great, great people to work with and a great area in which to work.

    Paul: Thank you, and I really appreciate your support.

    Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us for another episode of the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

     

    20 min
  • Episode 95: Language Learning Resources for Students and Families

    Do you have a student or family member looking for language learning resources in the community? On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside the Jordan School District Family Engagement Center where students and families are finding language support services that are changing lives.  The center is also connecting families with social and emotional support they need. The services are available all summer long and they are free.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Do you have a student or family member looking for language learning resources in the community? On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside the Jordan School District Family Engagement Center, where students and families are finding language support services that are changing lives. The center is also connecting families with the social and emotional support they need. The services are available all summer long and they are free. Let's head inside Copper Mountain Middle School to learn more.

    We're here at Copper Mountain Middle School at the Family Engagement Center with some of the staff who made that possible. I'm going to ask them to introduce themselves and then we're going to learn about all the ways that we engage with families in Jordan School District.

    Staff:

    I'm Michelle Love-Day, the consultant over Educational Language Services. I'm Toni Brown, I'm the Parent and Outreach Specialist on the Culture Diversity Outreach Team. I'm Silviane Perkins. I work directly with parents, teaching them English as a second language (ESL), and some of the resources that are available for them.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Michelle, start by telling us a little bit about the Family Engagement Center and its purpose, how it came to be.

    Michelle:

    So we started this because with our Parent Outreach focus and our Culture and Diversity Team, we really wanted to reach our parents to support them on how to be engaged with the schools. We are finding that many of our parents live in Title I schools, but they live outside of Title I schools as well. In talking with schools such as Copper Mountain in Herriman, we're noticing a lot of our parents are moving out this way, but there's no support for them to learn English. There are no resources for them to be able to navigate our system. And so we created this Engagement Center so they can learn English through our department and have support.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So how many Family Engagement Centers are there in Jordan District right now?

    Michelle:

    Under our department, this is the first one. We're very happy that Copper Mountain opened their doors and said we could have one of their portables. We're hoping to also work with West Jordan Middle School so that they have one. We are kind of a sister team to the Family Resource Centers that the Title I schools have. But this is the first one that our department has.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Describe for me a little bit, the difference between those two.

    Toni:

    Well, at the Family Learning Centers in the Title I schools, they operate similarly, but their reach is a little bit smaller because it's a smaller school that is primarily based on things that parents of elementary school age students would need. And here at the Family Engagement Center, we are reaching out to all parents and trying to provide things that suit the needs of older children, as well as the parents themselves.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And what kind of classes would you offer to parents?

    Toni:

    Right now we have an English class for people interested in learning English. We have also been requested to have a Spanish class for English speaking parents that want to communicate with their ever diversifying community.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Right, and really connect is what we're trying to do. We're trying to connect the school to our families and to our community and then connect them with each other so there's a great web of support. Silviane, you tell me a little bit about your role.

    Silviane:

    Usually when parents come here, it's almost impossible to separate their needs from how they feel. This group of parents, they need English for a purpose which is to be operational, to function. They have bills to pay, they have to get jobs. If you don't speak English, that has a huge impact on your family and also on your children because if your mother, your father cannot help you with your homework, who will? It's not that if you are an adult that you cannot learn.  You will learn English as your second language, but you have to have a certain mature approach because they have other things in their lives. So that's my role, to make them believe that they can learn how to speak English, and how to change and protect their children and their families.

    Michelle:

    With the help of the State as well, who were able to give us finances to have operations so that we can translate. That is what started the trajectory of the Family Engagement Center and seeing to that need, because we're getting the support and funding. We're also working on translating many documents that we send out from our department to the parents districtwide, so that we can help them navigate the home language surveys, the ACT opt out or opt in for testing scores and just all kinds of family demographic questionnaires that they receive.  The good thing is that the word has gotten out, and like Silviane said, there are 60 parents that are registered. It was wonderful because the word got out and we had a parent show up at our office two weeks ago because they needed help to understand what was being placed in Skyward for their son in order to graduate. What did he need? How do they pick up a packet? So items just as simple as that, where parents are afraid to call the school, they now know that the Family Engagement Center has somebody that speaks Spanish, or that we can find someone that speaks their language, like Swahili, or Kinyarwanda, and we'll help them navigate what they need to do.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It is great to have those resources. So really, a primary purpose of the Family Engagement Center is to overcome language barriers. But what are some of the other barriers that need to be overcome as well?

