Jordan Supercast

By Jordan SupercastEducation Self-Improvement Kids & Family Education for Kids

Jordan Supercast episodes

April 23, 2020 Episode 32: Coping with Student Sadness and Anxiety During COVID-19
Is it normal for children and their parents to experience high anxiety and sadness during these uncertain times? In this episode of the Supercast, we hear from a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety, particularly in children. Find out what advice Dr. Kristy Ludwig has for families trying to cope with being cooped up, staying home and staying happy.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host superintendent, Anthony Godfrey. Today we are joined by a local clinical psychologist who has some advice for families feeling stressed as they are cooped up at home because of COVID-19 find out if it's actually okay to feel sadness and experienced anxiety during this time. And we want to talk with her today about the impact of the current circumstance. We find ourselves in on families and on children and maybe some things we can do to help make our way through Dr. Ludwig. Thank you very much for joining us today.
Dr. Ludwig:
Sure. Happy to be here. It's very interesting doing interviews, always using social distancing and my iPad has had more use than ever before, but it's very nice to see you. I hope to one day meet you in person.
Anthony Godfrey:
I this, like I said, a very unique time. Obviously it's something none of us has experienced before. What are some of the impacts that you're seeing on families and our children?
Dr. Ludwig:
I agree. I do think it's a really unprecedented time and I think what's so interesting about it, when you think about the implications for mental health, one of the things that we know about anxiety is that it's a normal, and it's an adaptive emotion. It's an important emotion that we have that essentially prepares us to respond to valid threats. The current situation that we're in does consist of a valid threat. Coronavirus is a valid threat to all of us. The most important thing to start off with is just that it is all valid, that it is normal to be anxious. It's normal, it's valid to be stressed. It's valid to feel sad. I think about the seniors in high school this year that just, as an example, are missing out on a lot of things that they have planned for and expected for a long time.
So I think that there's the developed threat. And then there's also all the things in our world that have changed. And I think part of the challenge and the opportunity is to practice and learn how to tolerate a certain amount of uncertainty. What probably is the most important place to put our attention is into our families. And rather than being pulled in lots of different directions, I think being really thoughtful and mindful of what we are exposing ourselves and our families to. In regards to media, we do need information, but I think we also need to be thoughtful of putting limits on that for our own anxiety, for our own mental health, as well as modeling that and helping to limit that for our children. Information's important, but we also want to make sure that we're not overwhelming ourselves with the desire to try to create certainty or to just continue to feel like we need to get more information.
Anthony Godfrey:
Interesting phrase, trying to create certainty. And I can absolutely see that happening where we are just checking in with the news constantly. We're looking for updates and things are changing rapidly. It feels like every day, there's a change in what we're hearing. And we may start to think that the more information we consume, the more we can get a taste for some certainty, and we can see a path forward.
And yet I think that we have to really be mindful of that because the information we get may not be creating that certainty that we're striving for. Another piece that I think is really important that a lot of families are probably already well into doing this, as we're five weeks into this. But I do think having some structures, some routine, some consistency and predictability in family life is actually really important for kids of all ages, from the little ones to to our teenagers.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I think that's true. You get into a routine whether you want it or not. And sometimes it's not a deliberate routine. It's the routine of staying up too late and getting up too late and maybe not taking care of ourselves the way we ought to. There's something else that struck me earlier in what you said, that is the importance of connection with family. And what I found is that just because we're in the same space, doesn't mean that we're necessarily connecting. And with my own family, I've had great moments of playing board games, long sitting on the shelf that we haven't gotten to and we've really engaged. But there are other times where we all have our various devices and we're not engaged with each other. And so I do think even though we're in the same physical space, we have to be a little bit deliberate about reaching out to each other.
Dr. Ludwig:
Absolutely. And I think part of that structure is I think some of the most important things. We need to structure in our fun family times. And particularly, I also think related to that positive parent/child interaction time so that we're being really thoughtful and deliberate. Like you said about really creating the time and the space for that. And I think that is as important as anything else that's scheduled within the context of a day. I think other things that are important are things like we mentioned, some structure and bedtimes and wake times. I will add a caveat with that. If you have a child who has never been a morning person, trying to fight them to become one right now is probably not something that you need to do. But also, I don't think it's a good idea to have teenagers sleeping into the late morning, early afternoon, and then being up all night.
So I think finding kind of a balance in that for some structure and some consistency. I think the other thing we really need to be thoughtful and scheduling in is physical activity. When kids are in school and when they're on sports teams, they're moving around and there's a lot of activity that's happening. And I think right now we have to be a little bit more deliberate in making sure that we're scheduling that for ourselves as well as for our families going on where it's possible and safe going on a walk being outside, doing some things that, that we can in obviously while also maintaining social distance and the abiding by the necessary guidelines. But I do think finding those kinds of opportunities within the context of our schedule are really important as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
I agree. I decided one afternoon when I had quite a few phone calls to make that I would just fire up the AirPods, leave the house and walk around. The dog was very happy. I decided to invite her along as well, and I was gone for hours and I didn't realize how much time I spend on the phone without locking. It was very nice. And I got quite a sunburn, but it did feel good to be out and about. And you're right. It just totally changes your perspective in ways that even as you're sitting on the couch, thinking about going out for a walk, you, you, you underestimate, I really like what you said. I wrote down three reasons that we ought to be giving ourselves permission, to feel sadness, feel anxiety, and realize that that is an okay response for us to have.
That is number one, there's a genuine threat. There is a health issue out there. There's a genuine threat. Some of us are more susceptible than others. Everyone's circumstance is different, but there is a threat number two, this is a change. We're all having to do things differently. Now this is now what we're used to, and it was an abrupt change. We were thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool on this one. And then number three, the uncertainty that you mentioned, and that we talked about, all three of those just individually would be enough to justify some level of anxiety or sadness or difficulty in our lives. But when you have all three thrown at you and everyone's experiencing that to one degree or another that's that, that creates a difficult circumstance for kids.
Dr. Ludwig:
Absolutely. And I think one of the most important things is to really validate, listen to and validate that emotion both within ourselves. I think we've got to allow and understand we're feeling emotions. In addition, it's really important that we listen and validate for our kids. I think we want to jump to fixing when kids are struggling and I think there's some of this we can't change. We can't fix it. It is what it is. And I think giving them useful information is good, but I think a lot of it is just listening to and validating the fact that it is hard and it's real. And then also going to a place of really reminding them of strengthen and the things that we can gain and learn from the experience and the fact that we're being safe.
I mean, there's ways to communicate with kids around some fears, but I also think we have to be thoughtful, not excessively reassuring, so that it is just validating and acknowledging and saying, yes, we're all feeling weird and kind of different, strange, bad, sad. And then also helping them to find things to do that can help them to try to feel better. Sometimes when we're feeling really down, what we need to do is a little counter to how we feel. So it's this nice balance where we really have to validate and listen and let them have that experience. And then also provide an opportunity to do some things that can help them to feel better. That's the fun, that's the being outside, the moving around eating regularly, those kinds of things that really help to manage and maintain that self care.
Anthony Godfrey:
Did you say eating regularly or eating constantly because we're eating constantly.
Dr. Ludwig:
I do think that it's good to remember to eat and keeping that in some type of a schedule. It's funny. I think people do the extremes. I think we can be eating constantly. And I've also talked with some kids that are forgetting to eat lunch. I think we've got both extremes.
Anthony Godfrey:
Eating lunch is one thing I don't forget. Are there some ways that children are going to react to this type of circumstance that might confuse adults or might be different from the way an adult would react?
Dr. Ludwig:
I think sometimes kids might not be as good at articulating why they're not feeling good. So you might see behaviors coming out from the emotion. You might see things that look like more irritability. You might seem kind of more argumentative. You might seem more withdrawn. And I think those all could be indicators of emotion that are happening that kids are experiencing, whether or not they're wanting to acknowledge that. So I think those are things to be mindful of. I think, obviously having limits and expectations for behavior and how we treat each other are important. But I also think being mindful of what certain behaviors might be communicating. A child that's being really argumentative or really irritable in this context, there might be other things going on underneath that.
So kind of taking time to listen and acknowledge pointing out behaviors. You seem more irritable, there's a lot that's going on. It's really hard to be stuck at home, trying to label what you're seeing rather than making judgments on it. I think sometimes we're quick to thinking, oh, you're being disrespectful or a kind of making judgements. You're just trying to upset me. But instead, really trying to label it and then trying to give the space for kids to talk by trying to just be there and listening. So I do think that's one of the things. That we just need to be mindful of the behaviors we're seeing. And I'm not saying we have to validate that are still not acceptable, but I think just also being thoughtful of some of the emotion that might be underlying those.
Anthony Godfrey:
Process it, and also understand that might be coming from a place that isn't immediately evident.
Dr. Ludwig:
Exactly, exactly. It might be that, that your child was feeling really sad and missing out on things. But instead of being able to say that they're kind of arguing with everything you're trying to get them to do, we'll take a quick break, but when we return,
Anthony Godfrey:
We'll talk more with Dr. Christine Ludwig about dealing with the student and parent anxiety.
Break:
I'm Steven Hall, Director of Jordan Education Foundation. In today's challenging and uncertain times, it is more important than ever before to support one another. Here at the Jordan Education Foundation, we invite you to join us in making sure children are not going hungry. Your $10 donation to the Foundation will help us feed one student for a weekend when food and meals may be very scarce for some, with food and hygiene supplies and the Principal's Pantries at Jordan School Districts being depleted and in higher demand than ever before. Every financial contribution made will help us to keep the pantries filled for students who would otherwise go without. The Jordan Education Foundation exists due to the generosity of people who care about kids. If you would like to donate to help children from going hungry, please visit [email protected], or contact the Foundation at (801) 567-8125. Thank you. Together, we can make a difference.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're back with Dr. Christine Ludwig when students do return to school, and the earliest that will happen will be the first day of school for the 2020 - 2021 school year. That will be in the middle of August. So that would be five months between the time that school closed and school opened back up. And that would be the longest that any of these students have ever been out of school since they started. What type of or worries might you expect from kids as they return after a long break?
Dr. Ludwig:
Yeah, that's a really good question. I think one that we're going to grapple with for a while as we move this forward. It's really interesting because I think some students that may have historically rather not gone to school or tried to get out of going to school, now are actually missing school. But I also think that having been out of the habit of going to school, that the idea of going to school is probably going to bring with it some relief and escape, get me out of my house, welcomed and I want to be with my friends. And so I think that there's going to be some of that, but we already know that kids have trouble with anxiety associated with going to school. Whether it's related to the schoolwork or the environment we already know that prime times for school refusal come after breaks, and this is a particularly long break.
So I think that there is some risk of that. And I think the more that we can, and again this is hard with the uncertainty, but the more we can kind of prepare students to know when that's happening, I think that's helpful. But the temptation sometimes could be to fall into letting the student try to get out of it because it's really uncomfortable. And because they've been home this whole time, the challenge is going to be with some of those kids that are actually going back to school or leaving that house comes with a lot of anxiety. And I think one of the most important things we'll need to do is to create the expectations that those things have to happen. That said, one of the things I've been talking to folks about that they struggle with anxiety and where the anxiety of being in a comfortable place for a long time, and then being asked to leave that comfortable place.
I think where possible, if you know that your child is a little bit more anxious or that really resists uncomfortable situations, to try to create opportunities for them to feel uncomfortable, whether it's really encouraging them to reach out to friends, sometimes that might make them a little more anxious having them do Zoom calls with. Friends and family, having them try to think of things that they can do for other people. It just depends on the student, but I do think anything that we can do during this time to help students that are a little more anxious to do some things that might make them feel uncomfortable, just so they're in the habit of doing some of those things, I think could be really valuable.
Anthony Godfrey:
Dr. Ludwig, what are some other tips that you would give parents of children who tend to be anxious, prepare them for the challenges that are ahead and deal with the challenges that they're experiencing right now, because even though we need to be deliberate and intentional about making that happen, there are more opportunities than ever before, in most cases for this interaction between parent and child.
Dr. Ludwig:
So I think, similar to what I just mentioned, in trying to create opportunities for children, teens to do things that are uncomfortable. I think one of the things that we oftentimes think about with anxiety is, I want my child to feel comfortable and then they can do these things that are hard. And what we absolutely know is that the way to overcome anxiety is to do the hard things. So I do think, in general the structure and consistency in having kids know what to do, those are all really helpful for kids that are anxious. They're helpful for all kids. And if your child is particularly anxious, I think really being mindful of trying to encourage, support, reward, reinforce behaviors that are brave as I often like to say. When they are doing things that are uncomfortable.
So for example, if a student is struggling with an assignment ,encouraging and trying to coach the student to be able to reach out to the teacher, obviously age appropriate. If it's a first grader, probably the parents should be reaching out. But if it's a high school student or middle school student and it's reasonable that they could reach out to the teacher, encouraging them to be able to make that contact rather than jumping in and doing it for them, not that you couldn't on the side also be supporting them with that. But I think the thing that we want students to do is to do those things that feel uncomfortable and really coaching them on how they can advocate for themselves, or have a conversation with an adult in some ways that's really uncomfortable, that those things could be really helpful.
We want to support them in their schoolwork. We want to definitely communicate with teachers as is necessary, but I think oftentimes we tend to jump in more quickly than might be helpful for our child, particularly an anxious child. To be able to do some of those things that might make them uncomfortable. So I think if we encourage them to do those things to reach out to teachers, to contact friends, to ask them questions and then within the context of our homes it just wherever we can, it's a little bit tricky at home to think of how we're going to create situations for our children to do things that are a little less comfortable, but where you can find those opportunities. I think that's the key, finding things that they're not as comfortable doing or that they haven't done successfully in the past.
It could be starting a new project or doing some painting as a family or something that a child might not be as comfortable with and giving them that opportunity to engage in a new behavior. To do something that makes them feel really anxious and uncomfortable. I think anything in regards to connecting and reaching out with others, I do realize for some students and some children that is not a problem. But I do think it's really important for all of them, especially now that for some students, they might kind of get comfortable not reaching out to any friends or anybody outside of their home. And so I do think having some contact with others outside the home virtually is also really, really important.
Anthony Godfrey:
That really resonates for me. The idea that you redirect, if the child is spinning. You don't want to overindulge, you want to understand, you want to listen, you want to validate, but you don't want to reinforce to the point that the student can't escape or the child can't escape this particular way of thinking and you move on together. So that makes a lot of sense.
But I think sometimes the family will accommodate the anxiety. And so the child is comfortable essentially because they don't have to do the things that are uncomfortable for them. The entire family, the functioning of the family is revolving around making sure they're maintaining all of that. So I also think that would be an impairment in functioning that would also require the need for some intervention.
And if parents find themselves in the circumstance you just described, then really a good first step is to contact counselors and psychologists in our schools. Every school has counselors and psychologists who can help them.
Dr. Ludwig:
Yes, yes. And I think that they can do one or two things. I think they can, in many cases, provide the services that are needed. I think that your District has some really wonderful people. I've had the opportunity to work with some of the counselors and some of the folks in your District. And I think you're really fortunate and have a really great system. And I think if they can't provide the service in whatever way, I think they also can be really helpful for connecting and giving referrals for outside services.
Anthony Godfrey:
Dr. Ludwig, what other advice would you give to parents and students who are just trying to do their best navigating these difficult waters?
Dr. Ludwig:
I would say to both students and parents and families to give yourselves a break, to cut yourself slack. I think it's an interesting time because, on one hand, and I'm particularly going to speak to parents for just a second, that I think we feel like in some cases I've heard parents say, I should be able to do more or I should be doing this or I should be doing that. And I think the reality is that this current crisis involves so much change. And so many things have happened differently that I don't think the idea that we should be doing more. I think really giving ourselves a break and making sure that we're giving time to support our self-care, our mental health.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's clear that we need to take care of ourselves because we can't take care of each other. I also think about employees of the District, and we have lots of employees who are doing different tasks from what they normally do. We either have bus drivers who are acting as custodians or helping you with lunch workers. And as a District, we've allowed and encouraged anyone who wants to continue to work and earn their hours is able to do that. And so we have a lot of employees who are doing different jobs, and then teachers are doing things very differently. Now they have to teach in a completely different way. And I feel like there's a chance that teachers are in a position where they have to absorb the anxiety about online learning that all of their students have to experience. And so now they get this concentrated load and this concentrated weight that they carry, because they're trying to help so, so many kids get through this. And I think that creates a really heavy burden on teachers that we maybe haven't talked about. It's not just that teaching in a different way is stressful. It's helping so many kids manage such monumental change that can create stress that really doesn't stop. And do you have any suggestions for them?
Dr. Ludwig:
Yeah, I think that's really interesting that you mentioned that because just earlier today, on another meeting that I was on, we were talking about how I think right now, in regards to our children, our teachers are very much the ones on the front line. I know there's a lot of support people within school buildings that help to share and carry that load. But I think right now, in this context, the teachers are really very much on the front line. Not only doing the educating, but also having to hold the stress, the anxiety. And in many times, maybe even the only communication that kids are having as far as someone outside of their family. And so I do think that one of my thoughts for teachers is, they absolutely need to make sure that they're giving themselves the time and taking care of their own self care. And also, I think one of the things is just acknowledging that this is really different. I don't know that all the teachers in the classroom are trained to do this type of teaching. And I think it's just a time where we all have to cut ourselves some slack and do the best we can.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much, Dr. Ludwig, I feel better just talking with you. It's great to process all of this. I think we have a lot of difficulties, but we have a lot of opportunities that we have before us right now. And I think that if we try to connect to each other and take care of each other in the way that you've described, we can come out of this stronger. So thank you Dr. Ludwicg. It's been great talk. Thank you. Thank you for joining us on the Supercast. Be safe. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out.
28 min
April 16, 2020 Episode 31: A Candid Conversation with High School Students Finding Hope During COVID-19 Crisis
Realizing they will never be in a high school classroom again after the Governor extended school dismissal through the end of the school year was difficult news to digest for high school seniors. On this episode of the Supercast, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey has a candid conversation with students who say, despite the many difficulties, they are finding hope and courage during uncertain times brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.
Audio Transcription
Superintendent:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today we check in with some high school students, some of them seniors getting ready to graduate, to find out how they are fairing in these difficult and uncertain times. During our virtual meeting, I was truly inspired by their courage and can do attitudes in the face of change and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis. Welcome to Elizabeth, Katrina, Grace, James, and Cooper from Copper Hills High School. It's really fun to see you guys. We miss students, that's for sure. And it's a real honor for me to get a chance to chat with you about what your experience is. I'm going to ask you first to just introduce yourselves a little bit.
Student:
So I'm the SBO President over there. I like watching Sponge Bob and watching basketball during my spare time.
Superintendent:
There's a lot of Sponge Bob going on, but not much basketball.
Student:
Hi, I'm Elizabeth. I'm a junior at Copper Hills High too. One of my hobbies is writing and reading as well. And I'm the Service Leader of Latinos In Action.
Superintendent:
Fantastic. Has Latinos In Action been able to do anything over the dismissal? It's tough.
Student:
It is tough. It's a club that is centered on service. And we just do something that you don't normally do at home. Do something that you're usually asked to, but you're not asked at that time service.
Superintendent:
Focused on things that you can do at home. Yes. Great.
Student:
I am Grace. I was the Foreign Language Sterling Scholar and I'm President of Academic Decathlon. Some of my hobbies are just reading and drawing and writing.
Superintendent:
Like Elizabeth said, you got to finish the Academic Decathlon season before all this stuff.
Student:
Yeah. Our state was the first week of March. So thankfully we got to finish our season or just in the nick of time.
Superintendent:
In what language were you the Sterling Scholar?
Student:
Mainly Latin, but I had a little bit of Spanish and Greek.
Superintendent:
Okay, great. James.
Student:
James I am the President of National Honor Society and I was also the Training Director for the Business and Marketing Club at the school. And I love playing guitar and just hanging out with family.
Superintendent:
I like playing guitar as well. Have you been able to develop some chops over the break if you had a little more guitar time?
Student:
Yeah.
Superintendent:
Yeah. It definitely has been a lot easier. The end practice. So then we have Katarina.
Student:
My name is Katarina McAllister. I am the Choir President at Copper Hills High School. I'm a senior. I'm a member of the Madrigals and I love reading and doing theater and everything artsy as well.
Superintendent:
So all your theater performances are monologues right now.
Student:
Yeah, yeah.
Superintendent:
Yeah. That's, it's hard. You're all involved in activities that have been diminished and changed because of this dismissal. And I really appreciate your taking the time and I'm sensitive to the huge impact I'm sure this has had for you seniors, in particular. You've seen a high school classroom for the last time.
Student:
I think it's pretty crazy, especially since the last time I saw it and I was with my friends and teachers. I didn't know it was going to be the last time. I don't think I've fully come to terms with everything yet. To never go back into a high school classroom again and not get those same experiences that we would have any other year.
Superintendent:
So how does that feel, Elizabeth?
Student:
It's strange for sure. I love being with my friends and I love being in the atmosphere of the school. My education is something that I've worked really hardcore, and just being there for my friends and them being there for me, it's such an incredible experience for me to be at school. So knowing that the last day that I was there is kind of sad and I'm kind of sad that I didn't really save her as much as I should have or would have, but we have to make the best of it.
Superintendent:
That's a good way of putting it. You know, you have to kind of savor it when you're in the moment and people my age tell people your age that all the time, but it's difficult for all of us of any age to really live in the moment and to really appreciate where we are and what we're doing. Cooper. How does it feel not to be going back into a high school classroom as a student again?