    Michelle:

    I would say some of the barriers are just the access to resources. As Toni said earlier, combining all the resources that are out in our community for our parents and bringing it into a place where we can give them the opportunity to register their child to take ALPS testing, let them know there are science activities that are available after school, and as we come up on summer, what summer programs we have available so that they understand the opportunities. This year, free and reduced lunch has been done differently, but next year there'll be a change, and we want to make sure that parents are getting the reminder and understanding the email that was sent out. Understanding that they're going to have to re-register for free and reduced lunch, or they're going to have to opt out of certain things. There are barriers I think in just what they don't know because of communication from school to home.

    Silviane:

    And something that I always like to emphasize is this is not just for our Spanish speaking parents or parents who do not speak English as their primary language. This is for any parent who wants to improve. For example, we have a coalition in Salt Lake. It's an organization for women who support their families because they're alone. They have this organization that can help women prepare themselves to face interviews, to become more professional, to find a better salary. We also have a University of Utah Initiative for how to get a higher return on your taxes.

    If you have teenagers, they sometimes, for different reasons become depressed, especially during COVID. We have many mental health, physical health, and professional help resources. There are many people, like Michelle said, who don't have the information that they need. The Family Engagement Center, that's the middle name, is to engage those families and give them power, the power of information. With that in mind, if families can share these resources with their neighbors and communities we can empowerment the whole community. It's a win-win situation.

    Toni:

    I'd also like to add that right now, the Family Engagement Center is in its infancy. We're still in a very malleable state. We are listening, we want to know what the community wants and what they need. So we're reaching out to people to hear, what can we do? We're here, we want to help you, and we will help you find an answer.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's really sounds like the main purpose is to connect people with resources. Sometimes those resources are within the school district. Sometimes it's external. I've been surprised over the years when I've learned some of the things that are available to help parents that may be in a difficult circumstance, even temporarily, that they didn't expect to find themselves in. So what you said earlier is important. Really, the Family Engagement Center is for all families, regardless of their circumstance. There's some things we have to offer.

    Stay with us. When we come back, more about the free support services for families and students available all summer long.

    Break:

    Do you simply love learning online? We can't wait to have you join the amazing teachers in our brand new Jordan Virtual Learning Academy. In Jordan Virtual Learning Academy schools, we offer innovative, fun and flexible online learning with daily, real-time instruction from teachers. Enrollment is currently open for all K-12 students in Utah. Start on the path to personalized virtual learning success now at http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    What are some of the resources that might surprise people? Are there some resources that might not occur to people that are available through the Engagement Center?

    Silviane:

    One of the resources that people always get very surprised about is that there are dental clinics and health clinics that provide services. Sometimes they don't even have the family income scale. There are also psychological and mental health assistance resources. When some families are dealing with addiction and they need intervention, there is also a service provider called Cornerstone House and they offer assistance as well.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    People have been surprised when I've talked with them, friends and colleagues, that the Jordan Education Foundation has expanded Principal Pantries to every one of our schools. The Principal Pantries are where donors provide toiletries, food, even clothing, and other materials for students who need that. They think that need is concentrated in a particular area of the district, but it's throughout the district. We have students experiencing homelessness throughout the district, students who experience food insecurity. There's a lot of support. I'm really glad that this center is out in the Herriman area so that we can reach every corner of the district.

    Toni:

    It's not that the need isn't there. It just looks different in different communities. A lot of times, these things kind of go under the radar because people don't want you to find out, but having a Family Engagement Center is a convenient and comfortable space for people to reach out without having it become a big ordeal. It's at their kid's school that they go to every single day.

    Michelle:

    The one thing when we decided to do the Family Engagement Center and specifically selected Herriman, with the growth of homes and condos and apartments along Mountain View Corridor, many parents wanted to be able to go to Majestic Elementary and learn English, but the transportation is very inconvenient. We've learned that just because they live out here doesn't mean that they don't want the resources. So by having it closer to a home, yes, we're housed at Copper Mountain Middle school right now, but it's available to anyone that can get here.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Okay. We talked about the need. There are a lot of languages spoken by families in Jordan School District. You mentioned Swahili and another one. I'm not even sure where that language is spoken. Tell me some of the other languages that are spoken in Jordan District.