Student:
Well, really weird for me. When I heard the news yesterday, I was thought, well, that sucks. The end just happened like that. There's no send off or anything. No one knew it was going to be the end, but I've been scrolling through my camera roll and we got three quarters of high school. We missed out on an entire quarter. But the memories that we made, I think it's better to be grateful for those than envy the ones that we didn't make. So it's really sad for me that I couldn't still be there and be making more memories, but the ones I made already help overcome like my disappointment and that's just how it's going to have to be.
Superintendent:
It's great to focus, to be positive about the opportunities you've been able to enjoy. And I liked the way you put that. In partial, the fact that you didn't know the end is coming. That's what made it difficult in a lot of ways. James, how are you feeling about the fact that high school classes are over for this year?
Student:
It's tough for sure. Obviously I think for me there's a big stress because going into college this fall it's a big life shift and it's really stressful to think about that. I think that last quarter of high school, it's kind of a transition, you know, and I think it's difficult too, because school is a lot more than education to a lot of people. For me, I'm taking a lot of Concurrent and online classes and so the switch was really not that difficult for me to go all online. And I think one of the biggest changes is just being able to interact with people, having that social aspect, having something to break up your day. I think that's been hard for a lot of people to miss out on.
Superintendent:
So have you been able to continue with your Concurrent Enrollment classesr has that been disruptive?
Student:
Everything's on Canvas, so it's relatively easy to access assignments and stuff like that. I think the biggest thing is it's more classes like chemistry and biology. I kind of relied on those in-class lectures to get a lot of information and I know the books can often be really confusing. So it's nice to have that instruction time to be able to really understand the material. Not have that kind of instruction is the more difficult part of the Concurrent classes. It makes it harder just preparing for files and stuff like that. But in terms of being able to just continue on with the classes, it's been pretty smooth.
Superintendent:
Grace, how are you feeling about the end of a senior year that came unexpectedly and means that you are not going to be entering the high school classroom as a student?
Student:
It hasn't fully set in for me yet because it happened so quickly and there was the hope that we might come back before the very end. So I'm just trying to process it, but like Cooper said, I'm proud of the memories I made and the things that I was able to accomplish for those first three quarters. And I know I'm going to keep in touch with my teachers and the friends that I've made. So I'm just looking on the bright side and thinking about all that I accomplished, learned in my high school career, even though it's over now.
Superintendent:
I love that perspective. Great you can say to yourself, okay, I'm going to stay in contact with friends. I'm going to stay in contact with teachers.
And when you're my age, you'll be glad you did. I can tell you that for sure. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, students talk about how digital learning is going. And we find out if these bright young minds have any advice for parents trying to help with at-home learning.
Break:
I'm Steven Hall, Director of Jordan Education Foundation. In today's challenging and uncertain times it is more important than ever to support one another. Here at Jordan Education Foundation, we invite you to join us in providing food for children so they are not hungry. Each $10 donation to the Foundation will feed one student for a weekend. With food and hygiene, Principal Pantries at Jordan District Schools are depleted and in high demand. Every financial contribution made will help us to keep these pantries filled for students who would otherwise go without. Jordan Education Foundation exists due to the generosity of people who care about kids and teachers. If you would like to donate to help kids from going hungry, visit [email protected], or contact the Foundation at (801) 567-8125. Thank you. Together we can make a difference.
Superintendent:
We are back visiting with some amazing students from Copper Hills High School. Elizabeth, tell me, what advice would you give parents who are trying to help their kids get through this school year?
Student:
I know for me, at least I was very, I'm an early bird, so I was very determined to just wake up in the morning and get ready and go to school. So it was very simple for me. And I think what my parents have done is just sometimes give me space, but at the same time they support me. They tell me, okay, take a break. It's okay to take a break, even though you're not actually in school. I try to do all my assignments and just try to do it as fast as I can. But at the same time they do give me that determination to be like, okay, it's time to go to work. It's not time to be on your phone.
Superintendent:
Cooper. What advice do you have for parents who are helping their kids navigate through this school dismissal?
Student:
I personally think parents shouldn't take it hard on themselves and they should just be there for their kid because the home right now is the biggest place for healing, because that's where you're stuck. I know for me personally, texting my friends just makes you miss them a lot more. But family, that's who you're around. So I think just helping build the relationships even stronger in the family, through playing board games, going on a walks, anything like that.
Superintendent:
Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. Katarina, what advice would you give to parents who are helping their students navigate the school dismissal?
Student:
I have three younger sisters, one in middle school and then two in elementary school. And something what's really helped us in our family is each of us have created a list of individual goals for each day and then one or two for the week itself. We each have to work on schoolwork and then we all play the piano. So practice piano, and then do some sort of exercise, take the dog on a walk. And so far it's worked really well. It's been wonderful to have a checkoff list every day we can say, oh, we've read today. We've done our schoolwork today and that sort of thing. And then we also try to do at least one thing as a family, go on a walk, play a game, watch a movie together at least once a day.
Superintendent:
Great ideas. Walking the dog feels better than ever. James, what advice would you give parents who are trying to help their students through this dismissal?
Student:
I was just pretty much gonna say the same thing. I think it's important that parents find that balance of understanding. Still giving a schedule and still being there for support by saying it's okay to take a break or saying, you know, maybe it's not the best to be on our phones all day long. Maybe we should have a little bit of a schedule. Maybe, let's go for a walk today or, hey, do you need help writing the essay? I think kids don't have as much support with teachers as before. So it's really important for parents to try and be there as much as possible to help their kids with learning.
Superintendent:
I am so impressed with your answers. This has been great. This is awesome. I really appreciate it. How has online learning for you been individually Katarina?
Student:
It's was struggle at first, but I feel like it's gotten progressively better as the students and the teachers have all gotten used to it and learned how to do it. I have two AP classes and so those have been difficult ones to do. But thankfully, we were close to the end of our curriculum. Anyway, I feel like all of the teachers have been very persistent and really care for the students and don't want to give them too much work, but also want to give them just enough. I know I have one teacher who, whenever I turned in an assignment, he goes in and he comments on it and I feel like that gives as much as a personal connection as it can be right now.
Superintendent:
Thank you. Grace, how has online learning been for you?
Student:
Kind of like Kat said, we need that connection and I've had that connection with some teachers during this online learning and it helps a lot. I really enjoy those teachers who put up a video of themselves explaining the assignment, asking how we are because I think that's really important. I feel a lot better, like when they ask us how we are and how we're doing, do you need anything? And it's just leaves that discussion open for us to feel, oh yes, I actually do need this. I don't understand this.
Superintendent:
James.
Student:
I think like Grace said, looking for those different opportunities that this has brought us. I think that this has been a big opportunity. While we have lost that quarter of transition to college, I think this is a great opportunity for kids to become more self-sustained and they're learning and taking on things by themselves and not having to have this college is different. Where it's not as much as having the teachers looking over you or looking over your assignments, making sure you're on track. There's definitely more of that. I don't know the word I'm looking for. But just kind of, you need to take those on by yourself and I think this has allowed kids to kind of develop that way. So I think that's been good and to take on that self initiative to learn and be engaged from home.
There's been a level of independence and maybe self motivation that's been cultivated lately by being forced to switch abruptly to online learning.
Superintendent:
What do you miss most about school during the dismissal and will definitely waking up at 6:00 AM?
Student:
I've been staying connected with most of my good friends, but I found that I missed just kind of like what you were talking about. Those acquaintances and not even just acquaintances. You can have really good friends that you don't always hang out with a ton out of school, but you do in school. To like see those friends and engage with those friends and talk and laugh and just even joking around with teachers. There's just some teachers that were really good, just friends to students. And so I think, I think those little things I miss too.
Superintendent:
What do you miss most about school during the day?
Student:
I would say my friends. I do miss them. That's a big part of school. I think it's even a part of the learning structure at school. We have open discussions with our tables. We go and interact to see if this person has new ideas or just even to complain about something in the class, like, oh goodness, this is hard. Do you think this is hard or, can you help me? I think it was very nice to have people to lean on.
Superintendent:
What do you miss most about school?
Student:
Honestly. with the theme, I miss relationships with people like students, teachers, and everyone. lSocial media is one way to stay connected and but it's kinda hard because when you're at school, you have the opportunity every single day. If you want to make a new friend or meet someone new, you have that opportunity. Like you just have to step a little bit outside your comfort zone, go meet someone and all that. But on social media you don't really have that many options. Your followers are pretty much your options. And it's definitely harder. There's a lot of teachers I would just go and talk to about life or friends that I've only seen at school who don't have social media or anything like that, that I'm probably never going to see again, which is really sad for me.
And just the fact of not being around everyone, like not doing an assignment and then just talking to your friend about what they put and then even that moment of realizing you put the wrong thing and then having to stress out about that. Everything about it is just independent and having even the opportunity to do something new every single day. Hey, there's a lacrosse game going on after school today. I could go to that or I could go home or maybe I could go see a movie with some of my friends today or something like that. Just the limited opportunity of how life has become compared to what it was when school was in.
Superintendent:
Yeah. When you put it that way, what I realize is there are a lot fewer choices you get to make during the day. And you have a lot of choices in high school and a lot of things that you get to decide to do. And that's not the case when you're at home learning online. The other thing you pointed out is that social media is a chance to connect, but that's with some of your closer friends. When you're in high school, you're surrounded by people. They may not be close friends, but there are a lot of acquaintances and a lot of people.
Stay with us, we'll be right back. You'll find out what the Class of 2020 wants everyone to remember about them. The legend, they will leave behind these unique times as they prepare to graduate.
Break:
Please join us every week for Wellness Wednesday. It is a feature on the Jordan School District website that offers free and simple tips for improving your health and wellness. We cover a variety of topics like reducing stress, better eating habits and finding more time to build better relationships. Check out Wellness Wednesday every week on the Jordan School District website at http://jordandistrict.org . For additional health and wellness resources, visit https://studentservices.jordandistrict.org/mentalhealth/.
Superintendent:
Welcome back as we continue our conversation with students, sending a message of hope. Are there things that you're telling yourself when all this is lifted and social distancing is not required, this is what I'm going to do differently? This is how I'm going to change. Elizabeth.
Student:
One thing, what I'm going to do when I come back to school, I'm going to hug my friends and just squeeze on the day. I just know I will cherish it so much more. I'll cherish my education so much more and just take it all in and know that I'm very blessed to have these people around me and to have the education I have and just to have all these things f for myself and to just benefit me. I think it's just something that I really want to cherish so much more.
Superintendent:
Marina. What are you going to do differently when social distancing is lifted?
Speaker 3:
Sounds kind of cheesy. But just cherish everything that much more. I didn't realize how fast something could be taken away until it all happened. And just cherishing your relationships with people. I kind of like what James said earlier, joking about waking up at 6:00 AM. I have not enjoyed that, but I would give anything right now to wake up at 6:00 AM and go to school if it meant being able to see everyone again and have some sort of normal in my life at this point.
Superintendent:
Well said, thank you. Cooper, what will you do differently when social distancing is lifted? I was in a state where I was taking life for granted a lot. Everything that was given to me, I was just taking for granted. Oh, you know, it's all right. Like that's just a normal thing that happens when I don't realize like how many people don't get what we're being robbed of. Some people never even got the opportunity to be a part of extracurricular activities. I'm sure there's some kids on other continents and who don't even get something close to these kinds of opportunity. And I think just how much I was taking it for granted. Some days I would just think my sleep is more important than going to school on time. And so then I just sleep in an extra hour, which looking back, wasn't worth it because it just made me more tired. But just not taking life for granted is the biggest thing. Everything's closed down. I never realized how much I'd want to just spend a night with my friends and just hang out. Even if we weren't doing anything, just being around each other. It would be nice when there was so many times that I chose not to, because I wasn't in the mood.
Superintendent:
James, what what are you going to do differently when social distancing is lifted?
Student:
I think the thing for me is just with college coming up, I've been really stressed about how am I going to do in college? You know, classes are tons harder and am I going to be able to pass this class? And am I going to be able to make as many friends that I had in high school? And I think just the biggest lesson I've gotten from this is it's been a big learning curve. But it just showed me that we can do hard things. And that we can adapt as seniors and juniors and we can adapt our situations and find a way to make the best out of what we have. And so it's brought a lot of comfort to me knowing that I'm going to be okay. I'm going to find a way to, make the best out of my situation.
Superintendent:
Yeah, James, I think that makes a lot of sense. Adults, students, parents, I think everyone's going to come out of this stronger and with greater capacity and may even be surprised at what we're able to do. Grace, what are you going to do differently once social distancing is no longer necessary.
Student:
Friends and I have created a shared Google doc called Post Quarantine Bucket List. And we're just listing all these things that we wanted to want to do or have wanted to do. And a lot of the things are things that we said we would do for months. Oh, we'll do this eventually because it really felt like we had all the time in the world. And this experience has shown us that really, we don't always have as much time as we think. And after quarantine, I'm going to take all the opportunities I can to spend time with the people I love and like do the things that I want to do and not waste time waiting for the right opportunity. Just doing things when I want to do them so that I can get everything I want to do done.
Superintendent:
I love the idea of a Post Coronavirus Bucket List. And as soon as we're done, I'm going to start my own. I have a mental list, but I'm writing it down. That's good advice, Elizabeth. What something good that has come from the school dismissal?
Student:
Personally, getting closer with my family, honestly. I have this time to be with them and I think I should make the most of it. I know that my mom works during the night and mostly during the day as well, my dad during the day. I never had that individual time to spend with them. So I think I'm able to give that time to them now. Same with my little sister. She follows me. She's five years old. I'm doing my homework and I feel so bad because sometimes she comes up to me, saying oh, come play with me. And I have to say, I can't, I'm doing homework. I'll play with you afterwards. And then the next day, she was right next to me and I was like, what are you doing? She said, I'm doing homework, I'm getting good grades. I thought she was the cutest thing. It warmed my heart because I know, as an older sister, she follows my every step. And I just want to be that good example for her. And there are times, like I said, I do need that break. And she reminds me of that. So I think getting closer with my family is a big thing.
Superintendent:
Katarina what's one good thing that has come from school dismissal?
Student:
Like Elizabeth said, I really feel like I've been able to connect with my family on another level and become closer to them. Because I'm a high school senior and I'm involved in a lot of different things, I was usually not home after school. And when I was, I was busy doing homework and catching up and staying on top of all of my different classes. So just to be able to spend time with them every day and be there for my little sisters and for my parents and just be able to connect with them. It's really been good to experience. And I feel like it's brought my whole family closer.
Superintendent:
Thank you. That's great. Cooper. What's one good thing that's come from school dismissal?
Student:
Just being around my family and really appreciating the time that I may have missed by hanging out with my friends.
Superintendent:
James. What's one good thing that's come from the school dismissal?
Student:
Yeah, I'm just going to keep on the same thing. We're obviously just a family. I have that time to spend with family that I normally don't get because they're just far away. So that has definitely been a huge benefit for me.
Superintendent:
What's one good thing that's come from the school dismissal?
Student:
The best thing that's come out of it for me is, James talked about it a little bit earlier, but just developing my time management skills and learning how to set a schedule for myself and follow it because I've been in school my whole life. And I've been told, this is when you go to school and this is when you go home and relax. And this is when you do homework. And for the first time I had to do that for myself and decide when I'm going to do work and when I'm going to relax. And I think it's gave me some very valuable skills that I'm going to have to use a lot in my future, going into college and the workforce.
Superintendent:
Okay. One word you would use to describe the class that you want the Class of 2020 to be remembered.
Students:
Perseverance.
Persistent.
Legendary.
Adapting.
Resilient.
Superintendent:
It's been inspiring for me to talk with you. I am so impressed with your perspective. I really appreciate your taking the time to talk through your experiences with me. After talking with you, it's evident that all of you are stronger because of this and you have great things ahead of you. I have every confidence that you can adapt to anything that gets thrown your way in the future. Take care of you guys. Thank you. My sincere, thanks to Elizabeth, Katrina, Grace, James, and Cooper, all students at Copper Hills High School. You truly are an inspiration to all of us, and I'm incredibly proud of your resilience and positive approach to education and life.
In general, I would also like to thank all parents, supporting student learning at home. We know it has been and will continue to be a challenge. Parents, students and teachers are overcoming obstacles to get the job done for that. I say thank you. And thanks to all of you for listening. And remember. education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there.
33 min
April 09, 2020 Episode 30: A Look Inside Digital Learning During School Dismissal
Jordan School District is extremely proud of the digital learning taking place during school dismissal – proud of teachers, students and parents who are taking on the new challenge.
In this episode of the Supercast, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey talks about some creative things teachers and students are doing with digital learning and he has some tips for parents on how to help students learning online while at home.
Audio Transcription
Superintendent:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. We are again recording this podcast, using Google Meet in order to maintain social distancing as a District. We're very proud of the digital learning that is happening during the school dismissal, proud of teachers, students, and parents who are taking on this new challenge. We know it's been very difficult and it's a big shift, but we also know that great things are happening on today's episode of the Supercast. We check in with one of our Digital Learning Administrators, Ross Menlove, to get some tips for parents on how to help their students learn online while at home. But first, let's check in with Jordan Ridge Elementary School Principal, Melissa Beck, and teacher Bryan Youtz to hear about some creative things teachers and students are doing with digital learning. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having us, Melissa. You've been there three years.
Melissa:
I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be at Jordan Ridge. This is a school of very high expectations, both from the teachers and from the community, very supportive community. Our teachers are very motivated to learn new content. We have many teachers who have multiple endorsements. We have teachers who search out their own professional development. Most teachers, thanks to Bryan, who is our Digital Teacher Leader have been exposed to a lot of these online tools already. So Bryan's been doing Tech Tuesdays and training teachers to lots of these, so teachers are doing a lot to stay connected. We're also doing some fun things. We did a a parade where we went out and wave to families and help them know that we are still thinking about them and still care about them.
Superintendent:
Tell me a little bit more about that parade. What was that like? You drove through the neighborhoods and did you go through all of the streets within your boundary and what was that experience like?
Melissa:
Yeah, so we almost hit every single street. There was a few that we didn't hit, otherwise the parade would have been two hours long and it was super fun. We have lots of families come out and had posters and signs, almost every single one of our teachers came. There were a few, you know, because of family situations that couldn't, but almost every teacher showed up and had decorated their cars. It was a really, really great experience. I received many emails from parents afterwards saying that's exactly what they needed. They needed that to feel connected and to feel supported. So it was super fun. And at first we thought we were doing that for the families, but we found soon after that, it really was for us.
Superintendent:
That connection with kids is why we become educators. I'm sure it was a great chance to reconnect. Bryan, how did it feel as a teacher to be part of that parade?
Byan:
It was a lot of fun being able to go around the different streets and see the different students that come out in support of us and in support of what they're doing at home. I got to see several students of mine, and also students that I knew throughout the schools, simply because of the relationship that I try to give to all the students that are around. There's a lot of students out there that know me, but I have no idea who they are. But I really enjoyed being able to go and be a part of something really special where we can say hello to the students and let them know that we are thinking about them. We care about them, and we are still here for them, even though we have to do this all digitally,
Superintendent:
I'm sure that's going to be an experience that kids and teachers will not soon forget. Have you seen that team spirit kind of enhanced by everyone being in the same boat all of a sudden?
Bryan:
Absolutely. We see a lot of teachers that have been coming together, asking for help on using certain programs that they might not be familiar with, but maybe someone else is familiar with. And my job here was to make sure that I hit every single grade to give them some suggestions of some programs that they can use. And I would show them how to use those programs for their classrooms. And being able to go around afterwards, after I had hit every single grade, making sure that no one else needs any other help from me, or they did need some further assistance. But being able to see teachers come together and really collaborate in this time has been very encouraging. The grade that really sticks out the most to me right now is our second grade team. Especially in the very beginning, they would all meet together in a classroom. Some were actually in the classroom and then some were actually doing video conferencing, just really collaborating on what kind of lessons they wanted to teach, how they wanted to teach lessons. They wanted it to be very cohesive in this. They wanted to be a very unified in what they're teaching, so that if someone had a question, the other teammates could help them out afterwards. And so it's been an absolute blast watching everyone take these digital tools and just running with it.
Superintendent:
I've been super impressed with exactly that. I've just seen so many teachers that have just jumped right in and stretch themselves and try some things that may have been uncomfortable previously. And they've done it together. They've kind of linked arms and joined together and worked on it in a very unified way, like you described. And I know it's a lot of work and I know it's hard and I appreciate it all the more because of that. Now, can you describe a little bit for those who may not be familiar, we have digital learning specialists at the district level, but every school has a teacher who's assigned as the digital teacher leader. And of course, that's you at Jordan Ridge. Tell us a little bit about that role and how that's been helpful in this circumstance.
Bryan:
Well, the role of the digital teacher leader I feel is to be an extension of what the Digital Learning Specialist has been across the District. Whereas the Digital Learning Specialist is in charge of several different schools, now they have a Digital Teacher Leader that they can communicate with to push out these different programs, different learning tools, to all the other teachers. That way one Specialist doesn't have to just hit one school and then hit the next school, then hit the next school. They can be a little bit more efficient in introducing these new tools. So my job here at Jordan Ridge has been once a month to be introducing a new tool, or re-introducing a tool I've previously introduced to the other teachers. Something that they can use in the classroom, whether it's been Near Pod, video conferencing, etc.?
It's been great to learn all these different new tools as well. And it's been wonderful to have these teachers come in, not ever knowing these tools before and showing them how it works and how they can use some really practical application in their own classroom, but just to the point where they're not feeling overwhelmed. That's the one thing I've been really trying to make sure not overstate. I don't want to overstimulate everyone with everything else that they have on their plate. I wanted to make sure that they have enough, that they feel they can be empowered to empower their students as well.
Superintendent:
Melissa, what's it like to have Bryan there to help teachers move forward as well with digital learning?
Melissa:
Bryan has been invaluable. Our teachers have gone to him and felt very supported by him. And they feel like when they go to him for questions, they will get answers, they'll get great ideas, they'll get the suggestions that they need. He'll actually sit down with them and go through and help them create content using appropriate digital tools. So we love, love, love the District's vision of having the Digital Teacher Leaders in every school and training them often to make sure we are up to date in all digital tools and digital learning. And then again, we're so grateful for Bryan for going above the call of duty and bringing those tools back to our teachers and supporting them that way.
Superintendent:
That's amazing. Thank you, Bryan, for everything that you're doing. That's awesome. I'm sure the teachers really appreciate it as you've worked with them. Are there some stories about just how they've kind of discovered what's available and moved forward in their journey toward doing more digital learning?
Bryan:
They seem to be seeing a theme among the teachers here where they're being introduced to these new tools and a bit of a light bulb goes off in their heads. Oh, I can do this. I wonder what I can do with this tool. How can I apply that same tool into this content area? It's not necessarily a specific story, but just a common theme of what the teachers are doing. I actually emailed our staff last night, just asking them what was their favorite tool. And I was actually amazed by the responses that I'm getting, we're getting a wide variety of tools here. Like why is your.me thinks central, Near Pod is noon for video conferencing, Khan Academy, Google Classroom. And one thing that's been great that I made sure to email the teachers a few days ago just to give them some encouragement that this is brand new for many of them, it's almost like we're becoming first-year teachers again. And we've got even a few teachers at our school that are first-year teachers. So they're feeling this doubly, and it can absolutely be overwhelming. One thing I really wanted to make sure is that it's okay to not be perfect at this. It's okay to not have everything down right at the get go. We gotta take things one step at a time.
Superintendent:
So what have you seen happen with teachers as they've expanded their digital teaching capacity?
Melissa:
This actually just happened yesterday. A teacher on Bryan's team came and was sharing. I just asked her how things were going and how she's feeling about things and if things are getting better. It was really cool to see a sense of mastery as she has taken on these digital tools. And she said, it's been really cool. I've been able to refine my process every single weekend and feel like it's improving to the point where it's very efficient. And then she read me an email that a parent sent her about how wonderful she has been in creating and designing her content. The parent thanked her because it it was very organized. It was very structured. It was very easy to find out what was assigned, where to find things. And she was thanking this teacher for her work. So it was really cool to see her. I think all teachers start out with a little sense of frustration and how are we going to do this? And then to see her have a sense of mastery yesterday in referring to this parent email, it was really cool to see.
Superintendent:
That's exciting. And I love to see that type of progress. And I know that parents have been really patient as well. They've understood that we're trying something new. That we're going into new territory and it's really strengthened that partnership between teachers and parents as well. Bryan, do you have any advice for parents as they help support their students through digital learning during the school dismissal?
Bryan:
Oh, I think it's important that parents are not afraid to ask questions. If there's a tool that they're struggling with, or if there's an assignment that they may have a question with. I know that just for me, I've had students message me or email me saying that this tool isn't working properly, reminding me that I forgot to put it in the submit button for them to turn in their assignments. So it's been great for me to go back in and just do that quick fix. We're all still learning how to use these tools in the way that we want them to be used. And so it's absolutely okay for parents and for students to email the teacher with any questions that they have on the tool. If they don't know how to use it, or if the teacher needs to make a tweak here or there, just so that the students can turn it in. We are all in this together as a community. The teachers, the students, the parents, the administrators, we're all in uncharted territory and in an event that's completely unprecedented. And it's just been very encouraging to see everyone come together as a community, working and helping each other out, wherever it is needed.
Superintendent:
Well, I know you're both very busy. Thank you very much for taking the time to be on the Supercast and thank you very much for everything you're doing to help the Jordan Ridge community have the best experience possible with digital learning.
Melissa:
Thanks for having us.
Superintendent:
Thank you. We'll take a quick break. And when we come back, we'll talk with digital teaching and learning administrator. Ross men love to talk about what's happening out there and how teachers and students and parents are adapting to the school dismissal and online learning.
Break:
I'm Steven Hall, Director of Jordan Education Foundation. In today's challenging and uncertain times is more important than ever to support one another. Here at Jordan Education Foundation, we invite you to join us in providing food for children so they are not hungry. Each $10 donation to the Foundation will help us feed one student for a weekend. With food and hygiene in Principal's Pantries at Jordan District Schools depleting and in high demand, every financial contribution made will help us to keep these pantries filled for students who would otherwise go without. Jordan Education Foundation exist due to the generosity of people who care about kids and teachers. If you would like to donate to help kids from going hungry, visit [email protected], or contact the Foundation at (801) 567-8125. Thank you. Together, we can make a difference.
Superintendent:
We're back with Ross Menlove, Digital Teaching and Learning Administrator to talk about what's happening out there and how we're adapting. Ross, thanks for joining us.
Ross:
Hey, it's great to be here with you today. Thanks for inviting me.
Superintendent:
We talked with Ross back in our first Supercast episode about the Corona virus back at the beginning of March, before there was any school dismissal. A lot has been put in place to help provide support to teachers. I know that teachers have worked very, very hard to put this in place, and you have a lot of Digital Teaching and Learning Specialists who have just dived in and really made things work. Tell us a little bit about what's happening out there.
Ross:
So what we're doing with our Digital Learning Specialists, they're kind of the phone tree help for anybody who needs some help with how to use the programs and how to access the programs. One of the great things we've done is we've created that hotline here at Jordan District and get those phone calls because as part of this team, I myself have taken on a few schools. And so the parents that are part of those schools call me, and it's been fun just talking to the parents and getting their insights, but they're just a lot of questions about making sure they're supporting their kids. But the conversations I've had with parents and students has all been positive and the same from the Digital Learning Specialists. They'll get phone calls from parents, from grandparents, from students. And a lot of them just have questions about what they're doing and they're all positive and they help them out and support them and answer their questions and move on. It's been really fun to be part of.
Superintendent:
I really loved the way that hotline was set up because it automatically forwards, based on the menu choices that the caller makes to the cell phones or the home phones of the Specialists who are working from home and through reprogramming the phones, Mike Heaps, our Director of Information Systems was able to set that phone tree up so people can reach your Specialists and get one-on-one help with their needs at home.
Ross:
Yeah, it's been great. The other thing we're doing is our website, our http://digitallearning.jordandistrict.org. That website we updated every day. There are new tutorials for teachers, for parents, for students, new ideas, all of our contact information is on there. And it's just a way we can keep updated everyday to the new things that are coming out and new possibilities. That's really fun. Teachers will email me and say, Hey, have you ever tried this or principals email and say, Hey, can you get this out there for people? And would you update that website every day? Probably five or six different people can go and look at it and learn more about this online learning process.
Superintendent:
Tell us the web address again.
Ross:
So that is http://digitallearning.jordandistrict.org. The hotline number is (801) 567-8999.
Superintendent:
And that's available Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Is that correct?
Ross:
That's correct. And that'll be closed the Thursday and Friday of spring break, but every other weekday that hotline is available.
Speaker 7:
That's true. And also on the, on the website, you can find our email addresses and probably the digital learning specialists by the different schools. So people have questions. They can email us anytime. Yeah,
Anthony Godfrey:
I'm really excited about how my keeps our information systems director was able to reprogram the calling system. So that based on the menu choices made by the caller, they can be connected directly to someone who can help with their specific question. And it connects to the cell phones of digital learning specialists who are working from home, and that all happens automatically. So parents can be quickly connected to someone who helps. And I think that's, that's really exciting. So Ross, tell us about some of the innovative and exciting things that you have seen happen. Are there teachers who are maybe nervous about doing this at first that are now really enthusiastic about being able to teach online?
Speaker 7:
So let me tell you about an experience I had working with some teachers, their kindergarten teachers. I won't tell you exactly what school are at to kind of help them out, but they called me that second day after the school closure. And one of them would just in tears, just like, I don't know if I can do this. I don't know what I'm doing. And I kind of just coached her through a little bit of what we set up, kind of we've created a template to help teachers be able to put content online. And she, her and her team took on that challenge. And they at a kindergarten level is pretty fun. The other day, I contacted the teacher to see how things were going, and she invited me to be part of her Google meet session with her class. And so she sent me that link and I was able to watch her teach kindergarten kids online. And then with their canvas course, the kids get on there. And she has daily videos for the kids to watch. They have a Nearpod session for a couple of those sessions that go through each day. It was really fun actually to watch these kindergarteners get online, interact with their teacher, interact with the other classmates. And it was in a very structured format. I mean, she kind of set up the expectations at the beginning of the meeting with the students and they behaved really well. And it was actually really, really fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
Remember in cabinet meeting, we had you there right before we felt like there might be the possibility of a school dismissal that had happened in some other States. And we asked you to show us a canvas course with some of the preloaded lessons for kindergartners. And I was amazed at how engaging it was and how it was just spot on to the curriculum. And it must've, I've, I'm, I'm envious that you got to sit in on that kindergarten class and I'm really impressed. That's a good, that's a good example of how, you know, for some teachers, this is something that's very new. And they, they just said, you know, I'm going to embrace it and get some help and let's, let's see what we can do. And I've just been very impressed because I know how difficult and stressful it can be.
Speaker 7:
Yeah. But that's kind of what the great things about the digital learning specialist for teachers. They just provide just a different mental perspective, just add, add a little insight, you know, cause the teachers are the specialist, they know what they're doing. We can provide just a different perspective and they can take that and they run with it and they have so much fun. And it's fun just to be part of those classes. I've, I've joined in probably five or six classes each week and just kind of watch the teachers do their thing.
Anthony Godfrey:
What advice would you give for parents who have difficulty maybe getting their kids to be involved with online learning, or maybe not knowing how they as parents can be, can, can help,
Speaker 7:
You know, it's interesting. You mentioned that because I have a kindergartener and it's been fun, like watching him. I mean, yes, I know digital learning. And so I've kind of taken a couple steps back in. My wife has kind of done and she's not as well versed in this. And she's, you know, came to me with those types of questions and what I've encouraged her to do is just reach out to the teacher. And so she reached out to the teacher, they had like a Google meet session with a parent and the teacher, just to talk about what's going on, talk about different expectations. You know, that's the thing is our teachers want to communicate with the parents as much as they want to communicate with the students. They want everyone to find success and everyone to be happy, you know, and just reaching out to the people who are there is the one thing that I tell parents just to read it.
Anthony Godfrey:
I know there are some times that are scheduled with teachers and students, but there's a lot of flexibility. Also, should parents be structuring time? Is that the most effective or is a level of flexibility important? What's the, what's the best approach?
Speaker 7:
Well, what we've found with students is that students learn best in small chunks of time. And so the advice I would provide to parents is set aside a time that is consistent each day. So every day there's a time set aside when they're, they're going to do their schoolwork and they do that. And then, you know, in small chunks and that might be depending on how old they are or their attention span, 15 to 30 minutes, then let them go run around and let them go play for five or 10 minutes and then bring him back. You know if we try to sit them down and have them bust out the schoolwork for extended period of time, multiple hours, the parents are going to get frustrated and students will get frustrated. But if we kind of break that down into small learning chunks, you know, and that some that teachers do in the classroom every day is they break down their learning and chunks. And then they do an activity without learning. They bring it back, provide some instruction and then they go do another learning activity and provide kind of like those different environment and breaks. But the structure is important to have that going each day. So a kid knows what to expect
Anthony Godfrey:
Ross, thanks for being with us. And thank you for the support that you're providing to parents, students and teachers. You've done an amazing job. And the way you've been preparing things in this district, it's as if you knew this was going to happen, because you've really built in the structure to provide support. And I'm really pleased with the way things have gone. I'm, I'm really excited about all of the positive feedback I've been hearing and hats off to all your digital learning specialists. They've worked so hard and they've been so dedicated and, and you and your team and everyone associated with digital learning and in the teaching and learning department has just done a bang up job of, of moving this forward and helping support teachers in their great work. So thank you very much, Ross. I appreciate it. We know there are many challenges associated with such an abrupt switch to digital learning, but I deeply appreciate the efforts of parents, students, teachers, and digital learning specialists. It moving us so quickly down this path. We're grateful for. Everyone's willingness to dive in and make the best of a difficult situation and learn some new things along the way. Thanks again for joining us. And remember education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there eventually.
26 min
April 02, 2020 Episode 29: We’re in This Together: Teachers, Students and Love for Our Lunch Ladies
With challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis come stories of hope and helping one another in ways that warm the heart.
In this episode of the Supercast, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey finds out how one school is coming up with creative ways to connect with students, support them and make them smile. And, we learn how lunch ladies are managing to keep kids fed with a huge helping of kindness during school dismissal every day.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony "got to maintain social distancing." Once again, we're conducting this Supercast using Google meet. There are a lot of difficult situations folks are dealing with, and everyone is impacted in an individual and different way by the Corona virus and the shutdowns that have happened as a result. But there has been a lot of innovation, creativity, and kindness that has exhibited itself out in our schools. And I wanted to highlight some of the wonderful things that I know are happening in response to this terrible circumstance. And today I get to Google meet principal ABR SP at Columbia elementary school. And I also get to talk with Natalie ticks a lunch clerk at foothills elementary. Start by checking in with ABR, speak to see what's been happening at Columbia during the school dismissal. So Abe, tell us a little bit about yourself. You've been at Columbia for two years now.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, that's right. This was my second year.
Anthony Godfrey:
And did you teach elementary previous to that?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I taught first grade for 12 years. It was awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
You are somebody who has a great time at work. You love being at the elementary. Tell me what you love about elementary school.
Speaker 3:
Oh, elementary kids are the best they love being at school. And when you're the principal of an elementary school, you're like a superstar. You walk down the halls and everyone loves and greets you and as excited to see you still. So that's what I love most about being at the elementary.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, that is a wonderful thing about it. And I certainly miss being at a school for that very reason. I know how much you love being there and, and, and how engaged you are. What are some of the things that have been happening at your school to kind of make the most of, of the situation and continue to maintain those connections with kids and, and with the faculty?
Speaker 3:
Yeah. So nine teachers that have been awesome and that's actually our motto as a faculty is it'd be awesome for kids and they have been awesome. They've been doing an incredible job rolling out the online curriculum as well as just connecting with kids in different ways that they normally are used to. We had the big parade with the help of West Jordan police department. We went through the neighborhoods and we sure we kept their social distance and honked. And the kids all came out with their parents on their porches and on their balconies and waved. And it was, it was just an awesome experience. That's one, there's one example of ways that we've been trying to connect.
Anthony Godfrey:
I know you had at least one teacher who went out and visited homes and put some signs in front yards. Tell me about,
Speaker 3:
Yeah, we have two second grade teachers that visited each of their students' homes and we have a lot of apartments. And so they would, they put signs like great job on your online curriculum this week. You did awesome. And also thanks to their parents, like awesome job, getting your kids online. Cause sometimes that's a battle is to get the kids to get online and parents are a huge help in that. So they visited every single home. They didn't knock on the door or anything. They just left the sign on the, on the grass or on the front porch thing. Thank you for all you do.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Did you hear some response from parents about that?
Speaker 3:
Oh yeah. It's been nothing. Parents actually were quite touched. They, there were parents that commented on our social media sites or sent me a direct email to saying, thank you, thank you for your teachers that just care so much about our kids that they're willing to do that. So,
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I think that's amazing. You're also one of the sites that has been offering breakfast and lunch. And tell us about that. I know we've worked hard at social distancing as we offer that breakfast and lunch and that that's now a curbside service where we don't have anyone coming in the building. Is it kind of fun to just even get to see the kids from a distance for a short time?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, so we do, we're lucky enough to have a, both at our school. And then we have a trailer park that is a little, a little far away for the kids to actually walk here to our school. And so the district's been nice enough to provide a way for us to take meals to the trailer park. And there's a little park right in the middle of the trailer park. And we hand out the meals to the kids in the trailer park and we have about a hundred, maybe 120 kids that come that live in that trailer park that all come and get their food and they're thrilled to see us. They're always just, I think it just makes their day, obviously, as we all know, sitting around your house all day in a small space can be a little boring. And so when they have the chance to just come outside, at least wave to someone they know and smile and get their lunch it makes a huge difference in their day. So well also here at the school, we have about a hundred to 150 people that show up to get one here at school. And they're, they're thrilled to see us as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
And because of the federal government changing their guidelines, those lunches are free for any child 18 or under who shows up. And that's part of the nice thing is you can just give them a lunch. We don't have to enter in numbers. We don't have to track anything. Just every child gets a lunch and, and I've really liked that what I was impressed with when I came over to see lunch operations a week or so ago is how well you knew your community. You just said, you know, we have a neighborhood that you know, the park that would be, they're going to have difficulty coming over to the school. Is there any way we could get a bus over there? And I was just really impressed that you knew your community so well. And boy getting the bus over there was a great idea because it's, it's obviously helping a lot of kids in a lot of families. So thanks for being so in touch with everything.
Speaker 3:
Well, thank you. I, I just was worried about those kids. I, I, they were on my mind constantly.
Anthony Godfrey:
The other things that you've that you're aware of, that teachers are doing to manage teaching online to stay connected with kids. I know this is a, a huge, a huge burden on, on teachers to suddenly shift everything online and engage in a different way. And I know they just plain old miss the kids too on top of everything else, but
Speaker 3:
Right, right. Yeah. So it's been a huge cooperative effort, not just with our teachers, but with our support staff as well to get this up and running. And I'm sure this is the case that many schools across the district and state is, it was a huge undertaking to go all online. And it took a lot of effort and a lot of cooperation from our staff, but there's a lot of cool and interesting things. Our teachers are doing one of our, well, our fourth grade, they are Skyping with scientists throughout the community and throughout the nation. And so they're getting online with scientists and getting their kids online with scientists and having discussions with these, these experts in their field about not only the virus, but the curriculum that they're working on at the time. And so that's been really fun for the kids is to be able to talk and relate to scientists across the nation.
Anthony Godfrey:
So they're not just saying, well, how do we replicate what we've done in the classroom? They're saying, let's take it to the next level and how we can leverage this new circumstance to do some things we might not have done otherwise.
Speaker 3:
Right. Right. Yeah. And a lot of our lower grade teachers, something that they'd been doing is they've been reading stories to their kids online, through their Facebook pages or they're just sending them a video of them reading. So they still get that connection with their peers, with their teacher, and they still are able to hear their teacher read. And that's something that kids love. It that's the best moment of the day having taught first grade is just reading to your kids, reading to your students. And there's such a connection that happens when you're reading to them that it's it's something you don't want to lose. And I truly love doing that. So they've been trying to keep trying to continue that as they do it online. Now,
Anthony Godfrey:
It's exciting that they've found a way to keep that going. And you mentioned the assistance at a title one school in particular, there are more assistance than there may be in another school. And I've just been very impressed at how assistance dive in, find new ways to connect to kids and support teachers. And they just keep working and they're so dedicated, and this has been a big shift for them too. It's a lot of work for them as well. And yet they stay engaged and are big part of, of making this work,
Speaker 3:
Right? Yeah. We have our assistants doing a variety of things. We're trying to get them to do more from home, but some of the things they do or we have our PE assistant providing online PE curriculum and different activities they can do at home. And for their PE we have some of our assistants doing a lot of translating to Spanish for our teachers and even providing direct instruction over the internet to students that need additional help in English. And we have art are some of our assistants helping teach art and providing curriculum and art and just, there's just a ton that they do. And we couldn't have done this without our assistance.
Anthony Godfrey:
We have been, I've been super impressed with just how every employee in Jordan district has jumped in custodians, bus drivers, lunch workers have all sometimes had to do different jobs that they've never done before. We have a lot of bus workers that are helping with the distribution of lunches with custodial services. And everyone has just kind of pitched in to, to see what needed to be done. And it's impacted every employee. And everyone's really risen to the occasion.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I've seen people are more than willing to do anything that, that our paraprofessionals are cleaning doorknobs and out, picking up garbage and just helping in any way. And then the bus drivers, I am impressed with that. They are best drivers. Not only hand out lunches here at the school, but they also go up to the trailer park and help there and they love it.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's been great talking with you. You're an amazing principal. You always make it fun. And I really appreciate your taking the time to talk with us and share some of the awesome things that are happening.
Speaker 3:
Oh, not a problem. Always going to share. Thanks Dr. Godfrey. Appreciate the time.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. It's been great. Talking with principal AP Osby from Columbia elementary school. Now we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll talk with lunch clerk from foothills elementary school, Natalie Texan, about the lunch and breakfast service that's been going on at Fu
Speaker 4:
I'm Steven Hall director of Jordan education foundation. And today's challenging and uncertain times is more important than ever to support one another here at Jordan education foundation, we invite you to join us in providing foods to children. So they are not hungry. Each $10 donation to the foundation will have to feed one student for a weekend with food and hygiene, entrenched books pantries at Jordan district schools depleting and in high demand. Every financial contribution made will help us to keep these pantries filled for students who would otherwise go without Jordan education foundation exists due to the generosity of people who care about kids and teachers. If you would like to donate to help kids from going hungry, visit Jordan education, foundation.org, or contact the foundation at (801) 567-8125. Thank you together. We can make a difference.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. We're back on the super cast with Natalie Texan, the lunch clerk at foothills elementary school, they have been doing a bang up job of continuing services. Even during the school dismissal, they're serving a lot of lunches and breakfasts. Natalie, give us an idea of just what's going on over there. Foothills.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, we, we are serving anywhere from two to 300 breakfasts and up to our highest has been 915 lunches. So about 1200 meals a day, 1200 meals sit down. It's been awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
We are so appreciative our new of our nutrition services workers who are continuing this service know that families are really relying on it. And it's something for them to look forward to in the day, you know, a long days at home and, and they get to come by and drive by and say, hi.