    Toni:

    There's a lot of Kurdish.  It's the first time I'd ever been asked to find a Kurdish translator before, or to find a Kurdish interpreter. We've also had Kinyarwandan.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That was the one you mentioned, where is that spoken?

    Michelle:

    Kinyarwandan, and that is spoken in a part of West Africa.

    Toni:

    There are 53 languages within the Jordan School District from Samoan to Arabic. Spanish, of course, is our largest second language to English. But there's a variety of languages. 53 languages from Vietnamese to Cantonese to Hindi. And so we want to be able to provide resources to those families.

    Silviane:

    I have students from Croatia, Italy, Brazil, and Venezuela.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That may be another misconception is that it's really mostly Spanish that we're helping with, but we can find resources to help with any language.

    Michelle:

    Yes, and the great thing of the State of Utah is just the services that are offered through Serve Refugees and the Utah Refugee Connection. We are partnering with Women of the World. And while those services are down in Salt Lake City, because of our connection we're able to bring the resources out here to families so they don't have to make their way downtown and take most of their day traveling to get the information.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's obvious that all of the support for families results in students being more successful in school. But can you articulate that for me a little bit, what does that mean when families feel that support and connection for students?

    Toni:

    Definitely. I believe that when you're teaching a child, you have to look at the whole child and whole child includes whole family. They come to us in the mornings and they're there with us all day, but when they go home they're with their family and having safety and security and comfort and peace in your home translates exponentially into the classroom. A child who is comfortable and feels safe and feels supported at home, then comes into school and gets that same environment, it's just a circle of love and support, just enveloping a kid, that helps them develop positively.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    If listeners think, "Hey, this is something that I could benefit from or a family I know could benefit from this", how do they get in contact with the Family Engagement Center?

    Toni:

    They can feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. It's Toni Brown, it's an easy name to remember. Just shoot me an email, I will put them in contact with the right people or help them find the right resource.

    Michelle:

    So if they go to http://els.jordandistrict.org and just click on Outreach, they'll be able to click on the information. Toni's name will come up, and the information and the times of when we meet. Typically Tuesdays and Thursdays have been our class times for this year, and they can put themselves on a list to join in.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thank you all for taking the time to be on the Supercast, but more than anything, to be so thoughtful and intentional about how to help support our families and in turn, help support our students and make sure that they have every success possible.

    Silviane:

    Thank you Dr. Godfrey, and I just want to say something in Spanish and Portuguese.  So thank you, Dr. Godfrey for helping us to spread the word about the Family Engagement Center. Thank you.

    Michelle:

    Thank you so much for having us.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.

    19 min
  • Episode 94: Rhyme Time as Students Find Passion Performing Slam Poetry

    It is a performance filled with passion involving writing, rhyme, alliteration, metaphors and in many cases audience participation.

    On this episode of the Supercast, find out why so many students are using Slam poetry to express themselves and the way they look at life. Poetry slams are a big hit and we head to South Jordan Middle School to find out why.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's a performance filled with deep emotion involving writing rhyme, alliteration, metaphors, and in many cases, audience participation. On this episode of the Supercast, find out why so many students are using slam poetry to express themselves and the way they look at life. Poetry slams are a big hit right now. And we head to South Jordan Middle School to find out why.

    Student:

    My name is Jackson Miller. And my poem is called Middle School.
    Driving traffic. The obnoxious, babbling and blaring of car horns.
    Angry, agitated, and aggravated, the light remains red,
    Struggling to find those who feel similar.
    The light will turn green anytime now
    I'll be home. Okay.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell us a little bit about your poem.

    Student:

    Um, well I thought a lot about it and I decided to do it on middle school because it's middle school. I have a lot of feelings about middle school so I figured it'd be easiest just to write it about that. And I got some help from Mr. Baney. I got some help from some teachers. But, it's about kind of the struggle of being in middle school and how it can be hard to function with everything happening in drama and emotions and our body's changing. And sometimes you just feel like you're kind of stuck in place and you can't really go anywhere. But at the end I kind of tried wrapping it up saying I'm almost out of middle school. I'll be in high school soon

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And how does it feel to look at the page and see that with some help, you've been able to put those feelings into words.