Speaker 5:
Yeah, I had a family today at breakfast, bring cards for everyone, for everyone that's working and just said how much they appreciate it and it's the highlight of their day. And so it was really nice.
Anthony Godfrey:
I love hearing that. How many people do you have working there on any given day?
Speaker 5:
So we probably have about 13. We have a group of four bus drivers that helped me outside do the counting and serving and going back and forth and getting the milk. And then we have probably eight lunch ladies or some from other schools and they helped put together all the meals. And then we have other elementeries that contribute because there that we don't have, we cook the main meal, but the, all the like goodies brownies and cookies and stuff like that, other elementary that are baking and bringing them to us. So it's a big team project. It's really cool to see.
Anthony Godfrey:
So even with everything that's going on, we're still baking, right?
Speaker 5:
Oh yeah. Yeah. That's what I love about Jordan school district is, you know, everything is from scratch and so they still get the the baked goods and the kids look forward to that. And it's wonderful.
Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the other things that are being served right now?
Speaker 5:
So breakfast, we alternate one day it's cereal and they have juice in a fruit and extreme cheese. And then the next day will be like a muffin and similar things and then cereal. And then like a cocoa cherry bar, like a protein bar kind of. And then this week we've served hamburgers. That was a big day. That was our 917 sort of hot dogs today is burritos and tater tots, but they always have a cruder vegetable and they have a treat. And it's just a lot of fun. It's really fun when the cars pull up and you see just the appreciation on the parent's face. I have one mom that she gets tears in her eyes. Every time she pulls up and then the kids, you hear them open their sex or their styrofoam container, and they just start clapping and giggling. And it just is, it's a wonderful feeling to be part of it.
Anthony Godfrey:
I may or may not have a few tears myself. It's a lot of hard work to put 900 hamburgers in the hands of kids, all, all within an hour's timeframe. Yeah.
Speaker 5:
Yes. Yeah. So it definitely takes a team and we could not do it without everyone that's here helping the principals even come out. The principal either the principal or vice principal are always out there. Our dare officer is out there whenever he's here one day. I don't remember his name that he's a supervisor for all the best drivers he was here and he helped us. He was carrying milk back and forth supplying us with milk during the lunch rush. And it's just been such a incredible experience to see everyone just pulled together so that these families can be fed.
Anthony Godfrey:
It really is awesome. And like I said, I know families rely on it and it is wonderful to see nutrition workers from different schools working together and the bus drivers being a part of things as well. I've talked with several who have just loved being a part of what you're doing and it's very rewarding for them.
Speaker 5:
Yeah, I think so too. And it's been so fun getting to know other people, you know, and getting to know one of the lunch that you said came, I also do crossing garden and I'm one of her crossing guards. So that was kind of fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. Well, I think it just shows the important connection that there is between nutrition services workers and our bus drivers and the kids. I'm sure the kids are excited, not just for the lunch, but to see you guys and to have a little bit of normalcy where they get to see some friendly, familiar faces.
Speaker 5:
Absolutely. You know, the principal has been out there the last two days and the kids get so excited and they just, and also our other munch worker that comes for two hours and she, you know, is helping the lunch workers. They get so excited. And it's just a little bit of normalcy in this craziness. So yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
What other things have you had to do to adapt to the school dismissal? I, I, I'm so impressed that it's a hot meal and there's baking going on. And, you know, when you think grab and go, you don't think hamburgers, hot dogs and freshly baked cookies and brownies, but that's, that's just, that's quite a menu.
Speaker 5:
It is. I mean, they have salads in there and ranch dressing, you know, all those things, but we had you know, we, when we first started this a week ago, we were before that we had to serve maybe 30 lunches in 54, no 54 lunches and maybe 15 breakfast. So we weren't sure what to expect. And so our first day was a little bit chaotic and we had to make some shifts and adjustments because we needed to make sure everyone was safe, social distancing wise. And so we made up some signs and put up some hula-hoops if anyone walks into that, you know, that they're safe and how to pull in some more people. So that it's just been a learning curve. But after the first week we would increase increments of a hundred each day. So we started like 450 and then five, six, seven, eight, nine, but it just is working really well. Everyone just working together and we're finding what works and we're getting everyone through so
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that's, that's word of mouth right there about how awesome you guys are and how great the meals are that you're serving. That's great. And I love your description of the setup, those hula hoops. I've seen that in a few different locations, the hula hoops where you stand in a Hulu that is spaced apart, and that you're doing all the service outside, is that correct?
Speaker 5:
Yes. So most of the people drive up, but like yesterday was a warm day, so we had more walk-ups. So we just, we have different people in charge of each area so that they can be quickly given their food and they're able to go. And
Anthony Godfrey:
I, I just really appreciate the hard work our nutrition services workers are doing and, and our bus drivers are doing to help support that. It's, it's really incredible.
Speaker 5:
I just appreciate the team, you know, I'm outside and they just bring these amazing meals out and I get to give them, and I get a, I get to have kind of the people perspective of interacting and they're in here just putting together meals quick as they can. And they come out hot. And it's just amazing how everyone works together.
Anthony Godfrey:
I don't know. I don't know how they do it. I really don't know how to do it. It's amazing. Yeah,
Speaker 5:
It is. It's absolutely amazing. And they just go with it and they just keep coming back and working together. So it's a great thing.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now I understand that on top of feeding, 900 kids every day for lunch and 300 for breakfast, you have eight kids of your own. How are things going at home for you?
Speaker 5:
It's good. I have four college students and they're back home and, and it's working out good. My elementary school son, it's harder. We have to do like 30 minute increments or even 10 minute increments and then take a break. So it's a lot of the day
Anthony Godfrey:
We have to do that with my fifth grader too. That's a breaks. Lots of points would really help.
Speaker 5:
It's just, I, I, I have gotten, just gained so much more respect. I had respect for the teachers anyway, and I get to see him every day, but just everything they do, they are amazing. And now to take on doing online schooling for everyone, I think just everyone has stepped up and it's just showed. There's just so much good in our community. And it's just wonderful to see.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, well said, there's a lot of good in our community. A lot of great people coming together. This brought out the best in some amazing people. And you're certainly one of those. So thanks for all your efforts, Natalie, it's such a thrill to talk with you. Thanks for everything you're doing. And please give my best to the rest of the crew.
Speaker 5:
I sure will. Thanks so much.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks again to AB Osby and Natalie Texan for talking with us on the super cast today, they are just a couple of examples of how employees have come together and pitched it to get through this circumstance everywhere you turn, people are taking on extra burdens, doing extra work and coming together to create the best experience possible for students. During this school dismissal, I'm immensely proud of the work that each employee in Jordan district is doing. And I'm deeply appreciative to parents and students for adapting so quickly to a new way of learning, stay safe. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there eventually.

25 min
March 26, 2020 Episode 28: Staying Healthy: Coping Skills During COVID-19 Crisis
As we all navigate these challenging times with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to know that students and families are not alone, even though we all may be spending the majority of time at home.
On this episode of the Supercast, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey talks to Jordan School District Health and Wellness Specialist McKinley Withers about how families can find comfort and cope in this time of uncertainty.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. And this is a little bit of a different Supercast because I'm actually super casting from the basement of my house. I'm in the room where we normally keep the wrapping paper and the irony board, and a few other things to make sure that I'm maintaining social distancing, but still not being socially isolated. I've missed being able to connect through the podcast and I'm glad to be back doing it. And I'm really happy to have McKinley weathers with us for the super cast today. He's a friend of the show, a fan favorite always feels good to talk with you, and it's good to see you there in your basement bunker McKinley.
Speaker 2:
Thanks for having me. I'm really grateful for another opportunity to be, to be on the super cast. I love this show and you do a good job.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're doing this through Google Hangouts and I see the cement walls and the pipes above you. It really is a basement bunker.
Speaker 2:
It is. Yeah. It's the only place where I can be where where kids won't be trying to, to, to have their say on the super cast. So
Anthony Godfrey:
I'd be open to having some weather's children on the city. That could be very interesting. I could ask them lots of questions about
Speaker 2:
You. Yeah, that's true. Well, you look,
Anthony Godfrey:
You look well-protected down there, so I'm glad, I'm glad you're safe. Yep. Staying safe. I just want to start off by expressing gratitude to the employees, students, parents who have jumped in to really make the best of a difficult situation. Everybody experiences this in a different way. Everyone's impacted in a different way, and I'm just grateful to be associated with all of these great employees and parents and kids who have stayed focused on education, despite the difficult circumstances. And like I said, varied circumstances, everyone experiences this at a different level and in a different way. And I've just been extremely impressed with the the way this has brought out the best in people.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. And just to add to that it's, it's interesting because there are actually researchers that study, you know, disasters times of crisis, and it's actually more so normal that people reach out, they connect, they, they give so more than they did before a crisis or a disaster or something like COVID-19 like we're facing right now. So I think just knowing that our, our norm as humans is not to pillage and to, you know, fight and to be angry and to fend for ourselves. But our, our norm is actually to reach out and connect and to take care of each other. So that can reduce some of the panic that we might feel, you know, thinking the world is falling apart. We've been through as humans, so many disasters and our norm as humans is to come out more connected, better off and taking care of each other. So I think that's, that's the positive outlook of what, of what this could lead to, you know, so
Anthony Godfrey:
The, over the years you have emphasized the need for gratitude. And it seems that right now is a really important time to be focused on gratitude. Regardless of our circumstances, there are things to be grateful for, and that is important for our own health and wellness to express that as well as the health and wellness of those who would be on the receiving end of those expressions of appreciation.
Speaker 2:
Yes, absolutely. And one thing just to, just to kind of compare or to make clear what kind of gratitude we're talking about here, because it's okay to be frustrated and you know, to, to feel feelings of anxiety or a little bit of nervousness about what's going on, but what usually causes our deepest frustration or unhappiness or discontent, whatever you want to call it is that we have expectations that really in a lot of ways may not be able to be met. So rather than because right now, I mean, there are a lot of expectations that have been frustrated. I mean, some people have expected to be at school right now or expect to be at a school dance or, you know expecting certain things about their circumstance, but as often as we can, it's best for us to exchange expectations for appreciation.
Speaker 2:
So even though, you know, things are hard and we can acknowledge that it's difficult. Changing those that mind frame from, you know, frustration at the things that aren't just looking at, the things that are and, and appreciating the, a little bit of extra time you might have around your parents or, or children, or the time at home, you know there are, there are many things that we can acknowledge that have gone, right. And in order to do that, we have to first let go of some of those expectations that we're hanging on to. So tightly
Anthony Godfrey:
Exchanging expectations for appreciation. I think that's really important concept. It makes a lot of sense. It's probably easier said than done. Yes. If we really focus on that and are deliberate and intentional about shifting our thinking in that way, that's something that can really make a difference. Yeah. What are some of the things that you would recommend we do to really talk about how we're feeling about the Corona virus and particularly for parents talking with kids about Corona virus and how, how do, how do we manage that and how do we have that conversation
Speaker 2:
As with, as with any hard topic? I think that it's, it's important to be open and honest to acknowledge whatever feelings do exist, not to shut them down or minimize and and say, well, it's not that bad. You know, I, I have it worse or I had it worse when I was your age, but just to openly listen. But then that openness and honesty, it's probably going to depend on the age of a child. I, so I have a four year old who has been confused about why we can't go to the jump place or to grandpa and grandma's anymore. And, but now he has an understanding whenever, you know, something comes up and he asks, why can't we, we just talk about the germ that's going around and we're trying to stay safe and trying to keep the people that we care about safe. So but that's, that's an honest explanation that a four year old can understand. We're not saying we're not making up stories. We're saying there's a germ, people are concerned about it, and we're just trying to stay safe, you know, for for an adolescent, you can be a lot more straight forward about it, but it's, it's important not to pretend and, you know, just, just allow the actual conversation to happen. So and being direct as honest as, as, as they will understand.
Anthony Godfrey:
So genuine, honest, direct conversation, that's calibrated for the age of the child, right? Yeah. Yeah. I, I sympathize with the jump place. The jump place is going to be that much sweeter when we can all return back to the respective jump places and resume some normalcy McKinley. I understand you've been updating your website, the health and wellness website. First of all, tell us how we can access that.
Speaker 2:
It's just wellness dot Jordan, district.org. You can also get to it from the main Jordan district page, just click on the health and wellness, but
Anthony Godfrey:
You have a list of home wellness ideas during the Corona virus pandemic.
Speaker 2:
Yes. And we also have several of the counselors, social workers, psychologists, principals, teachers have already shared with students, a lot of good tips and strategies. But this is just one more resource that's out there. So there are some, some at-home lessons on wellness that you can do with your, with your, with your children or students. A lot of content on happiness and wellbeing. And then also kind of if, if you're at home and your child has been struggling with anxiety maybe depression there are specific pages that address those kinds of concerns.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us, walk us through some of the home wellness tips that you have on your website to help us manage all of this.
Speaker 2:
So I would suggest that one of the biggest considerations for families would be keeping a routine. But when I say keeping a routine, that's, this is a new routine. You know, people always say the hardest part of going to the gym is showing up. And that's true because it's a routine that you're just starting. So when we were all sent home to do online school we didn't have a routine. We didn't have a normal, you know, that helped us feel comfortable and confident and successful in that new setting. So still showering, still getting ready and dressed you know, eating at scheduled times. Those are all things that help us feel comfortable and adjust to our new setting. So if we can do our best as a family to, to take, to make scheduled time for things, you know, when you're working on school and when you aren't, because when you're kind of turned loose to work on it whenever, and you eat whenever and you sleep until whenever, then every single step of your day is a decision that you didn't have to make before. And that's exhausting. So your brain power is, is depleted. The more decisions you have to make the, the more tired your decision-making brain gets. I don't know if that made sense, but
Anthony Godfrey:
It does because I, the first time I heard the term decision fatigue, it makes so much sense to me because there's a point where at the end of the day I get home and, you know, we had plans to go out to eat or whatever. And I don't want to be a part of that decision thinking through so many things throughout the day. I don't care where we go. I just don't want to decide. And I can absolutely see that not having a routine would create this decision fatigue and that it would multiply and compound over time. And it may be difficult to put your finger on that and say, why do I feel exhausted? Why is this so taxing and the way you described it makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. So if a, if a student can already decide, you know, even setting an alarm or a timer or something, I'm going to do school for one hour, you know, at this time I'm going to wake up at this time. Those are decisions that you can make ahead of time. That won't, I mean, you're going to default to what's easiest. So if you're fighting against the urge to play video games, or just to watch something on Netflix or do schoolwork, and that's a decision you're constantly deciding between Netflix games, those are going to win every time, unless you can make it a decision that you don't make, if that makes sense. So when, when you go to school, that's a decision you don't have to make anymore because you're stuck in a classroom. And the teacher's going to tell you, this is what you're doing, but as often as you can taking away those little decisions that will make you less productive or less focused, that's a, that's a really important step.
Anthony Godfrey:
And if you don't concentrate the time that you're working or working on school, then it can feel like it's all day. And it's all you're doing because it's not focused within a particular slot of time. I have a ten-year-old, who's doing school from home, of course, like everyone else. And it is interesting to watch he's good at school. He likes school, but adjusting to a new routine was very difficult the first few days. And now he has his routine down. We have some visual markers on the, on the wall. There's a sign for every subject that he needs to be studying. And he moves that on the wall when he's done with it. And the routine has made a huge difference.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. And, and that's a really good example because that helps your child feel more confident and capable to like having things on a to-do list that we actually are able to check off is much more satisfying than work on school sometimes, you know, when you feel like it. I think, and the other thing to really keep in mind about routines is we actually adjust and adapt really well. So once that routine is set, once at home learning is the normal, it's gonna feel so much more, you know, I mean, we've only been doing this for two weeks now, so it's normal to be struggling with it still, but in a couple of weeks, if you can keep to a routine, it just feels like every other day,
Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to take a quick break. But when we come back with McKinley weathers, health and wellness specialist for Jordan school district, we'll talk about how to maintain good relationships in close quarters. How we all get along during this pandemic.
Speaker 4:
Hello, my name is Steven Hall. I'm director of the Jordan education foundation. Have you ever experienced what it's like to surprise a teacher in the classroom with school supplies, books, or a classroom grant? Have you seen students all smiles because you carry enough to give them a backpack, a winter coat weekend, food packs, or a free holiday shopping spree. It's something we see all the time, because it is exactly what Jordan education foundation does. The foundation exists due to the generosity of people who care about kids, if you would like to be a part of supporting students and teachers in the classroom, contact Jordan education foundation, and start making a difference today, you can find [email protected],
Anthony Godfrey:
Back from the break. And I wanted to talk with McKinley about breaks. We need to take breaks from, from the routine. And maybe even from the people we love that we're very close to now that we find ourselves staying at home as much as costs.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. I think that it's still, it's good to have our, our social connection, but it's also good to take our time to continue our personal development. I think humans really need all of us need to feel like we are able to make a meaningful contribution. And, and I think that it's really good to have your alone time where you're I have this little saying, I don't remember where I got it from, but trying to create rather than consume. So if we have a chance to turn it on, you know, what, what we would like to contribute or create that part of our brains rather than our breaks, if our breaks are always, consumer-based like, we're just watching something or listening to something it's good to have some creative giving time. And that can help us take a break from just being around each other.
Speaker 2:
If we can find, you know, creating maybe a new meal, trying to create something new, trying a new instrument, or, you know, building something that creation is really important for a person to feel a sense of accomplishment. So we got to find ways to do that and have it be a little bit individual, and we can create together, you know, having a task to do with people rather than just being around each other. 24 seven can help concentrate our energy away from maybe getting a little bit flustered or angry. If, if we're just any, each other's space all the time,
Anthony Godfrey:
What other tips do you have from the website to help manage this situation? So
Speaker 2:
I have several ideas for people. One, one thing that I emphasize often I guess in some other podcasts and there will be some content on the website related to this, but it's really important also to pick your battles between what you can and can't control. Because there are a lot of elements of this situation that are outside of our control. And the more time we spend trying to fix the things that we can't means, less time making the things that we can control better. I think that it's important to make that distinction, you know, th these are things outside of my control. You can't control those things, but you can control how it will affect you personally. You can control what you will do with your time at home. And in order to make that pivot that and like we talked about earlier, the exchanging expectations for appreciation in order to make that shift, we have to first acknowledge I can't control these things.
Speaker 2:
So I'm going to stop worrying about them, and it's okay to check in every once in a while. But I would say one of the biggest distractions right now would be reading about every single update of the Corona virus, you know, checking the news constantly because that will, that's something that it won't affect whether or not you, or your loved ones will catch it, just knowing the latest news, what will affect that is, do you wash your hands? Are you keeping the social distancing recommendations? Are you you know, taking care of those, you and your neighbors, there are so many things you can do, but checking the news constantly, you know, I would even, I would limit yourself to once or twice a day as a family say, you know, news is off until this time. Maybe we, you can check it once, but if you're constantly monitoring that and reading the latest it can make, it'll just make you more anxious. Cause there's not much you can do about it.
Anthony Godfrey:
You know, I've, I've found that to be true just about the news in general, but it's particularly true now with the Corona virus and so many fast developments I have at various times had news alerts turned on on my phone. And so from sometimes even three or four different news sources, I'm getting an alert from the app. I'm getting a text message. I'm getting all of these updates that are constantly coming right to my shirt pocket. And it's a constant interruption throughout the day. And I start to feel like I'm going to miss out. If I'm not constantly checking, I won't know what's going on. And I read an article and it was actually an article from one of the newspapers that I had alerts from. I turned, I turned off the alerts and I just checked at, at, at set times during the day. And I found that there wasn't anything that had happened that I missed out on. Now these last few weeks, it feels very different from that, that, that things are happening all the time, but I have personally experienced how much better it feels to catch up on the news at specific times of the day, rather than whatever it happens to, to come to your phone. What are, what other tips do you have for dealing with stress and anxiety?
Speaker 2:
So there are I, I've added a couple of links on the website as well for this, for what we call social and emotional learning. We've got there, a lot of emotion, regulation strategies out there, you know, meditation, mindfulness, there are apps like the calm app, which actually has some free online meditations you can use. But one of the key factors to emotional wellness still is related to our physical wellness. So if we're not sleeping, we're, you know, distracting ourselves so that we're not actually getting enough sleep, we're not going to have that emotional resilience. And then also getting outside as often as we can still maintaining all of the social distancing expectations, but getting outside, getting some sunlight, getting enough sleep. And then really one of the most important factors, again for wellness is still social connection. So I know at the, at the introduction you said, you know, I'm social distancing, but I'm not socially isolating. And I think that's a really important thing. So whatever ways we can try and connect in in this unique circumstance, through technology, writing letters to someone, if you can't FaceTime them, you know, try and write some letters of gratitude, you know, this week to a couple of people that may not be in your life as often.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you and McKinley. It's always great to talk with you. You always have great advice. You're kind of the Dr. Oz of the superhero. I just, just don't go off on your own super cast or your own mind counts.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, no, definitely not.
Anthony Godfrey:
It always, it always feels good to talk with you. I appreciate your advice. Tell us the website one more time.
Speaker 2:
So it's wellness dot Jordan, district.org, and there's plenty of tips there.
Anthony Godfrey:
And I know that counselors, I know that counselors from schools are also reaching out to students. They have disappeared. There's no need to chance for a physical, a in-person meeting, but there is certainly a lot of opportunity for interaction. So if anybody needs help, anyone needs, please reach out to the school, email, the principal, email counselors, and school psychologists. They are eager to help. Right? Exactly. Yeah. It's been great having him a kid late. It's always nice to have you on the podcast. Thanks for listening and be safe and be well out there everyone. And remember education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there. [inaudible].
26 min
March 02, 2020 Episode 27: The Coronavirus – Schools, Student and Parent Preparedness
Jordan School District, in conjunction with the Salt Lake County Health Department, has developed plans regarding the coronavirus, (COVID-19) to help prevent the spread of disease and keep our students, faculty and staff healthy. Teaching students in a safe and healthy environment is our top priority.
This podcast was recorded on Monday, March 2 and the information is current as of that date.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. In this special edition of the Supercast. We want to make you aware of what Jordan School District is doing in cooperation with the Salt Lake County Health Department to plan for the Coronavirus or COVID-19 and to help prevent the spread of disease and keep students, faculty and staff healthy. This episode of the Supercast was recorded on March 2, 2020. And the information presented is current. As of that date, we'll hear from Salt Lake County Health Department, Epidemiology Manager, Eileen Risk regarding COVID 19. We'll also speak with Director of Custodial Services, Steve Peart about what's being done in schools to help prevent the spread of disease and illness. And we'll speak with Ross Menlove about the digital learning capacities that are built-in here at Jordan School District. Joining us now on the Supercast is Salt Lake County Epidemiologist, Eileen Risk. Thank you very much for taking the time. Can we just start by asking, what would you like parents to know about Coronavirus?
Eileen:
I think it's important for parents to understand that while this is a new virus and it's a novel virus, so that's scary. But the thing to keep in mind is, there are some real simple steps that parents can take to prevent spread of respiratory illnesses, including Coronavirus and including Influenza. And those are good hand-washing, frequently and thoroughly.
Anthony Godfrey:
So I know it might seem obvious to just ask how to wash your hands, but are there some specific tips on how to wash your hands thoroughly to be sure that diseases stop?
Eileen:
Definitely. It's very important when you're washing your hands. Some people sing a song in their head or out loud, depending if they can sing, but make sure that you wash your hands for 20 seconds and that you suds up. It's the friction when you're washing your hands. Make sure that you wash the tips of your fingers, your thumbs, in between your fingers, up through your watch, take off any rings, or if you're wearing them, get underneath the rings. The duration is really important.
Anthony Godfrey:
So the duration and really washing every area of your hands. How frequently should you be washing your hands or when should you be washing your hands?
Eileen:
That's a very good point. The other thing I want parents to recognize is that with hand washing is a good prevention measure, but it's also important to stay home when you are sick and it's always important to wash your hands after you've sneezed or coughed so hopefully you aren't exposing other people if you're ill. So you're in your own home, but you're making sure that you wash your hands after you sneeze or cough. It's important to wash your hands before you eat and after you use the bathroom.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wash your hands before you eat and after you use the restroom. Now you mentioned staying home. If you have symptoms, what are the symptoms that parents ought to be watching for to keep their child home?
Eileen:
That's very challenging because with Coronavirus. COVID-19 is the designation for this virus, the clinical disease. They need to watch for symptoms of fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Those are fairly common symptoms. So a lot of different illnesses might present with those symptoms. So it's hard to know whether or not it's influenza or another respiratory pathogen, but if the child is sick it's important to contact their healthcare provider. And it's a good idea to not just show up at the health care provider if they have those symptoms, but to call ahead and then the health care provider can instruct them as far as when they're coming in. They might want to put them in an isolated room, put on a mask. If they're coughing, it's always a good idea. It's also important to recognize that right now, with our situation, as it's probably a lot more common, if they've had some sort of known exposure, that's going to change in a hurry. We expect community transmission, but for right now, as far as if a child presented with those symptoms, some of the questions that we would ask as public health is, have you traveled to any of the areas where we know there is known sustained community transmission? Have you had contact with someone who has traveled that may be under investigation as having COVID-19? Those are good indicators that would kind of ratchet up the concern level for a parent.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if a parent finds that their child has those symptoms, they should keep them home. They should call their health care provider. And one of the additional questions will be related to whether there is some level of exposure through travel or through contact with someone who has traveled. Is that correct?
Eileen:
Yes, that's correct. And then they help the provider. With those lists of symptoms would test for a variety of more commonly seen things they're circulating in our community right here in Salt Lake County now, including influenza and other respiratory pathogens. If all of those tests negative, then depending on the risk factors associated with the child, we might move on to testing for COVID-19. But currently the testing around this virus is very stripped. And so there has to be some sort of risk-based exposure. We're not just routinely testing people who present with those symptoms.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if you have the symptoms, but there's no reason to believe that been exposed, you wouldn't necessarily be tested unless everything else was eliminated as a possibility.
Eileen:
That's correct. And that's why we do think, especially a fair number of people that have this disease don't have really severe symptoms. Some do, but a lot have very mild symptoms and so that's why it could be missed and not recognized. But that's also why we have to find that balance because of the resources we need to make sure that we have the testing capability for the people who are truly at risk.
Anthony Godfrey:
I see. So it is reserving testing capability for when you really have those populations through, right?
Eileen:
For right now, because the testing is limited. We hope in the future, there will be a commercial test and it will probably be just part of it. Right now, there's a panel of tests for when somebody presents with respiratory illness, at some point that might be added to that panel.
Anthony Godfrey:
So we talked about people being at risk. I've heard that children are less at risk than some other populations. Can you speak to that please?
Eileen:
We're not quite sure. The data around this virus is still being compiled to better understand age-specific risk factors, but there have been a handful of children that recently tested positive across the globe. Clearly, most of the cases have occurred among adults and we're especially aware of the adults that have more severe illness. Those tend to be our more senior population or people that have other risk factors or other co-morbidities like diabetes or heart disease.
Anthony Godfrey:
I started the last question with "I've heard" and there's a lot of rumors going around and there is a lot of speculation. Where would you say parents ought to go for the best, most reliable, most up-to-date information about what's happening?
Eileen:
So the best place to research information, there's a couple places and one is Salt Lake County Health Department website. The reason that's a good place is we link all of our information to the Center for Disease Control, which is he premiere place to look for information. If a parent is more interested and wants to dig a little bit deeper from a global perspective, the World Health Organization has an excellent website.
Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and Salt Lake County Health. Those are three sources for good information.
Eileen:
Yes. Those three, as well as the Utah Department of Health.
Anthony Godfrey:
We read about other countries where school has been closed or public gatherings have been limited. If that were to happen in Utah, and obviously it has not happened yet, but if that were to happen at some point, how would that information come out? Who would be the authority that would make that decision?
Eileen:
So we would take that information very seriously and it would be based upon our epidemiological information we're collecting. We're doing that on a daily basis. We're continuing to monitor people right now. We're looking at their factors, where they'd been, we're continuing to assess any commonalities. And so we would piece that together. And as a local health department, as far as quarantining or shutting down massive events, not going to movies, not going to church, not going to school would come is a a directive from Salt Lake County Health Department. So our local health officer would have the ability, based upon good sound evidence, to make that decision. And then that would be communicated very quickly to the right people, to the right superintendents in the school districts.
Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. And I've always appreciated the process in working with Salt Lake County Health. You've always been very responsive to our questions and done a great job of providing a consistent and systematic means of providing information so that everyone has the right information and the same information at the same time. So I would anticipate that would be the same in case there's any problem.
Eileen:
Yes, we definitely would want to make sure, from a consistency standpoint, that we're all on the same page and we'd release that information at the same time with a heads-up to all of the people that need to know agencies, our partners, our health care providers, as well as provide that information to the public through the media. And we would continue to assess this as we go through it. This is not the first pandemic that we've been involved with. In 2009, you know, we were heavily involved with the influence of pandemic. And we continued to exercise pandemic preparedness on a regular basis.
Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to families who are experiencing a high level of anxiety around the possibility of COVID-19 affecting their family.
Eileen:
Parents with a lot of anxiety? My best advice advice would be to rely on credible sources of information. Facebook, some of the social media, aren't always the most credible source of information. So I would take a deep breath and really think whether or not their children are at risk. And so far, we haven't had a single case where exposure has occurred in Utah.
Anthony Godfrey:
We talked about personal hygiene, but is there a level of cleaning that ought to be happening in the home to help prevent the spread of disease as well?
Eileen:
Whenever anyone's sick with respiratory illness, it's important to make sure, in addition to the good hand washing, the things we've talked about and self isolation, that any touch surfaces are cleaned. There's not really a magic answer for how often, but just thorough cleaning as you would typically do in your household and washing linens frequently, and making sure that any kind of light switches, remotes, anything where somebody might touch it and someone else might come along and touch the same piece of equipment, that those things are cleaned. I wouldn't go overboard because you can get pretty fanatic about cleaning, but it's just important to have things is germ-free as possible.
Anthony Godfrey:
We've been with Eileen Risk, Epidemiologist with Salt Lake County Health Department. If parents want more information, where can they go?
Eileen:
So the parents can visit http://saltlakecityhealth.org for information for Salt Lake County Health Department. And that will also link them to the Centers for Disease Control.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much. I'm sure you're very busy at Salt Lake County Health, and we really appreciate your taking the time to be with us.
Eileen:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, Jordan School District Director of Custodial Services, Steve Peart will join us.
Break:
Do you want ideas for being happier and healthier? I'm McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness Specialist for Jordan School District. Please join us every week for Wellness Wednesday. We do a feature on the Jordan School District website that offers free and simple tips for improving your health and wellness. We cover a variety of topics like reducing stress, better eating habits, and finding more time to build better relationships. Check out Wellness Wednesday every week on the Jordan School District website at http://jordandistrict.org For additional health and wellness resources, visit https://studentservices.jordandistrict.org/mentalhealth/.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're joined now by Steve Peart, the Director of Custodial and Energy Services for Jordan School District. Steve, can you tell us a little bit about the routine cleaning that is done in schools of all levels?
Steve:
Okay. Well, for the routine cleaning, we have job cards for all of the sweepers and full-time staff and those job cards take them through, step-by-step what should be done every day.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's very organized.
Steve:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
And is it the JCOS system that evaluates whether those procedures are being followed?
Steve:
Yes, it is. It's we call it the JCOS, which is Jordan Custodial Operating System.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's very structured, right down to the minute what's expected, how much time should be spent on each task. And there's routine cleaning that helps prevent the spread of illness and disease. Can you tell us about some of the routines that help prevent it?
Steve:
Yes. For example, what we call light duty specialists, if you look down the instructions on their routines, number five says disinfected phones in assigned area, and it says spray disinfected on the cloth and then wipe down the phones. Number six is disinfect classroom sinks and drinking fountains. Number eight says disinfect all classroom doors, door knobs, switches, and places that the public would touch.
Anthony Godfrey:
So there's a very deliberate process to clean up those high touch areas.
Steve:
Yes. And then when we go out to inspect building, we will look at door knobs, door casings because a lot of times the kids will grab the door casing to swing around the door. So we make sure that those areas have been cleaned.
Anthony Godfrey:
I can picture that. Yeah.
Steve:
So there are a lot of areas that just get this regular routine cleaning, but when there's something more intense, sometimes when we've been concerned about a particular school, there is a fogging procedure that we've used before.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's kind of fascinating to really clean the entire school at a deeper level. Tell me more about that.
Steve:
Yeah. If the Department of Health tells us about concern, the next level of cleaning would be we'd go in and we can fog that building and go through the classrooms, go through the buses and that's the next level of cleaning. And that would be recommended from the Health Department.
Anthony Godfrey:
What particular procedures involved? Is it a special machine?
Steve:
Yeah. It's just like a handheld sprayer. We also have a backpack that we can use and it just puts out a very fine mist. As you walk into the room, you'll spray from the inner most part of the room and back out as you spray that room.
Anthony Godfrey:
And on rare occasion, when there has been an issue at a school we've been able to clean the entire school and ensure that it's safe.
Steve:
Yes. We've done that before on schools. We've also done it on buses.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's done as a precaution under the direction of Salt Lake County Health.
Steve:
If the Health Department contacts us and says there's a particular health issue at a school, we can go into what we'd call the next level of disinfecting. And that's where we use the foggers to go in and fog the classroom or the school bus or the entire building, if needed.
Anthony Godfrey:
What substance is used in the fogger.
Steve:
The fogger has a disinfectant in it. It's designed to be able to disinfect around surfaces. So for example, if I was to hold my phone here and spray it, it would also wrap around and hit the back of the phone. So it can go places that would take hundreds of hours to physically wipe down. It can cover the entire room.
Anthony Godfrey:
And you've done this, like you said, with classrooms, entire schools, buses as necessary. How do we protect custodians and sweepers from getting sick themselves, as they're cleaning up?
Steve:
Each task that a custodian or sweeper is assigned to do, we'll have a level of personal protective equipment that is required for that task. And the district provides that equipment for each one of them.
Anthony Godfrey:
Depending on the task and depending on the chemical that's being used, there is equipment to help keep the employee safe from infection themselves.
Steve:
That's correct.
Anthony Godfrey:
All the cleaning that you've described and all of the procedures you've described from disinfecting to fogging clean up, what's already there, but really the best preventative measure is hand-washing.
Steve:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
And so there's going to be a lot more hand-washing hopefully because that's what's being encouraged, 20 seconds, at least. And we want more and more people to be washing their hands more frequently. That means we need more supplies. How are we for paper towels and soap and supplies in general for cleaning?
Steve:
The warehouse generally keeps stocked with several months ahead of what we need. But in addition to that, we've ordered even more for to stockpile.
Anthony Godfrey:
So we already have plenty of lead and we've ordered even more. We appreciate Steve Peart taking the time to join us up next. We'll talk about our online curriculum and ability to provide instruction to students staying at home, if necessary.
Break:
In Jordan School District, the possibilities are endless for anyone looking to grow with a team of professionals, working together to provide the very best for students in education. If you're looking for a great job with great pay and benefits in a supportive environment, head to http://workatjordan.org and find your future career in Jordan School District. People come for the job and stay for the adventure. Explore the many options apply today at http://workatjordan.org.
Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome back to the Supercast. We have with us today Ross Menlove, Administrator over Digital Learning in the Teaching and Learning Department. And he's here to talk with us about how the District has prepared to provide digital learning, if that's necessary, in case of an outbreak in Utah of the Coronavirus. But really, in lots of other circumstances, just to provide flexibility to parents and students, if for some reason students were required to stay home because of a Coronavirus outbreak, or some other issue, we're well positioned to provide deep, meaningful learning from home.
Ross Menlove:
Exactly. We're pretty much, I would say, one of the most prepared Districts in the State to be able to provide continued instruction to students and students wouldn't would not miss a beat of that core-level of knowledge that they need to progress in their learning. They would have that right there at home and teachers are trained enough to be able to do that right away.
Anthony Godfrey:
And in addition to having that Digital Specialist at each school, we also have a variety of digital experts at the District level that can provide additional support to teachers.
Ross:
Exactly. My team works really closely with every school, providing interactions with every principal and all the teachers. And we could easily push out content within a matter of minutes and hours to be able to train teachers easily on what to do and how to go about providing that content.
Anthony Godfrey:
Ross, can you just give us a little bit of an overview of kind of the training that's happened and some of the options that are available to teachers that can allow them to teach remotely online?
Ross:
Yes, that's a great question. This last year, when we had the previous snow day for 2019, we provided a blended learning course for teachers and pretty much every teacher in Jordan District participated in that course. And as we looked at that, what we decided for this year, we have transitioned our professional development to be more of a school-based professional development. So we are currently, we have a teacher at every single school in Jordan District that is a Digital Teacher Leader. They're a specialist in digital learning. They come and get trained from us each month to be able to use different digital learning and blended learning techniques and teaching tools within the classroom. And we've seen a huge jump in the number of people that are trained in digital learning. An example would be, we have hundreds of teachers every month that are currently participating in training that could be used if students were not at the school physically, but they could still continue their learning at home.
Anthony Godfrey:
So every teacher received blended learning training through a Blended Learning Course last year as a baseline. But we also have hundreds of teachers and more and more teachers receiving additional, advanced digital learning support and training so that they can expand their use of digital learning. And beyond that, we have a teacher that's assigned to every school, that's a specialist.
Ross:
Exactly. And about half of our school principals at all levels have participated in a Blended and Digital Learning Course for Administrators. So they're able to lead different activities for teachers to participate in faculty meetings or different trainings that they're providing to their staff. So pretty much every teacher in Jordan District is participating currently in some form of blended learning, either through their school, through the District trainings, whatever it might be, they've all have examples of using it. And they've all participated as a student and also as a teacher.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's a good point. Participating as a student and as a teacher gives you a different perspective, what the student experience is like and what the teacher experiences.
Ross:
Exactly, they're able for themselves to evaluate on their end. What would good teaching look like if it was completely online and what is good teaching looks like if I use different parts of blended learning and technology within the classroom.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now we have a number of different platforms and programs that are available to us to help enhance online learning. Can you describe a few of those?
Ross:
Exactly. We use a couple of different learning management systems, there's Google Classroom, and then also Canvas within each of these learning management systems. There's ways for students to interact with a teacher and also for students to interact with students. The great thing about çanvas and a learning management system is we're allowing kids to be able to design and create their own content. They're not just getting on and consuming more content. They're being active creators of their own content. Being able to share their learning, being able to provide feedback in real time. A couple other tools that we really focus quite a bit on this year is Adobe. Every one of our students in Jordan District from seventh grade up has free access to Adobe.
Anthony Godfrey:
And Adobe is not just creating PDFs. Adobe as a way to provide interactive instruction. Can you describe that a little bit more?
Ross:
Yeah. So they all have access to the Adobe Creative Suite. So they get Photoshop, they get Illustrator and they can go on and create their version of the content that the teacher is asking, but do it in their own way and create that and be able to get trained in a product that they could use those skills in different areas, not just only at school, but also in their own life, in their own interest.
Anthony Godfrey:
You talked about Google Classroom and Canvas, which are two ways to create courses and classroom experiences online. I know we also have access to Nearpod as a District. Can you tell me what Nearpod is involves?
Ross:
Nearpod, what they've done is taken a traditional PowerPoint and now they've made the students an interactive piece within that PowerPoint. So instead of the student just sitting there watching the teacher go through the PowerPoint slide, the student now is an active participant in that PowerPoint. So the teacher might share some information. And then the next slide, the student participates in an activity where they either, they might draw their thinking or they might respond to a question. A great example would be like with math. So the teacher might teach them like a math concept. Then the next slide they have to draw their thinking.
Anthony Godfrey:
They have to draw. What would that look like for them or with reading?
Ross:
They have to read a passage and highlight different parts within that text. So Nearpod allows for creativity. And we just, this last month we did a Nearpod, a Palooza for Jordan District and we had over a hundred teachers come one day and all of them were trained on Nearpod, not just the basics. But also just advanced and how to use that tool to interact with students. So students are active participants in their learning.
Anthony Godfrey:
You talked about Canvas earlier and one of the aspects of Canvas that I like, and perhaps this is true of other programs as well, parents can get involved and they can be logged in right along with the student and be very involved in their child's school.
Ross:
Exactly. You know, we have Canvas and parents can see what's happening. They can see what's being what, whether students are doing the same with Nearpod, all the Nearpods. We would push out parents get access to those Nearpods and see what the learning is. And they could be active participants with their child in being able to go through the content and be able to ask them questions. And the wonderful thing is that with technology and with Canvas and as parents work with that, with their kids, the parents were able to see the type of questions and the type of learning so they can help. They can take those questions and use them in other areas of life and other times where they have conversations with their children.
Anthony Godfrey:
Allowing parents to be involved at a deeper level in a child's learning rather than simply logging on to a Skyward and looking up grades and that sort of thing. Parents can really be involved in the content and see where a student may be struggling and provide some help.
Ross:
Exactly. It allows parents to be right next to them, and also learning with them. That's a great thing with the digital content is the parents can also participate in it.
Anthony Godfrey:
We appreciate the work you've done in the last few years, Ross, moving us forward in digital learning and in our capability and helping provide that flexibility for students and teachers. And hopefully we won't need to use it a districtwide in the case of an emergency, but if we do, we're well-prepared to do so.
Ross:
Well, thank you. You know, I think the message that we communicate to teachers every time we meet with them is we want students to become active creators, using technology right. Not just passive consumers. When they use technology, when it comes to learning and teaching here in Jordan District, they're actively creating. They're showing their learning in different ways and in ways that have never been done before. But in ways that are needed as they continue through their life, especially with the increases in technology and what's expected of them.
Anthony Godfrey:
Great way of putting it. Active creators versus passive consumers. Thanks very much, Ross.
Ross:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks to everyone for being part of this special edition of the Supercast and thanks to parents for supporting our efforts as Jordan School District works to keep students and staff healthy in a productive learning environment. And remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.
29 min
February 27, 2020 Episode 26: Help Wanted. How Local Businesses Court Students for Successful Careers
Times have changed in how local business and industries court students for successful careers. Some are even trying to get students to sign on before they graduate.
In this episode of the Supercast, we visit the ‘Pathways to Professions’ Career Expo for students. We’ll show you how they are being courted for good jobs, who is hiring and how students can get the upper hand in jump starting their careers.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today, I get my hands dirty as part of a race car pit crew. When we stopped by the pathways to professions, career expo, thousands of students in Jordan school district and other districts attend this event over the course of two days, it's similar to a job fair where they get to meet local business and industry leaders looking to hire students sometimes on the spot. So who's hiring, let's find out We're at the mountain America expo center with our CTE director. Jason Skidmore. Tell us about this event today. We have all kinds of people here.