    Student:

    It feels amazing. It feels great. I'm so, so glad I got to do this and I'm going to continue doing poetry and improve.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's great to hear. Are you looking forward to high school?

    Student:

    Yes.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And you'll be at Bingham next year?

    Student:

    Yeah.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Okay. Well, best of luck and keep that poetry flowing with you. Great job.

    Student:

    This is Just Kids by myself, Emily Johnson.
    The warm ocean breeze brushes against my arms and knees like getting stung by a thousand bees.
    But bees seem like smiles and happy trees.
    The trees quake and seemed to say, "Stay with me and dream".
    As bright eyes kids, we fit under the stars that gleam,
    Wondering why can't we just stay out here and blow off a little more steam?
    But the alarm, she rings a little different this time when the original bee stings,
    Signaling that the school bell still dings and dings and dings.
    A constant goal of one day receiving a wage.
    You're just kids stop thinking about that at this age.
    But no, go pick out a career that determines every last page.
    We get burnt out and caught up as you cry,
    Trying to explain to these authority figures that we really do try.
    But these feelings sit in our consciousness like a little white lie.
    We come home and do our work as if put under a spell or potion,
    Then lay in bed, longing for sounds of the ocean.
    Not so ready to wake up in the morning and go through the exact same motion.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Emily, tell me about the poem that you recited today.

    Student:

    I wrote a poem called Just Kids and it's about the pressures of being a young student and like having so much pressure to be older than you are and growing up so fast.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I thought it had a really nice cadence and flow to it. Is there a favorite phrase or favorite imagery in that poem?

    Student:

    Well, I really liked the bees stinging part. Bees sting because when I was younger I got stung by a lot of bees. So it's kind of cadence to that. Just like I feel back to my childhood. And it can be a good thing too because bee stings, like smiles, can feel so many things. So I really liked using that phrase.

    Anthony:

    Yeah. And you were able to really evoke the sound of a bell ringing and the day going on and on and on. What was the phrase you used?

    Student:

    The school bell still dings and dings and dings.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And the way you paused when you read, when you recited it and all of that, you did a very nice job on that. What does poetry mean to you, reading it and creating it?

    Student:

    I kind of created it. I was having a really hard time with school and I just not doing well mentally. And it was like 2:00 AM and I was like, there's a poetry thing coming up. I should write something. So it like really was just raw emotion that I just put on paper. It was a lot of feelings.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's obvious that it really came from a place of personal experience. Okay. Thank you.

    Stay with us. When we come back, we'll talk with one of the judges. She'll tell us what makes a poetry slam performance rise above the rest.

    Break:

    It is one of the most prestigious academic achievement programs available for high school students. And we're proud to say, it's coming back to Jordan School District. We're talking about the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, which will be located at West Jordan High School. The IB Program supports personal and academic achievement for students at the very highest level. IB diploma courses take place during a student's junior and senior year in high school. All sophomores are invited to consider the IB Program for next year. There are no prerequisites for IB and interested middle school students can start preparing. Students with the IB diploma have a better chance at getting into some of the most prestigious universities in the world. For more information, or to find out if your teen is a good candidate for IB, visit http://ib.jordandistrict.org, or call West Jordan High School.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're here at South Jordan Middle School talking with Cindy Mitchell, the librarian here, and also personally in charge of the Poetry Out Loud competition. Tell us a little bit about that.

    Cindy:

    So Poetry Out Loud originally is a national competition for performance poetry, where you memorize an official poem from their collection and then compete, based on your interpretation and recitation of the poem. Here at South Jordan Middle, however, we are focused on original poetry performance. So most of the students that entered have written their own poems, and then we've given them a forum. So it's a little Poetry Slam without all the interaction from the audience and a little bit of Poetry Out Lous.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    How do students sign up to participate?

    Cindy:

    This was totally at their own discretion. They just came by and filled out a slip and if they could fit in. So what we did was we had three weeks of competition. Each week for the first three rounds, we had new poems each of those weeks and we choose the top three from each week to perform today. We had nine original poets perform, and we didn't have as many performance poets. So we only had five performance poems today.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And how long has this been going on at South Jordan Middle?

    Cindy:

    This is our first year. And it's going to be more after this. I really enjoyed it. I have to tell you, I've been playing with this idea for about four years or so. And this year, since it was such a different year, I decided I'm just going to do it. We need something for kids who want to perform. And April is National Poetry Month. I couldn't put my magnetic poetry on my wall. I have a gigantic blank wall in the library, and I had magnetic quote, quote, quote, unquote, poetry, ready to go on that wall. And I couldn't do that. So I thought, I'm just going to dive in. We're going to do Poetry Out Loud.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, I think it's exciting for students to have the chance to do this. And one of the great skills we try to teach students is self-expression and being thoughtful, introspective about how they're feeling and how to express that. And poetry does a great job of doing that.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I think if you get a chance to listen to some of the poems, you'll see that they basically come from a very personal space and that the kids are talking about what is important to them right now. And that's what I loved about it. I don't think that these students are just good for middle school poets. I think they are really good at poetry.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I would agree. Great stuff, from the heart and definitely reflective of their experience right now.

    Cindy:

    Yeah.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Lots of these kids were really passionate about the poems that they performed. How did that make you feel?

    Cindy:

    As the librarian, I don't interact with them necessarily on a daily basis, like in the classroom and especially not as their Language Arts teacher. So for me to know that they are willing to come and be so open and raw in this situation was really important for me, because I think that means they also trust me, and that's not necessarily something that I know most of the time. So I really appreciated them being willing to come and share. And it helps me remember that middle school kids, kids at any age, have deep feelings and we need to respect those feelings.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, congrats on putting together a great event that allows students to express themselves and keeps poetry moving forward into the next generation.

    Cindy:

    Well, thank you. And thank you for coming. We appreciate you coming and sharing a poem with us too.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thank you. We're here with Brenda Johnson at South Jordan Middle School who has taught a number of the students. She and I were able to judge in the Poetry Out Loud competition.

    Brenda:

    Yes, indeed.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And you taught them Creative Writing in seventh grade.

    Brenda:

    Some of them, yes. I took on the Creative Writing for a year and I got to teach a lot of the kids that performed today.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me what it feels like to have taught them a year or two ago, and now get to see them perform their poems.

    Brenda:

    A lot goes into my feelings watching this because when they were in seventh grade, they were just little kids. They were just tiny, and to see them develop and be passionate throughout the year that I had them and develop lot of skills that they get to perform two years later. It's validating in a lot of ways for them. More than anything, to see that their efforts a couple of years ago came through somewhere else and they were able to get some credit and some performance skills to reflect the things that they were writing them when they were younger.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I was impressed that they were able to perform poems that they'd written themselves in front of peers with such confidence. That's not an easy thing to do.

    Brenda:

    It isn't, but I think that as they have developed through the writing process, and having opportunities to perform their emotions. And I think that a lot of the COVID consequences are playing out with them. They're soulful, they're thoughtful, and they are definitely expressing themselves in ways that I've never seen before. So to have an avenue to voice their thoughts and voice their feelings and get through kind of some of their anger, I think it's kind of a wonderful thing for them.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, I think it's a good self-care skill, just to be thoughtful about how you're feeling and trying to find a way to express that and articulate it.

    Brenda:

    Absolutely. And I think that poetry is almost a forgotten part of our language. And to see it still alive and these kids and have them be so passionate about it. And to perform it for the first time ever, because they've never done those kinds of things. It's kind of fun. It really is beautiful.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It is. It's rewarding. And I got goosebumps more than once, I have to admit.
    Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see out there.

    15 min
  • Episode 93: School Counselors Get Surprise of a Lifetime

    They are a source of strength, kindness and compassion for students, always ready and willing to help in any way they can. We are talking about school counselors.

    On this episode of the Supercast, find out what happens when the Superintendent joins in on a big surprise for some of these dedicated employees. Employees who had no idea they were about to receive the honor of a lifetime.

    Audio Transcription

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. There are a source of strength, kindness, and compassion for students, always ready and willing to help in any way they can. We're talking about school counselors on this episode of the super cast. Find out what happens when I joined in on a big surprise for some of these dedicated employees, employees who had no idea, they were about to receive the honor of it.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We are here at Fort Herriman Middle School with Allie Barson, Counselor of the Year for the State of Utah. Allie, how does that feel?

    Allie:

    Pretty amazing.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    It's great to have your family here. You have a ton of support, and I saw a standing ovation here in the Media Center for you. Obviously, the school really appreciates what you do.