Jason Skidmore:
Yeah. This is our annual pathways to professions where students and industry get together from all over that region. We've got just over about 80 some different industry partners represented here to kind of a career fair on steroids and a lot of energy going on, kids looking at all different kinds of career options and job options and places they can get started.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's really amazing. Just how many opportunities there are here. How, how many representatives you have from a really wide range of industry?
Jason Skidmore:
Oh, it's just incredible. The industry's been so supportive and this is one of the things they've, this is now our fifth year and they look forward to getting in front of students and showing them what opportunities are available to them. We'll have over the course of these two days about 7,000 students will come through and get the opportunity to, to get a little taste of what's going on out there in the workforce.
Anthony Godfrey:
These are high paying careers that don't always require a college degree and many times pay for the training. And so it's a no cost. You just have to be interested in willing isn't that right?
Jason Skidmore:
Exactly. It's almost like you say a scholarship. A lot of our industry refer to that. They, you hire on in an entry level position, or even above entry level with some of these companies based on the classes you're taking at your local high school. And so, and then these guys will pay for you to go back and finish your degree and any training that you might need along the way. So great opportunities for kids and even, even they might find something, you know, might not do it for the rest of their life, but it'll give them a skill set that they can always fall back on to as they pursue whatever they do throughout the future. So,
Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. It's great to have options. There are amazing opportunities here. Let's walk over. I see this huge looks like a cement mixer, but I don't know. I don't know my big trucks. Well, you know,
Jason Skidmore:
You're, you're right. You've, you've hit it just right on. This is Clyde Companies. They are one of our biggest sponsors over the years. They do a lot with the heavy equipment operators, as well as the construction industry. And certainly it's a need in our growing state and they have phenomenal opportunities for kids. So let's talk to them.
Anthony Godfrey:
I'm Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent for Jordan School District.
Clyde:
Nice to meet you at your new restaurants. I work for Geneva Rock Products as an Assistant Supervisor for the shop.
Anthony Godfrey:
Describe what some of the opportunities are for students in high school.
Clyde:
When it comes to diesel tech, one of the biggest opportunities is, and I really drive this in, we participate in it as a job shadow. So several things that the opportunity offers. One of them is concurrent enrollment, that's where they can pick up college credits at a high school level that gets paid for by the District. Huge savings to a parent or a student that is something that they should take advantage of. One of the things that all of us are doing, and I'm actually one that does it for Geneva Rock, is we invite the kids out for four hours on a day with us. They come out to our facility, we take them and show them Margaret Kanipes. We show them what we do. We let them visit with our mechanics and it just exposes them to what a mechanics does. So it gives them the first line on here's a mechanic. He's actually working on stuff, so talk to him about whatever his tooling is, whatever his jobs are, whatever his experience is that works out well.
Anthony Godfrey:
Student interests aligned with a Diesel Tech Program, what would draw a student to a Diesel Tech Program? What sorts of skills, what they want to have?
Clyde:
Engineering is a big skill. Working with their hands. Hand coordination is obviously a big deal in equipment. One thing we try to do, when we bring our students out to our facility, we show them obviously the mixers and the concrete, the construction world, the graders. I work at the point of the mountain in the sand and gravel pit. So we get to deal with the bulldozers and the great big, heavy equipment. Every kid loves that. That's why I did it. Kids of all ages. Absolutely. I've been doing this for 31 years now for Geneva Rock. I did the same thing when I was a senior in high school, I was in the Diesel Program. I hired on at Geneva Rock at 18. Been with them ever since, but my attraction was the big equipment. I loved equipment. Still do. I mean, that's one of my fascinations.
Anthony Godfrey:
You love big equipment, love working with your hands, interested in engineering? This is maybe something that students ought to investigate. Come talk to me. And it sounds like there are great opportunities for them too, like you said, to work below, alongside the mechanic, look at how that goes and kind of see what it's going to be like if they decide to pursue it as a career.
Jason Skidmore:
Absolutely. If you love mechanics, something that you might want to do.
Clyde:
I mean, I love building things. I love repairing things. I love the feeling of having something brought down. You take the pride in getting that fixed and fixed right. That the doors that opened up after that for 31 years of working with Geneva Rock. I'm now a State Highway Safety Inspector for them. Geneva Rock does all their own safety inspections. I'm one of the inspectors for them. That's an awesome job to have.
Anthony Godfrey:
So describe to us a little bit about what that entails.
Clyde:
So just like your own personal Safety Johnny, Utah doesn't do it anymore. But what we used to doin our state for your car, you do inspections. UDOT requires the companies to still do State Inspections. Geneva Rock does their own. I'm one of the inspectors. So we'll pull the example. We'll pull that truck in and we go through it from bumper to bumper. We check the steering, the tie rod, and if the ball joints, the brakes, the air systems, the lights, everything that falls underneath the realm of safety, we do that. And then, obviously, our shop mechanics find a problem or something that fails in inspection, we fix it onsite.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if someone is interested in this, what's the chance of getting a job? There are lots of job opportunities aren't there?
Clyde:
Absolutely.
Clyde:
In fact, all of that's what everyone here, we're all here trying to get these kids interested in working for us.
Jason Skidmore:
Five companies help us. We've got Sun Rock, WW, Clyde, Geneva Rock. We're all trying to get these students to come work for us. So that's what RAF.
Clyde:
So whether it be me, specifically, we're trying to get all the kids here to come talk to us. Whether it be in construction, crushers, driving the truck. I try to single out the mechanic side of them. And then I put the angle on and hey, we need to get you into Salt Lake Community College or UVU, or one of these Mountain Land, one of the tech schools as a mechanic. And let's get you set up going. Then when you graduate from there, come see us. We'll get you in as an intern, we'll get you work.
Anthony Godfrey:
Good for us. And all these huge trucks do grab your attention. You have a really good show and tell game here.
Clyde:
Well, I appreciate it. You know, it works out well. We've actually brought a driver of this truck. The interesting thing about this truck is the day we set up here, not yesterday day. Before we brought this truck right off of the job site, delivering concrete, sprayed it off and drove it in here.
Anthony Godfrey:
And so this is the real deal. These are not props.
Clyde:
That's the truck that actually makes the money for us. So yeah, it's pretty cool. And we actually brought a driver with that truck that the students want to go check out. They want to get in it. They want to sit in the seat. They know what it's like to sit in the mixer truck. We can do that for them. So it's pretty cool hands-on kind of thing.
Jason Skidmore:
When I was part of that inaugural Diesel Tech Program or the launch of the program, I got to talk with some folks from industry and hear about some of the opportunities. And I just started to think about members of my family, even that I wish had known about this earlier on, because they're good with their hands but they haven't pursued a career like this.
Anthony Godfrey:
If someone's interested in this, what do they need to do now?
Jason Skidmore:
So the very best way now, with the day and age we're in, now is go to our website. We have got a pamphlet, there's information on the website. It has got all of our companies. They post all of the job openings and coming into the spring time, right now we're going to be slamming the postings because of all the construction sites that are going to start ramping up. And when they start ramping up the sand and gravel, the crushers, all of that, the asphalt paving starts coming up. Postings are going to start flying. So we've already got a ton of driver openings right now. We can't get enough drivers. So wherever you start, there are lots of places to go from that, lots to learn, get your foot in the door. And yeah, there's a job for you. There's the website, clydecareers.com. You can go to that, you can look it up and that'll pull up all of our companies and all of our job postings will be there.
Clyde:
So yeah, clydecareers.com and it tells you how you need to be to apply. We can start them out at 18 at an entry level position. Some of the positions, I believe like being a mixer driver and stuff, they gotta be 21, but that's a rule there, right? But at 18 you can get your foot in the door and get things underway. Get you on a crusher. We can get you in the shop. We can get you on a construction job site. I started there at 18. I've been there ever since. So now I'll be 50 this year. And the man has a smile on his face. These three decades have gone well. It's been good for me. Absolutely.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, Geneva Rocks. Thank you very much. It's so nice meeting you. Thanks for your time. Good luck.
We're going to take a break. And when we come back, I find out if I would make the cut as part of a race car pit crew. And we discover, to no one's surprise, that everything's better with bacon.

Break:
We stopped by to hear about the opportunities for students in culinary arts and sample a bacon wrap date. Wasn't my very first date. Find out after in Jordan School District, the possibilities are endless for anyone looking to grow with a team of professionals, working together to provide the very best for students in education. If you're looking for a great job with great pay and benefits in a supportive environment, head to http://workatjordan.org and find your future career in Jordan School District People come for the job and stay for the adventure. Explore the many options apply today at http://workatjordan.org.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's head back to the Pathways to Professions Careers Expo, where we find out what's cooking here from students who are trying to get the upper hand in landing a good job that could become a pathway to a successful career. Hello, I'm Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent for Jordan School District.
Jeffrey:
Pleasure to see meet you. I'm Jeffrey Coker, Associate Dean for the Culinary Institute at Salt Lake Community College.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what have you been demonstrating?
Jeffrey:
Well today we have a couple of different things that we've been working on with the students in attendance. We're teaching students to just have fun with some classic knife cuts. So one of the cuts that we're making is a tornado potato. So a tornado potato is a classic French knife guide that you would use to garnish different dishes. And then the other thing that we're going to get going here in a little bit, we have some delicious wraps which Vanessa is going to make.
Vanessa:
We have some delicious bacon wrap dates. So once the bacon starts cooking, your nose will lead you to the pan and you will be happy, happy. A crowd will gather here. So our job today is just to kind of expose people to what we do. I'm fortunate enough where I get be on the FAC as Advisory Board for Granite and Canyon School Districts. So I love getting out and meeting with the faculty members and the students at the schools. I also work with the ProStart organizations through the Utah Restaurant Association. I serve as a mentor and a judge, so I try to get out to as many schools that participate as possible to help them become better at what they do, and try to expose people to good food, great technique, and develop a passion for this field.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if a student is interested in something like this, they can enroll in classes at Salt Lake Community College and pursue what sorts of careers.
Vanessa:
Absolutely. So at Salt Lake Community College, we're open enrollment. We have a an Associate of Applied Science and Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management with our Culinary Arts degree. Our students can either earn a degree in baking and pastry or culinary arts, savory food. And for us, when our students leave, we have students in all different aspects of the industry. So everything from prep, cook and line cook at resorts, hotels, small restaurants, food truck, on the hospitality management side, front desk, food servers, all kinds of stuff. And the great thing about it, if you want to learn more about our programs, slcc.edu/culinary arts or hospitality management. And we'll be happy to help you out if you're interested. There are lots of jobs out there.
Anthony Godfrey:
Are there plenty of jobs? The unemployment rate in Utah, Salt Lake County is so low.
Vanessa:
We have students that are not hurting for finding jobs and great jobs at that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now I see these dates wrapped in bacon as a professional. Can you tell me, is there anything that does not get better when it's wrapped in bacon?
Vanessa:
No, that is the biggest myth. It has to be wrapped in bacon. That's an industry standard.
Anthony Godfrey:
You can't see this on the podcast right now, but this is not called fat. This is called experience. And for those who can't smell this through the microphone, the bacon is now cooking and the happiness is flowing through the air as you predicted.
Vanessa:
Yeah. You should get the microphone closer to the sizzle of the pan.
Anthony Godfrey:
Let's get a little sizzle. That's good. So this has started cooking over there. I haven't thought about putting dates wrapped in bacon, so you can pretend it's healthy.
Vanessa:
You have the salty and the sweet mix together. So it's a great combination. So these were wrapped and then they were baked or roasted in the oven, just until they were about halfway, done cooking. Most of the fat is rendered off and then you bring them out here and you finish them off in a little saute pan like this, over a medium heat. And that finishes them, not to mention when you start smelling it, your mouth starts watering pleasure meeting. Right?
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Let's try this date. Hmm. That's a great first date when it's wrapped in bacon.
Vanessa:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Where are you from young man?
Student:
Hunter High.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hi, tell us about your experience here today. Your answer has been so far really good.
Student:
I really liked this culinary Salt Lake City Community college right here, because that's what I'm trying to go into. Right now I'm going into Culinary for Hunter High. And this is just another step up for me, trying to go into teaching French cuisine.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is it attracts you to the idea of preparing French cuisine?
Student:
Most likely I look at it as kind of a beauty of art because the more beautiful it is, the more tasty. So it's about the presentation and putting together something beautiful and as a result tastes great.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's head to one of the automotive booths sponsored by Salt Lake Community College here at the Expo. So tell us what setup you have here.
Exhibitor:
Basically ,it's a cutaway fiberglass car. And it's kind of like a set up of a NASCAR-type event. So it's just for fun to try to get the young people excited about what we do. Give me automotive and automotive might be automatic transmission, teach students how to do automatic or manual transmission reader. First thing we need to do is evaluate where we're going to have your target. So let's take a look at the leaderboard and see you. Obviously you can see kind of evaluate where your target is. We've got a loop pay from Horizonte School, had a 12.3, seven seconds to do all four and full attire off. And so that's your target if you want
Anthony Godfrey:
To get number one is the fastest. I'd like you to kind of size me up, just by the looks of me. How do you think I'm going to do?
Exhibitor:
You're going to be, I'm going to say probably about 35, maybe 38 seconds. That's what I'm thinking.
Anthony Godfrey
I've just said to be an honest evaluation.
Exhibitor:
I'm an evaluator. This is what I do is assess.
Anthony Godfrey:
I'm not going to be any time soon. What I feel bad about is that's a low enough bar that if I don't even meet that, I'm really going to be embarrassed.
Exhibitor:
You're going to do good. So we've got the walk here. So we're going to push this button. That's going to be removed. I'll have that set for you, but we're going to go in.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is this device?
Exhibitor:
This is an impact branch electrically. Yes. Electric batteries, 20 volt.
Anthony Godfrey:
There's one. Name one impact wrench. I mean, is this like we could call the steady or is this the beetle?
Exhibitor:
That's correct. We're going to go on there. We need to align it first. So you got it aligned with the lug and you're going to go ahead and release that. And it's got to spin far enough out that all five lugs are going to spin out and we hold it straight and you spin them all the way out. Now the tire will come out. It'll go back and we made our tire chains. We pushed the button to change direction and we need to go back.
Anthony Godfrey:
So I'm fine to loosen them all up, take the tire off, put it back on and pat me down?
Exhibitor:
Correct. I know there's definitely a lot of pressure. It's NASCAR. I mean, the team is counting on you. Our sponsors and NASCAR can do it in about six to seven seconds. F1 does it in three seconds, but they don't just change one tire. They change all four. So you can change four tires in six to seven seconds, or you can change four tires in three seconds. So there's no real big pressure.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, my, my, my pit crew is on the line.
Exhibitor:
That's correct.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Well, I don't want to let the sponsors down. Here we go.
Exhibitor:
Alright, here we go. Spit them all the way. Here we go off back. Push them out and push. There you go. There we go. It's going to be a new world. Awesome. That's awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, thank you very much. I was so excited. I just kept holding on to the impact wrench.
Exhibitor:
Yeah. We're trying to get them excited about what they're doing.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Yeah. That's the point. That's more adrenaline than I normally experience. It's an afternoon of work. So that's 40 Noon. Nice to meet you. Who do you represent?
Exhibitor:
I represent UMC, which is Utah Mechanical Contractors.
Anthony Godfrey:
And why are you here talking with students?
UMC rep:
We're here to talk, working with students to let them know that there are more options for them besides these high technical careers, and to let them know that trades people are very important people in our community. It's a great way to earn a living and become great at what they do. That's what we love to do, which are the trades that we represent. We represent both HVAC and Plumbing, which is heating and air conditioning and plumbing.
Anthony Godfrey:
So have you had some interest here today, some kids stopping by?
UMC rep:
We really have. We had quite a few stop by and ask us about what it takes to get into the trade. There's so many programs with us, paying for apprenticeships and everything like that.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's a debt-free scholarship for them to get into the working class. So if parents know that their child likes hands-on work, like plumbing, or might be interested in HVAC, what should they do to help get their child connected with these programs and these opportunities to get training at no cost?
UMC rep:
Oh, there's a lot of outreach programs that try to get youth into the trades and you see it all across television. You see it all across everything, trying to get good young people back into the trades. I think the best thing to do would be to just contact a local plumbing or mechanical contractor. They would help them get in place with these things because most of all of them, I believe, have apprenticeship programs. So if you're interested in doing some hands-on work, lots of companies are going to help pay for the training that's required for you to be properly licensed.
Anthony Godfrey:
Absolutely. Let's try something out here.
UMC Rep:
Yeah. Well, this is a pipe threading machine. This is what we use to run gas lines. This is what we use to run stainless steel pipe, some plastic tubing and stuff like that. So what it does is actually create the threads onto the pipe so that you can join it together.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, to someone with my level of mechanical training, it just looks like something out of a horror movie.
UMC Rep:
So this is called a bias to select that centrifical bias. So I'm going to cut this off real quick so we can start from scratch here. All right. So I'm going to put threads on the end of this pipe. I'm gonna explain this to you. This is the foot pedal. It's got a protective guard on it, so you cannot accidentally step on it while you're using the machine.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's a good idea.
UMC Rep:
This is the thread set. It comes right down. This lever actually engages the threads. This is the push lever right here. So what you want to do is go ahead and close this down right here and engage the threads once you to step on the pedal to rotate the bias. It doesn't matter if I put the left or right. It's not there. Now. What I want you to do is gently force this into the pipe.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Do I just push it on there until it starts to thread?
UMC Rep:
No, it's going to do it by itself because it's actually threading.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah.
UMC Rep:
So you just want to wait for the pipe to get to the end of their teeth, then release your foot off the pedal.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. I think I can do that.
UMC Rep:
Perfect. Wait for it to come to a complete stop, release the threads. All right. Grab the lever and pull it towards you. The black, the long line. There you go. Then grab this and flip it up out of the way, the whole thing. There you go. Now we can just grab this right here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And then we can release it and that's all there is to it. All right. Nice threads, man. Nice threads. Hey, that's great. It does give you a sense of accomplishment. It really does not get that always in my day today, sending an email doesn't give the same sense of satisfaction.
UMC Rep:
That's right. And the best thing, you know, being a tradesman is you get done. You step off your ladder, you look back, you appreciate what you've done and what you give to the community, because this is how we built this, how would we live without tradesmen.
Anthony Godfrey:
We take tradesmen for granted. That's for sure.
UMC Rep:
Yes, exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. It's really a pleasure meeting with you. That's awesome.
Students:
So tell us your names. Sam Springer, Cole Jenkins, Jacqueline Marsh, Daisy Miller, Chloe Fixit.
Anthony Godfrey:
Been here all day today, traveling around, checking out the booths. What have you seen that you like?
Student:
I saw that there was this game where you drive dump trucks. It was pretty dark.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you had a simulator where you were having driving a dump truck. Does this make you want to drive a dump truck?
Student:
Probably not, as those things are pretty big. It was a little intimidating.
Student:
Well, there were lots of cars and trucks and those are pretty cool. I changed a tire on one. Did in less than a minute.
Student:
I spent a minute.
Anthony Godfrey:
I did it in less than a minute as well.
Student:
The medical stuff is something really cool. And like this kind of exam stuff, preschools, I was going to let me teach you how to set a new CPR on a baby.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks you guys.
Students:
Thank you. Nice to meet you.
Anthony Godfrey:
As you heard, the kids got a lot out of this experience and so did I. It's impressive just how many careers are available and how eager employers are to hire students. Thanks again for joining us on the Supercast. And remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.
28 min
February 21, 2020 Episode 25: Driver Education – Helping Parents Navigate New Teen Drivers
Parents often worry about new teen drivers behind the wheel. In this episode of the Supercast we try to take some of the worry and anxiety out of that experience by heading out to the driving range at Riverton High School. That’s where Superintendent Godfrey rides along with Driver Ed Instructor Steve Galley and a few of his students.
Superintendent Godfrey learned some valuable driving tips to keep everyone safe on the road. Safe driving tips that might give parents a little peace of mind as they navigate new teen drivers.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today, we hit the road with an episode we hope will help parents navigate all the nervousness and stress that may come with new drivers. Riverton High School Driver Ed Instructor, Steve Galley invited us along inside the car for a driving lesson with two students. What we learned can help keep everyone students and adults alike safer on the road. We are here at the North parking lot of Riverton High School with Mr. Steve Galley. Steve, introduce yourself a little bit to the listeners of the Supercast. You've worn a lot of hats in Jordan District.
Steve:
I am in my 21st year here at Riverton High, and I've also spent five years at West Jordan High and that's where I got started in Driver Ed. And I've done a lot of coaching as well. And I've been the Department Chair of Driver Ed here at Riverton High, since we opened the school.
Anthony Godfrey:
Are there some misperceptions on the part of students and even parents?
Steve:
I think one is sometimes parents think is that they will learn everything about driving in the Driver Education Course, and that we will teach them everything about driving in three hours in the car.
Anthony Godfrey:
So three hours in the car, is that how long the driving time is offering on the range?
Steve:
Yeah, that's the road time. And then they have range time.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's less than I remembered. It seemed like a lot longer than that at the time.
Steve:
You may have been struggling behind the wheel at that time.
Anthony Godfrey:
That is absolutely true. I continue to struggle.
Steve:
We don't get very much time with them. And so it's critical that parents help them get in their practice time, the 40 hours that they need to do with the students. It's critical that there's a connection between teacher, parents and students so the things they're learning in class are being practiced and worked on with the parents. And when that happens, then we see we see a huge difference when we get in the car with him.
Anthony Godfrey:
If the student wants to start driving and get their license on their 16th birthday, at what age should they start driving?