    Allie:

    We have an amazing school here.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So I saw that your team was right there beside you. Also, tell me about working with the team here at Fort Herriman.

    Allie:

    So I have an amazing team of counselors. We work really well together and they just are always thinking of the best thing for students and how we support the students and the teachers and the entire school.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    I was talking with your principal on the way in, and he told me all about all the things you're doing with social, emotional learning.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me a little bit about that.

    Allie:

    So that's definitely our passion here. We love to support the kids in that way. So truthfully, a huge part of it is the teachers that are very supportive and are teaching lessons in their class. We have a whole curriculum that we do every TA and we have our leaderships groups that also create lessons for our students. So it's pretty amazing.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    What do you like most about being a counselor?

    Allie:

    I love watching the kids grow, so that's why I love middle school specifically because they grow and change so much throughout those years. Watching them just come into their own and figure out who they are is just so incredible to watch.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's a great way of putting it. I loved it as a middle school teacher and principal as well. You just, you get to see such growth from seventh to ninth grade and working with that group of students, you get to see them move forward.

    Allie:

    Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I actually ran into one of my used to be students and she's now graduating. So it was so great to be able to hear what she's doing and her plans for college and everything.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thanks again for all your great work. We need counselors more than ever. Thank you so much.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're here at Copper Hills High school with the Utah School Counselor Association, Rookie of the Year, Derek Bennett. Derek, congratulations.

    Derek:

    Thank you. It really is an honor. I'm humbled and grateful. Really.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So you are Rookie of the Year. How long have you been a counselor?

    Derek:

    This is my fourth full year as a counselor, all in Jordan District, all here at Copper Hills.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Wonderful. What made you want to be a counselor?

    Derek:

    You know, ultimately I transitioned from actually working in drug treatment and college athletics to wanting to have a greater impact with teenagers. It's for those formative years and realistically, those are some of the best years of somebody's life. I wanted to have an impact during that crucial time, academically, emotionally, socially, and help students transition into adulthood.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    What are some of the unique things that are happening here at Copper Hills High School?

    Derek:

    Yeah, at Copper Hills we work hard to ensure every student feels college and career ready. We did that in English. Myself and another counselor have gone to classes and worked in Spanish to help those students who may have English as a second language. We do CCRS in Tongan and we have all that posted on our website so that they have resources here. Mr. Groethe, one of our administrators and I created a program called Project Z. That's where we take all the students who are skipping school, not going to class, not using, you know really the opposite of what we call it to benefit their academics. And we take them and we talk about a TED talk where we talk about something that's going on in the world, because we want them, those students who might fall through the cracks, to feel like they're welcome here at Copper Hills as well.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    What would you say to someone who's considering becoming a counselor?

    Derek:

    I'd say go for it. Absolutely. Everything in life, you know, has a reason and a purpose. And if your purpose and reason is to succeed professionally, you are to be a counselor, absolutely go for it. There's so many people that you can benefit; faculty, administration, yourself, your family, and most importantly, the students.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    You're Rookie of the Year and you're Department Chair. And I got a sense there's a real feeling of of being a team here at Copper Hills.

    Derek:

    Absolutely. When I was asked to be Department Chair last year, I made it a point to have it be a team. You know, we're not just a department. We truly are a team. My emails start with the morning Team, Hello Team, Happy Friday Team. And really, that's something that's permeated through these two years. We do team activities once a month where it's a team building exercise, and it can go from everything from miniature golf in the hallways to talking about how to pronounce Mexican-American names or Polynesian names. Really, we try to be inclusive. The team here is fantastic. We have eight solid and quality counselors, along with the wonderful support staff. But realistically, you know, I wouldn't want to change my team for anybody else.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Let me know. the next time miniature golf in the hall is happening.

    Derek:

    We have we have Corn Hole coming up, not this Friday, but next Friday. You're welcome to join.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, we're sure glad to have you here at Copper Hills and Jordan School District. And I know that your team and the students appreciate it. So thanks for everything you're doing.

    Derek:

    Thank you very much. It's a great day to be a Grizzly!

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Stay with us. We'll be back with more right after this break.