Steve:
We encourage parents to wait a couple months after their 15th birthday to get their permit. A lot of students are anxious. They get it on the 15th birthday, but it will expire one year from when they get it. Many students turn 16 before the end of the quarter. And so they end up having to pay another $19 and renew their permit. So we encourage them to wait a couple of months. But I think if the student is eager and wants to practice, I like them getting their permit a few months after their 15th birthday so they can start experimenting and practicing. It's not perfect because obviously, you would want them to learn some things from the teacher and from the class that they don't get. We're hoping that parents are not forming a lot of bad habits but that they're becoming more comfortable behind the wheel. You notice a difference with the ones that have had a good number of hours before they get to the class.
Anthony Godfrey:
What advice do you have for parents on being patient with their child in the car?
Steve:
This happens a lot. It's interesting. When you ask students, do you have a freakout parent? They just start chattering and my mom did this and my dad did that. And I ask them who do you like to drive with? I like to drive with my dad because he's calmer. And some say, Oh no, I don't want to drive with my dad. He just yells the whole time. So there's two things we emphasize. One is talking and planning the drive as much as possible. That can't always happen because there are spontaneous drives, but if they can talk about, these are some things that we've learned in class. These are some things that I need to practice. These are things that are going to be on the road test and you can go into the drive with a little bit of a plan. Students tell me the stress level will drop considerably.
And then the other thing is we use a strategy that's called commentary driving. I've taught this for almost 15 years. I really started to emphasize it the last few years. It simply is the student, talking in conversational tone about what they are seeing, what they're predicting, what they're planning on doing. They're going through the whole driving task mentally, but they're talking out loud. This does a couple of really good things. It forces the student to focus on the concepts that they've been learning. They get to repeat terms. They get to emphasize things that their parents may not be talking to them about, but the teacher wants them to do right. And then, the absolute awesome byproduct of commentary driving is that it usually lowers the stress level of the parent, because instead of trying to read the student's mind and guess what they think is going on, they can hear what the student is thinking. And instead of like, if they see the little girl on the bike, instead of arguing about the little girl on the bike, Hey, watch out for the little girl on the bike and you're like, I saw the little girl on the bike and then you're arguing about that. It's when she, or he says, I see the little girl on the bike. Okay?
Stress level goes down, I'm approaching a stop sign. I'm going to put on the brakes.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. So they're really narrating their own driving.
Steve:
Yeah. It's just commentary, driving. It's narration. I know in our classes, we show examples of it. We show videos of it. When we're with students, I don't do as much of it, mainly because we're more experienced, it's easier for us. We're in a marked car. We have shakes. We've had thousands of hours of this so we're really used to it, but parents you're in their car. They don't do this all the time. They may be arguing with their son about cleaning his room. I never have to have that argument with them. We just focus on driving.
Anthony Godfrey:
There's no baggage you bring to the drive.
Steve:
If a student is really struggling with something, for example, intersections, they're hesitant, they're making wrong decisions. I'm having to intervene and prevent possible crashes. Then I'll have a use commentary driving and within seconds, and parents can do this too, within seconds you will be able to identify what they are not doing, because you'll know what they're thinking. And then you have a better chance of fixing it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. I would imagine that if you are along for the ride on a lot of commentary driving, you start to hear your own voice in your head as you're driving.
Steve:
Yes, it can get a little annoying. I've had parents tell me, it's okay, she's really doing the commentary driving. It's been great.
Anthony Godfrey:
But do we have to do it for an entire hour?
Steve:
Probably not.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what are some of the things that students struggle with the most?
Steve:
I would say spend time with your parallel parking, first of all, because I think that's a skill that I've not developed. Most people don't want to develop that. And it's funny, you mentioned that. I personally think it's the least important thing on the road test, but it's the one thing that's talked about and feared so much. In fact, I just read a report this past week. Nevada has dropped parallel parking from their State road test because you don't find very much of it. In downtown areas, I guess, but people don't like to do it. People are more willing to actually drive around the block for a half hour.
Anthony Godfrey:
I'd rather walk six blocks in the rain than parallel park downtown. But I will tell you, there's one thing that I've really noticed last few years. I think driving is more challenging. There's a lot more at stake. It is obviously very dangerous, but we have a lot of students who are just absolutely terrified of going on the freeway.
Steve:
Yeah. we have a lot of parents who are equally terrified to be a passenger on the freeway with their son or daughter driving. So we work on strategies to help them to overcome that fear. I think if you have teachers that are really explaining the road test and we have a really high pass rate here at Riverton, but we also don't test any students. The idea is success and so if they need to work on things, we will slow it down a little bit so they can get better. But I don't think we have so many students that after the fact say, I don't know I was getting so worked up about that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Yeah. Do you find a lot of students wait to get their drivers license more than in the past or not?
Steve:
Not necessarily. A nationwide trend since about 2012 is there are fewer, and this is in every state, fewer students getting their licenses. Some just don't take Driver's Ed. Many take the classroom phase, but don't actually finish all of the driving. And the major studies that are linked have looked at this research. They've linked it to the cell phone, the smartphone. We used to go knock on our friend's door to play. We used to in high school, we would put $5 of gas drive and you'd go to your friends. And of course they still do that stuff, but they have instant connection to not only their friends, but the world on their phone and driving is scary and driving can be. And also, it can be expensive for fuel, car insurance, everything. So not as many students want driver licenses.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's interesting. So let's say someone is listening to the Supercast right now, driving in their car. What mistakes are they probably making if they're listening right now? Talk them through it, what they need to be thinking about, what they're not thinking about.
Steve:
Well, they actually could be distracted by the Supercast.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you know, it's very engaging content.
Steve:
Yeah. It is audio, so that is better. But distraction is a huge thing. Put your phone down. There's obviously the people that do some major violations of the law, but here's something that you would say, I'm not going to go to jail for this. I'm not a bad person, but you probably should make a complete stop. I see a lot is violating on a right turn on red, which is illegal, unless it's posted that you can't. But you're supposed to stop first. Most people treat it like a green light rather than a red light. Is your seatbelt on right now?
I would ask you, is your seatbelt on? And if it's not on, I've got a question for you. If you're not going to wear it for you, will you wear it for the people that you love? Will you put that seatbelt on?
Anthony Godfrey:
Great, great. And speeding?
Steve:
Speeding, speeding is number one. There's a lot of five over, nine over, my friend's a cop. He said, you can go seven. I mean, you hear all these stories and speed is the number one risk factor in all crashes. It's the most common risk factor that you were going to have.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Do you have any horror stories? Are there some crazy things that have happened out on the road that just kind of surprised you?
Steve:
Most of the really crazy stories are actually not driving related. I haven't been coached, I have an upset stomach, but they usually say it a different way.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Gotcha.
Steve:
Yeah. They're usually things like that, as far as actual driving stuff. When I first got into Driver's Ed, I thought every day was going to be a brush with death. I thought, the kids are just going to be up on people's lawns. It really is pretty tame. We're in a really controlled environment. Our biggest surprises, at least for me, my biggest surprises rarely come from the students. They usually come from other drivers and they are usually adult drivers.
Anthony Godfrey:
So it's not that the students are driving poorly. It's that when you're on the road so much, you see some terrible behavior from it.
Steve:
Yeah. And that's their biggest challenge. One reason why they get in a lot of crashes is an experienced driver is able to react to those things because they've been around it longer, whereas a student may not be doing anything wrong or making a minor mistake, but they are not able to predict and react to what is happening to them. And so then they don't avoid the crash or they panic and do something that contributes to the crash. So that's what I mean. That's why all the practice hours are so critical. They can't get enough practice.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Oh, wow. I'd never thought of it that way, that it would be the adults reacting to the bad behavior of adults and the mistakes of adults around them that's the difficult part. What do you like most about teaching Driver Education?
Steve:
What is really awesome is that it's different from being in the class with 30 to 40 kids. You're in the car with two or three kids and you're stuck together for two plus hours. Right? You get to know the kids better. I enjoy being with kids and talking to them. And then there's just the real rewarding aspect that what you're doing can be a life and death thing. This is a practical skill that they're going to use probably almost every day of their life. And so there's some personal pride that I want them to be confident. I want them to be skilled. I want them to be safe and we do the best we can with the limited time that we get.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I was always envious when I worked at the high school level of the Driver Education teachers, because you got to know so many kids when you had them only for a quarter, and you got to know them as sophomores, so then you know them the whole time. You're there, you got to know so much of the student population. I think that's a real advantage. It is awesome. Any advice for when people are driving along and they see a Driver Ed car? What should they do? Any advice there?
Speaker 2:
Be patient keep a good distance. One of our most frustrating things is when we're tailgated, the teacher may actually be giving that student a, an official road test, but on a road test, if there's no danger of, you know, a crash or anything, the teacher may is not going to say anything there. Right? Cause the student has to make the decision. The teacher will jump in. If there's some real danger,
Anthony Godfrey:
It's been a long time since I was involved with Driver Education. But when I worked with the high schools, I learned that there is extra equipment installed in the car. So when you're riding with the student, you have your own break on your side. How frequently do you end up using that?
Steve:
Way, way less than you would ever expect? Not that often at all.
Anthony Godfrey:
Riding with my mom, she thinks there's a phantom break there and she would stomp the bottom of the floor of the car, thinking that I wasn't stopping fast enough. So you have the actual break.
Steve:
I do that in non-Driver Ed cars when I'm in the passengers. It's just natural because we just rest our foot so you're ready to go.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, hey, let's hop in the car.
Steve:
Okay.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks to Driver Ed instructor, Steve Galley for sharing some important, safe driving tips for teen drivers, and for those of us who have been behind the wheel for decades.
Anthony Godfrey:
Up next, we'll talk to Maddie and Jane, two Driver Ed students who are learning to be safe and responsible young drivers, thanks to their instructor, Mr. Galley.
Break:
Do you want to know what's going on in Jordan School District? Maybe see your child or a friend featured in a school story? Check out our website at http://jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at Jordan District. Let's connect today. We are here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Do you name these cars, Mr. Galley?
Steve:
No, we don't name them. We're in car #71955.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. Oh ladies, tell us your names.
Maddie:
Maddie and Jane.
Anthony Godfrey:
Maddie and Jane. Jane's at the wheel. Jane. How much driving have you done?
Jane:
Oh, you're in safe hands. Don't worry.
Anthony Godfrey:
I'm not worried at all. I'm quite excited actually. So what do you guys think about getting your driver license? Are you pretty excited?
Maddie:
I actually already got mine and it's way fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
Is there a new sense of independence?
Maddie:
Oh yeah, for sure. It's kind of overwhelming, but I like it. Okay. Jane, where are you going to take us?
Jane:
Well, that's Mr. Galley's decision.
Anthony Godfrey:
Mr. Galley tells you which way to go? Have you done the commentary driving we were talking about?
Jane:
Not in this car, but with my parents, yes I did.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what do you think, does that help you think through the driving?
Jane:
Yeah, a lot. It really helps actually.
Anthony Godfrey:
So when will you be 16? When will you be eligible to get your license?
Jane:
Next Wednesday.
Anthony Godfrey:
Next Wednesday. Are you prepared to get it on your birthday?
Jane:
I hope so. Yeah.
Steve:
Yeah. When we're done, she's going to be taking her test today.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow. Dynamite! Well, thanks for waiting. You guys. I enjoyed talking to Mr. Galley so much. So, all right, I'm ready.
Steve:
Okay, Jane, let's go left. We're going to go out of the parking lot. We're going to go actually drive. She's doing great. So far. We got out of the parking lot. Well, Jane's focused, but relaxed. Jane, tell me what you see. What's happening in front of us.
Jane:
A lot of kids on the sidewalk.
Steve:
What else is gonna see to your right Jane? Do you see those two lights? We've got to be under 20 when we hit these lights. Not under 20. There we go. We're now under 20, stale green light, that was stale. Four seconds left on the clock.
Anthony Godfrey:
Did you just call it a stale green lights?
Steve:
A light has been green a long time. Let's see if Maddie knows the clues. What are some of the clues to know if a green light is fresh or stale?
Maddie:
You look at the crosswalk signs and see how much time is left on them.
steve:
And what if we approached a green light and you saw a white pedestrian signal, that's fresh. That is a fresh green light. So this helps them to make a better quicker intersection decisions. If you know the light is fresh and you're within seven seconds or so, then you're going to be going through that light. So now you can start focusing on other things. If it's a stale green light then depending on how far away we are, we're looking for what we call the point of no return, which we use the second arrow or the end of the left turn lane line, whichever one is closest to the intersection. Instead of being surprised by yellow, instead of reacting late, instead of panicking, we are trying to teach them to prepare for that in advance,
Jane:
The light just turned green so it was fresh. And so I can go straight through the light and then blind spot check and speed up.
Steve:
Yes, we work on actually using our turn signals. Do you think this is good following distance? Explain this.
Jane:
It should be a two second gap.
Steve:
So how you check?
Jane:
You pick a landmark like a light post or a pole, and when the car in front of you passes that object, you start counting and it should be two seconds away.
Steve:
So how far away from this suburban are we?
Jane:
For about five seconds guaranteed. I'm going to be paying better attention to my driving after that.
Steve:
What are you doing right here Jane?
Jane:
Load is excellent. Habit 14 is when you come to a stop behind a car, be far away enough that you can see the back of their tires.
Steve:
Excellent.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I don't do that. That's good. You're supposed to see the back of their tires, Jane, is that right?
Jane:
Yes. That makes sure you have plenty of space in case something comes up.
Steve:
You can react last track check and make your turn into the first corresponding lane. Excellent, great speed. Limit 35 car pulling out right in front and a school zone.
Jane:
Yeah.
Steve:
Okay. So earlier when we talked about adults doing wrong things, the driver that just pulled out should have never pulled out right there. And it did surprise Jane a little bit.
Jane:
Yeah. I did see them pull through.
Anthony Godfrey:
What do you like most about driving?
Jane:
Just like the freedom, I guess.
Anthony Godfrey:
Did you drive with your parents?
Jane:
Yeah, before I got my license.
Anthony Godfrey:
How much driving did you do with them?
Jane:
Definitely more than 40 hours.
Anthony Godfrey:
I have to narrate a little bit here that Jane did an amazing three point turn. The thing that you always worry about when I'm making a 3 point turn is that it becomes a six point turn and she did great. There was a big brick mailbox right in front of her. She just eased right up to it, knew just how close to get. Nailed it.
Jane:
Thank you very much.
Anthony Godfrey:
No, the maneuver didn't nail the mailbox. Completed a well executed three point turn.
Steve
There was one maneuver that Dr. Godfrey said was his favorite to our right. Do you see the one to our right here?
Jane:
The blind spot or the handshake?
Steve:
No, this maneuver here.
Jane:
Oh, the parallel parking. Yeah.
Steve:
He loves it.
Anthony Godfrey:
I love it?
Steve:
He constantly working on it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. I'm refining my skills always.
Steve:
Do you want to practice it now?
Anthony Godfrey:
It might be kind of funny. Let's practice it. Let's try it.
Steve:
So let's get set up for it properly. Let's do a straight line backing so we can approach while she gets ready. I think parallel parking is the least important maneuver. And this is what I would say to Jane. I would much rather that she is an All-American intersection, a decision-maker driver than to be the world's best parallel parker.
Anthony Godfrey:
I think that's good advice going into this. By the way, Jane is testing today. And so I admire that she's willing to ride around with me on test day. But she should be very confident going in. She's done great!
Steve:
Okay. Let's do this. I'm just going to talk you through this and I'm only going to jump in if I think you need a little bit of help. So for the listener, we're looking at two tall orange cones. We've got two red painted marks on the curb. And so we're not really parking between cars and we have a big tree planted in the middle. Okay. So signal, rear view mirror, blind spot. And we're going to pull over somewhere about three feet away from that cone. And we're going to get it parallel in, that's good, signal popped off and Jane's putting it back on. Right. Here we go. We turn it hard right, and then we just go very slow. This is a good speed. We want to get about halfway in and this is good. Okay. We may be a little close to this cone. When most people back in, they rarely actually do the backing perfectly. So at this point, correcting straightening, centering if you can do that. It really doesn't matter if you make some minor mistakes on the initial backend. So what do you think you need to do here?
Jane:
I moved back a little bit.
Steve:
Yep. This is one of our hybrid cars too.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I can tell it keeps shutting down, which would have thrown me in Driver Ed.
Steve:
Yeah. If we take 17 minutes to parallel park, it will shut down. Okay. Now we are just inside the gutter. This is legal parking straightened centered. And with the pressure of a microphone, you did it right.
Anthony Godfrey:
The only time I've been scared on the whole drive with you is when I thought Mr. Galley was going to make me parallel park.
Steve:
I actually thought about it. But then I remembered that technically you are my boss.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed this. This has been awesome, Mr. Galley. Thank you so much for talking with me and taking me on a drive, Maddie and Jane. Congrats on having your license and Jane, I have every confidence you are going to pass this test with flying colors.
Jane:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for a great drive you guys. We had a lot of fun with Jane and Maddie and their instructor, Steve Galley. Hopefully you heard something here today that will help you as parents navigate all the anxiety that may come with having new teen drivers in the house. Thanks to everyone for listening. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see out there.
30 min
February 13, 2020 Episode 24: “Winston the Pig” Playing His Part in Ag Education at West Jordan High
Students in the Agriculture Program at West Jordan High are getting hands-on lessons that look nothing like Ag programs of the past. Here, high tech is combined with live farm animals and a working greenhouse to teach students where their food comes from. In many cases, they are students who may have never set foot on a farm before.
In this week’s episode of the Supercast, we meet Ag students and their instructor, along with Winston the Pig who is part of the Ag Program.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. On today's edition of the Supercast, we get a look inside the agricultural program at West Jordan High School. It's a program that looks nothing like Ag classes of the past. Here, high-tech combines with live farm animals, like Winston, the pig and the greenhouse to teach students where their food comes from. For students who may never have set foot on a farm before, it is a learning environment they love. All right, we're here with Cody Gull, in his classroom. There is an enormous skeleton of a horse with no name, apparently. And we also have several rabbits, floral arrangements, a number of juniors and seniors, and who knows what else he has because he teaches a wide range of classes. Cody, very nice to meet you.
Cody:
Nice to meet you.
Anthony Godfrey:
What do we have going on here today?
Cody:
This is my equine science class and we are talking about nutrient deficiencies in horses.
Anthony Godfrey:
So I hear we might be snipping, some buttons.
Cody:
Some rabbit nails, too. Trisha, do you want help with that? Do you want me to hold her?
Anthony Godfrey:
Trisha are these bunnies names?
Speaker 3:
That's Bruce and Karen,
Anthony Godfrey:
Is that based on some kind of obscure pop culture reference I'm not aware of it?
Trisha:
She wants to talk to the manager.
Anthony Godfrey:
I see. Karen wants to talk to the manager.
Trisha:
I'm going to help you clip them. April, come on over. So Trisha's going to hold them and I'll tell you where to clip.
Anthony Godfrey:
Is it kind of scary to do that. Is it hard? Which is the harder job holding the rabbit or clipping the nails?
Student:
Holding it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Is it a rabbit?
Student:
Yes. The technical term is a rabbit. Bunnies are babies. And so you want to make sure that when you're clipping you are clipping gray. That's where the light part of the nail ends. So about right there because there's veins inside of there. So you don't want to clip too high up and hold tight in case he doesn't like it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Is this Bruce or Karen? Bruce seems very calm about this, like he doesn't know what he's in for. Oh wow. It's kind of like a whole punch that is just coming around the rapid toe. Is there anything lucky about rabbit toes as opposed to rabbits feet or rabbit toe nail?
Student:
I think the lucky part is not getting scratched as you are pulling them out of the cages and holding them. That's lucky.
Anthony Godfrey:
Why do you clip the Bunny's nails?
Student:
We do them so that when students get them out to handle them, they don't get scratched because they're super, super sharp and they draw blood very easily.
Anthony Godfrey:
Do you ever do a manicure?
Student:
No.
Anthony Godfrey:
For a bunny-cure. That doesn't exist? Just a buff and clear polish.
Student:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Can I touch Bruce?
Student:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Can I like, oh wow, Bruce is very soft. Bruce has gray and white, very big dark eyes. I like Bruce. Bruce is very chill. Does someone take equine science if they have been around horses or they're just interested or who signs up? Who's mostly has interest in that sort of class?
Cody:
Ag kids So a lot of these kids took my animal science class or floriculture class. And so it was basically through recruitment. I only actually have one student in here that has horses at home, in this class. She's a barrel racer. So she has extensive experience with her own horses. But other than that, everyone else just, they were able to take this class because of word of mouth, through my other animal science classes that I teach. And just something that they were interested in.
Anthony Godfrey:
And how long have you been teaching here now?
Cody:
This is my second year at West Jordan High School and second year teaching.
Anthony Godfrey:
Great. So you teach equine science. What other classes?
Cody:
I teach equine science. I teach animal science one and then animal science two, which is just a more advanced animal science. We go into a little more detail. It's a little meatier, but it's also quite a bit more hands-on because the kids are able to take that animal science one class, that gives them the science part of things. And they learn all the terminology. And then they're able to apply it in animal science to two specific things. I also teach a floriculture and greenhouse management class and that class is super fun and also super hands-on. All of my classes are very hands-on, but the floriculture class is the most hands-on. We make a monthly floral arrangement that we are able to sell to faculty and staff and community members. And it's all student work. They choose the arrangement that they make every month. They choose the flowers that go in that arrangement. They choose everything. They learn the business end of things. They learn how to run a floral business the first half of the year. And then the second half of the year, starting in January, we are working in our greenhouse.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if they're behind on getting a flower arrangement together, do you tell them to put the pedal to the metal?
Cody:
That's a great one. I've never used that one, but I'm going to start using it now.