    Break:

    Do you simply love learning online? We can't wait to have you join the amazing teachers in our brand new Jordan Virtual Learning Academy. In Jordan Virtual Learning Academy schools, we offer innovative, fun and flexible online learning with daily real-time instruction from teachers. Enrollment is currently open for all K-12 students in Utah. Start on the path to personalized virtual learning success now at http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

    Anthony:

    We're here at Riverton high school with the Team of the Year from the Utah School Counselor Association. In fact, Jordan School District swept all the awards this year, which is really exciting. Normally we know it's award season in the entertainment industry, but it's also award season in the education industry. And we're really excited for this team. So I want to go around, they're all holding their hardware, by the way, kind of over their heart or close up against their chest, because they are really excited about this award and very deserving of this award. It's really exciting. We're going to start with Brian here. Tell us what do you love most about being a counselor?

    Brian:

    Just like working with students. A lot and just getting to know the community. I love the Riverton community and it's a great school and a great team to come in and serve the students with.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    How about you, Holly?

    Holly:

    I enjoy being a counselor because it's the one thing that when you go home at the end of the day, you know, you've done something good.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Katelyn.

    Katelyn:

    I love advocating for my students. I think the counseling group are one of the only people that can really advocate for a student with counseling. So I love doing that.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    How about you, Kristen?

    Kristen:

    I always feel it's a privilege to work with our youth because they're our future. Listening to what their goals and aspirations are, and then trying to provide them with resources to attain them. I just think, what a better gift and a privilege to be a counselor to be able to do that. So, everyday I come to school, I'm just grateful to be part of  the Riverton community and team.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    And how about you, Amy?

    Amy:

    I really enjoy the relationships that I build with the students. That's the best part of the job for sure. And then also, we have the great team and I love to work with our coworkers.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Natalie.

    Natalie:

    I'm trying to think of things that not everybody has already said, but I just really love working with kids and our job is unique in that sometimes you're there for emotional support. Other times you're talking with schedules and graduation or guidance and post-secondary endeavors and you know, where they want to go to college. Just being able to be there and support students and in all those different ways. It's just really fulfilling and I love our community and I love our students.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    So how does it feel to work on the Team of the Year?

    Natalie:

    Every single person here is a true professional. So I love being on this team.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Well, we love having this team here. Congratulations and honor well-deserved. And even though I had nothing to do with it, I'm really going to enjoy it for a long time.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    We're here with the Officers of the Utah School Counselors Association. I'll let them introduce themselves.

    Officer:

    I'm Hillary Emer, I am the president this year for USCAP. I'm Kate Staker, I am the elementary vice president elect and the award's chair. I'm Shauna Walker and I am the president elect this year.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Tell me about this awards season for counselors.

    Officer:

    Jordan School District swept the awards.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    If I'm not mistaken, we did, which I don't know that that's ever happened in all the years I've been involved. We were looking back at the historical records. So I guess this was a first for the association and pretty cool.

    Officer:

    I obviously am very excited being a Jordan District Counselor, but I do have to say I wasn't a part of the process. It was a very honest format and we, the counselors that were on the committee, were totally unbiased and were just during districts.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    That's awesome. And what would you say to anyone who's considering being a counselor out there?

    Officer:

    I think it's the greatest job. Honestly, this is the job I wanted to be when I grew up. So since high school I always kind of thought about being a teacher and then I discovered psychology and school counseling put these two things together. And so since high school, I kind of knew this was the route I wanted to take and really geared my career path toward that. So it's awesome for me because I am living what I wanted to be.

    Officer:

    Yeah, it's very, very rewarding. You put in a lot of hard work to really help these kids. And when you see their successes, it's just amazing. I love being a counselor. I love working with kids. I could actually retire, but I love my kids. And so when they come in or a parent tells me, "Hey, we appreciate all you've done." Just met with a parent this morning. And they were grateful for the solutions I offered. That totally makes my job worthwhile and being at Herriman High, when kids walk across the stage and get their diploma, I absolutely love it. So I just love working with kids. So being a counselor is great because you can work with them on a different level than you do as a teacher where we see a great benefit to students and honestly, everyone in the school and community from the amazing work that our counselors do.

    Anthony Godfrey:

    Thanks for supporting counselors in their work. And thanks for the work that you were individually doing in your schools. We couldn't do anything that we do without you, so thank you very much.

    Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there.

    13 min

About Jordan Supercast

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The Jordan School District Podcast Starring Superintendent Anthony Godfrey

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