Anthony Godfrey:
I was just checking. I think I've never met a teacher who teaches a wider range of subjects than you do. I know they're all kind of outside and nature related, I suppose, but floral arranging and equine science. That's quite a wide range. What made you interested teaching those subjects?
Cody:
I come from a background of agriculture, fairly extensive. I'm from Spanish workers and so I was able to kind of grow up on the farm, doing all these sorts of things from having my own horses and cows and pigs and all sorts of different animals. And through high school, I was able to be involved in an agriculture education program and in the FFA. And it was something that I knew when I was a sophomore. I needed to be an Ag teacher and I wanted to be an Ag teacher. And so I just followed the plan and the rest is history. Here I am.
Anthony Godfrey:
I like the way you say that I needed to be an Ag teacher. You just knew that's what you needed to do was what I needed to do by my sophomore year. That's fantastic. Well, I have to admit that everything you teach is way out of my range of talent and ability. So I'm thrilled that you're here and that you're teaching.
When we come back, we'll introduce you to Winston the pig. He's just one animal playing an important role in Ag Education at West Jordan High School.
Break:
Hey, you okay? Yeah. I just have a lot of stuff going on in my head. You need to talk, dude, stop hiding behind the happy face. Talk with no filter, get the safeUT app. Download it now. Available on the Apple app store, Google play or safeUt.org.
Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome back. Now it's time to find out what goes on in the greenhouse and small farm setting behind West Jordan High, as part of the Agricultural Program. Walked out behind West Jordan High School. I thought, there are facilities available to students here for this program.
Cody:
For the Ag Program right now, we have our full production greenhouse, where we were able to grow all sorts of different flowers and a variety of different vegetables. We also are in the process of creating a mini-animal lab. We will be getting a barn, just a small 20 by 20 foot barn to put out here by the end of this month. Students are able to purchase a market, go and market lambs to raise for the Salt Lake County. Fair. A lot of the students that we have here in our program don't come from an agricultural background. And so with it being a more urban area, we need to, I really believe in the importance of giving students these hands on opportunities like exhibiting an animal at the Salt Lake County Fair. And so providing a place for that animal and providing the entire learning experience from when they get the lamb or the goat to the time they get to sell it and make money on that end.
Anthony Godfrey:
I think it would be surprising to a lot of kids exactly what is involved in raising the animals that provide food for them ultimately, at the end of the line. And I'm excited to see what's going on. I think I heard a pig in the background.
Cody:
Yeah. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
What does that noise from the pig? It's an oink, but what does it mean?
Cody:
He's trying to escape you. That means leave me alone.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is your name?
Student:
Brendan.
Anthony Godfrey:
Brendan, do you consider yourself a pig master?
Student:
Not really.
Anthony Godfrey:
I liked dogs, but you like pigs and what's the pig's name?
Student:
Winston
Anthony Godfrey:
Winston. That's a very sophisticated thing. I liked that. Have you handled pigs before this class?
Student:
I have not. He's actually a miniature pig, not that that's actually a thing. There's no such thing as an actual miniature pig because he could grow up to be 300 pounds, but he's about five or six months old now and weighs right around 40 pounds. You just have to be very careful what you feed them and how much, because they can grow up to be big pigs.
Anthony Godfrey:
So the ultimately, size of the pig depends on what you feed it.
Student:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
And so how does the pig interact with students in your classes? How do you use the pig as part of the instruction?
Cody:
So when we are talking about different animals behaviors or different training, we can incorporate him into that. We can also talk about the confirmation of the animals when we're doing livestock judging and things like that. Pointing out specific things on the pig or on any animal is always a really, really valuable tool to use. If the students can see it and touch it, it's usually very valuable and they're able to remember that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, no, Winston wanted to eat the microphone. We're going to keep that from happening. What are you feeding Winston?
Cody:
Right now we are giving him just some mini-pig treats and they are blueberries and cream flavored. But in general, we feed him an 18% protein hog feed. We just give him about a half a pound a day, and that is what he eats. And then he also loves marshmallows. Those are his favorite.
Anthony Godfrey:
He loves marshmallows, blueberries and cream. Is he a millennial pig? Does he eat only organic?
Cody:
Probably.
Anthony Godfrey:
You talked about animal behavior earlier. Can you tell about Wilbur's behavior and what there is to learn about behavior from Wilburn?
Cody:
Yeah. So when we were getting him out of the pen, when he was making that noise and it sounded really aggressive, that sounded like it was forming syllables.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.
Cody:
That was his way of saying, I would really prefer if you don't bother me. But obviously, once he was out and he's getting treats, he's singing a different tune.
Anthony Godfrey:
So like many humans, he's resistant to change, but once he settles in, he can see the benefits of being out and having some blueberries and cream.
Cody:
Absolutely.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. So is it difficult for students, once they've raised an animal in your program to then sell it, knowing that it's going to become food?
Cody:
That is a great question. Diana here was one of the very first to experience that just last year.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about your experience last year. What did you raise?
Student:
I raised the lamb.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what was the lamb's name?
Student:
I didn't give him a name until I sold it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Until you sold, then you gave it a name, as you said?
Student:
Yeah, it's because I didn't want to get too attached. I thought that naming it would, you know, I'd be too friendly with it. And then it'd be harder for me to sell him.
Anthony Godfrey:
Did you feel like even without a name, you gained this close connection to the animal?
Student:
Yeah, butI knew it was for food and I didn't want to get too attached to it.
Anthony Godfrey:
You'd be able to have that experience without this class.
Student:
Definitely not. I don't think I would've been interested in purchasing a livestock animal and raising it just because I've never been interested in lambs or goats or anything.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is it that made you want to take the class?
Student:
It was my last science credit I needed, to be honest and I thought, okay, I'll just animal science. I don't need any other credits. So with animal science, I'll be able to stop. And then he introduced the idea of having lambs and I thought, yeah, what the heck? I've never done it before. You know, this should be an experience,
Anthony Godfrey:
But that's a good thing. That's what happens sometimes is those high school requirements make you take a class you might not otherwise take and you learn some things about the world and what interests you.
Student:
Yeah. So I got my animal science credit. All my science credits are complete and I'm in his animal science II..
Anthony Godfrey:
So what would you say to parents and students who are maybe considering this?
Student:
Oh, definitely do it. It's so much fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
You learn a lot?
Student:
Yeah. A lot.
Anthony Godfrey:
Do you care more about animals having taken this class?
Student:
Yeah, for sure. You know how to take care of them correctly.
Anthony Godfrey:
Do you feel like you could live off the land now?
Student:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, that's good. Brendan. I think you experienced the circle of life, a little bit earlier, didn't you? What happened earlier with Winston?
Student:
It looked like he was sniffing my boot and either something came out of his mouth or his nose, but he moved away. And there was, there was just something on my boot.
Anthony Godfrey:
So something came out of Winston and onto your boot, these things happened. I'm wearing one of my favorite pairs of dress shoes, so Winston and I are probably not going to get very friendly right now. I'm not dressed for Winston, but Winston is grateful. He is not paying me much attention. He's rooting in dead leaves and who can blame him. So you know, this is part of the bargain, right? I guess that sometimes things come out of animals and land on you. And you're good with that.
Student:
Yeah. Just an adventure, really.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. It is an adventure. You can't say that about every class, it's an adventure. I liked that. Do you think Wilbur has a pretty good life here?
Student:
Yeah, I think he does because it helps us learn new things about pigs and animals. So yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Winston seems to be enjoying himself. Do pigs wag their tails because he kind of seemed to be a minute ago.
Student:
Yeah, it seems pretty happy.
Anthony Godfrey:
What about the chickens? You turn and look around and suddenly there's another animal.
Cody:
Okay. So the chickens are one of my students SAE projects, Supervised Agricultural Experience. And what that means is when a student enters any of my Ag classes, they are required to fulfill an SAE project of some kind. That project includes anything involving agriculture. So it can be something as simple as researching careers in agriculture and then writing about what they learned. And that gives them that career exploration, part of an SAE. They can purchase a chicken coop with chickens and that's their project. Caitlin owns these chickens. They obviously are housed here at the high school because she's not able to keep them at her own house. But she has five hens. Each of them lay about an egg a day and she's able to take those eggs home to her family. And she's actually started selling some to close friends and relatives as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's exciting. So chickens, pigs, rabbits, what else? What's next?
Cody:
Chicken, pigs, chickens, pigs, and rabbits are what we have right now. If you were to come back in April, we will have 10 to 12 lambs and 10 to 12 goats that kids will have purchased to raise at the camp.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's fair. So I love the, how, how students talk about a project. You know, we talk about project based learning, but if you look at raising a goat or sheep or a pig and seeing that whole process all the way through, that's true project based learning, It's really cool to watch all of their hard work pay off because in the interim, my hard work pays off.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And when you put it that way, you really do get to see the difference and see the result of your work. The sense of efficacy must be very high for participation in this class when you really know that the effort you put into something brings a result.
Cody:
Along with that, the program here, when I started two years ago, had about 30 active FFA members and we've more than doubled. We've got about 75 active FFA members now. And I went from having maybe 150 to 180 kids in my classes to having over 200 this year. And so I'm seeing that program grow and seeing other kids hear about that from their friends, from their family. Having them come, be involved, it is really a great feeling for me. But it's even better and more rewarding for the kids.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, classes grow like that when there's a great teacher. So thanks for being a great teacher and providing an awesome experience for kids. Appreciate it. We'll be back in just a few moments. Stay with us.
Break:
You want to know what's going on in Jordan school district, maybe see your child or a friend featured in a school story. Check out our [email protected] or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Jordan district. Let's connect today, Kim. Nice to see you. Nice to be with you. Tell everyone a little bit about yourself.
Kim:
My name is Kim Newbrough. I am the Career and Technical Education Coordinator at Mountain Ridge High School. I'm a former Agriculture teacher. I taught Ag at West Jordan High School for 19 years before I moved over to being a CTE Coordinator.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us some about the Agricultural Science courses that are available throughout the District and the experience students can have.
Kim:
We're lucky in Jordan School District. Every high school in our District and our two JATCs have an Agriculture Program. Some of them are budding and growing and some of them are thriving. We teach, as you heard, the wide range. We have flora-culture, greenhouse management, equine science, small and companion animal programs. We have a landscaping program at the JATC South. At the JATC North we have a Vet Tech program. It's just huge, all the different offerings that we have in our District.
Anthony Godfrey:
And we're standing in the greenhouse behind West Jordan High School. You told me, as we walked in, you said this was your favorite place. Tell us about why.
Kim:
Well, I actually had this greenhouse built when I was here teaching. I had a smaller one and they it tore down, my barn and my greenhouse, to expand the football stadium and then built this beautiful greenhouse. This is my happy place because we start with this tiny little seed and then we get to see things grow. Kind of like with our agriculture students, they come in with no knowledge and then it grows and expands, which is really important because we live in a day and age where people are agriculturally illiterate. Yes, we're so far removed from the family farm that people think, Oh, I can just go to the store and get my food. Well, I had a saying on a bulletin board in my classroom that said "Agriculture, without it, you would be hungry and naked." And I truly believe that because people think I just go to the store and buy my clothes.
It takes the farmer to raise the cotton to make their clothes. And it takes a farmer to raise their food. And people often think that agriculture is just growing a food and crops, but it's so much more. We're the largest employer in the United States. You've got to have somebody who comes up with new seeds and new strains of seeds. So you've got science. You've got people who have to transport your food from point A to point B, so we've got truck drivers. We've got food scientists. We've got marketers, everything that we do ties back to agriculture.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, when you said agriculturally illiterate, you kind of looked at me like you could tell that's exactly me. You know, you get joy out of seeing a seed grow. I get a full-grown plant and I end up with dead leaves and a flower pot of death. So I should have taken your class. I should have taken your class in high school. I wish I could go back in time and do that. What do you wish that parents and students who might be considering a class knew about Ag Science opportunities in Jordan?
Kim:
That they're the best classes for students to take because we teach students how to work. I think that parents need to understand that their kids are going to learn so much more than you know. Everybody thinks, Oh, they're just a farmer. Farmers are the smartest people we have because they have to understand the weather. They have to understand when to plant. They have to understand when to harvest. They have to know when to water and fertilize. If parents knew how much their kids could gain and know about themselves for agriculture. I had an amazing agriculture teacher when I was a student in high school who made me want to be an Ag teacher. And I have a former student who is now an Ag teacher. It's awesome to know that you can touch and have that influence in students and watching your students, who never thought that they would be involved in agriculture, pound on your truck window when you're buying sod and saying Kim, guess what? And I said, you're working in agriculture. It's like, yeah. Who would have thought? There's so many opportunities for students to grow. And the leadership opportunities through the FFA change kids' lives.
Anthony Godfrey:
You had me at kids learn how to work, because I think it's so easy to spend time on a screen or doing other things. But when you're out here, Winston needs attention. There's nothing else you can do. You have to take care of him. So I think this is awesome. Thank you very much for talking with us and thanks for all you've done over the years to continue Ag Science.
Kim:
It's a pleasure. Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks to everyone who took time to give us a closeup look at what Agriculture Programs look like in our schools today. They provide a wide range of opportunities for students interested in agriculture related careers, and they build excitement about learning. Now, any of you listeners out there who realized that I called Winston Wilbur later in the program, get extra credit and you really get extra credit. If you know that I called him Wilbur, because that's the pig in Charlotte's Web. Thanks to those of you who joined us today. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see ya.
26 min
February 06, 2020 Episode 23: A School Counselor’s Work is Never Done
School counselors make a difference in young lives every single day and for that we simply don’t thank them enough.
On today’s episode of the Supercast, we recognize school counselors and the important work they do in and outside of school for students and families as part of National School Counseling Week.
If you always wondered what a school counselor does, how they can help you and your student, this episode is for you.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. School counselors make a difference in young lives throughout Jordan School District every single day. But do you know what they really do? Let's head to the halls of West Jordan Middle School and see some middle school students.
Student:
School counselors help with any kids that have a problem, emotionally or physically. They also discuss many things for our future and education. They are someone that could probably change your classes, the school counselor. like if you have problems, you can go to school counselor and talk to them. Counselors are someone that helps you get through class. Go to the school counselor to take honor classes and AP classes.
Anthony Godfrey:
Today we're celebrating school counselors. If you've ever wondered what they really do, how they can help parents and students, this episode of the Supercast is for you. We're about to dispel the myths and explain all the ways counselors can help you and your students. Here to tell us about the important work being done is Secondary Counseling Specialist, Stacee Worthen. Stacee, welcome to the Supercast.
Stacee:
Thank you Superintendent.
Anthony Godfrey:
So all of us have been to school. We've been to middle school. We've been to high school. We've met with counselors at various times, but things change over time. And many times, as adults we think, well, I went to high school. I know what high school was like. And so we may all think that we know what counselors do, right? Can you help us understand better what does the modern middle and high school counselor do these days? How do they help kids?
Stacee:
That's a good question, because counselors wear many hats. A lot of parents will just assume that counselors are academic advisors, scholarship advisors. But what counselors do is so much more. We actually are trained to look at the whole person. So as that student comes in, we might be doing a schedule change, but we're looking at that whole student as an individual, as we're looking at their schedule. We're looking at why does this child want a schedule change? Do they need to be challenged? Do they need to be put into AP courses? Do they need concurrent? Is that a better fit? Are they having some learning issues that maybe we need to work with the teachers to see if there are some interventions that we can put into place? Maybe we need to implement some Special Ed testing because we see some disparities in how they're doing in specific classes.
We also do groups. We run groups. We look at anytime a student is struggling with stress, anxiety, suicidal ideation, where that mental health support within the school that can really start meeting in a responsive, quick way to get that student some help. Initially, maybe we're doing some cognitive behavioral training, some techniques with that student to try and get them back into class to be successful. Or maybe we're calling the parents to work with the student to maybe implement something that's a little bit more involved. Maybe we're giving some references to some counseling that might be more long-term and beneficial for that student. Maybe we're referring to our in-school LCSW to give them some supports that way. There's just really a lot of things we're doing now that I think weren't done when we were in high school.
I never saw my school counselor. I didn't even know who that person was. I just went there for schedule change. Now, there's a framework that's in place. We were able to look at the whole child. Start with where they're at. If they're struggling with social or emotional behavioral, we start there. If they're being successful and they have a career path that they're interested in, we're supporting them by giving them some more opportunities for classes for our JATC South or JATC North, Concurrent Enrollment, those types of things. So really, we do a lot more than most people would think.
Anthony Godfrey:
Not only is a counselor able to connect students to other resources that might help them, whatever their situation may be. But I think we underestimate the resource that the counselors themselves can be to students beyond just a schedule change or scholarship information. They can provide support in crisis or just to bounce things off of so we don't get to a crisis. And I know that counselors have worked very hard to structure CounselingCenters so that they are constantly availability for someone who drops in and has an immediate need.
Stacee:
Right. And I think that what you're going to look at statistically is that support school counseling is what students say. If they have one adult in the building that they can go and talk to when they are struggling, then it's timely and they're responsive to that child's needs. Then they are much more successful longterm in school.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what's nice about the position of a counselor is that it's a unique position to be able to help a student. I've been a teacher, I've been an Assistant Principal. I've been a Principal. I've never been a counselor. But in each of those roles, I relied on counselors to reach kids in a way that I wasn't able to in the role that I was playing.
Stacee:
Right. Right. Because nothing that school counselors are doing is punitive, right? We're there to support, empower, just be a listening ear, get to know the student. That's one of my favorite things in working with kids is just getting to know them. Sometimes counselors say, I'm not just a schedule changer, but this is one really awesome opportunity for me to get to know kids. So, you know, they come in wearing a cross country tee shirt. Hey, are you on the cross country team? And once that student has that connection, like I'm interested in their life, I'm interested in getting to know them, then they know that they have one more adult that if they're having a bad day, maybe they broke up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or maybe they failed a quiz. I'm that one adult in the building, you know, that this is a safe place for me. I can just go, I can take a deep breath, step away for a second, have an adult who's just there to listen. And then I can go back to my everyday.
Anthony Godfrey:
Why not? What would you say are some of the myths around school counselors? What do people misunderstand about the role of the school counselor would you say?
Stacee:
I think that we're just schedule changers. We're just there to build a schedule, that we're just there to to do academic advising or that we know everything about college and universities and scholarships. I think that that's kind of a myth. I think that another important myth is that we don't provide mental health services to students. That is most of our training. If you look at the University of Utah, their actual program for school counselors is 90% mental health based training. And I think that's one of the biggest myths we're encountering is that school counselors don't do mental health. We actually are trained and we do that. It's just not long-term. It's not something that we can do an hour a week, every week for 10 weeks.
Anthony Godfrey:
And if there is a need beyond what a School Counselor is immediately able to provide, we're able to refer parents and students out to other resources and have a lot of connections to allow us to access help.
Stacee:
Absolutely. We have a long list of mental health providers available to all of our Jordan School District students. We also have the Jordan Family Ed that we can refer to and they can receive services there for mental health. We have a lot of access points for students and parents as school counselors that if we feel there's something, in addition, to what we're doing that a child needs, we can absolutely do that for that parent and for that student.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if a parent is worried about their child and would like a counselor to meet with them, what's the best way to make sure that happens?
Stacee:
The best way is to call and schedule an appointment to meet face-to-face with that counselor. I wouldn't drop in. I would absolutely call first and schedule an appointment. You can call, or you can email. Just contact that counselor and ask them to make it contact with your student. And I would think that they can make it routine. They don't need to say your mother called and would like me to meet with you. They're counselors. They know how to make that smooth transition, and make that point of contact and get that started. Because of course, you know, if you say, Oh, your dad called, and he's saying that you're struggling with this and that, or you broke up with your girlfriend, right now. Absolutely we're going to just say, Hey, I just wanted to check on you, see how you're doing? Like, how are you transitioning to Copper Hills High School? Or how are you doing here at Riverton, whatever, wherever they are, right?
Anthony Godfrey:
The helicopter of anxiety is flying around. But once the student gets in the counselor's office, there is a landing pad for that anxiety to find a rest spot. I think that our counselors are awesome. You just get a student in there with the counselor and that opportunity is going to be created for the student to kind of unload, make a connection. So I guess I would just say to parents listening, I would encourage you to contact the school counselor and have them reach out to your child and just call them down and say, how are things going? If you're worried about your child at all, it's a great way to get some support.
Stacee:
Yeah, absolutely. Counselors go into the business because they love kids and they want to see them be successful. And you develop connections with those kids because you love them and want to see them succeed . And Jordan School District counselors are amazing, and they're really doing some really great, amazing, cool things. We've got some schools with some Wellness Rooms, we've got groups that are going, we've got all sorts of supports in place that counselors have access to that they're working on to try and help these kids be successful because they love kids.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we head out to West Jordan Middle School and West Jordan High School to talk with a few counselors.
Break:
If you're always looking for opportunities to learn something new, why not join us for the next Jordan Parent University? Jordan Parent University is an opportunity for parents to better understand issues that impact their own students and education. It's an evening class designed to help parents with things like planning for the road beyond high school, better understanding students' social and emotional health and wellness. And knowing who to call when there are issues involving a school or a student. Jordan Parent University is free and open to the public. For a list of upcoming classes, times and locations go to http://jpu.jordandistrict.org. See you there.
Anthony Godfrey:
Mark Jones at West Jordan Middle School for National School Counseling Week. First of all, happy National School Counseling Week.
Mark:
Thanks. It's a good week.
Anthony Godfrey:
It is a good week. How long have you been a school counselor?
Mark:
About 10 years.
Anthony Godfrey:
10 years. Where have you been?
Mark:
I did two years in Davis County, and then I chose wisely and headed down this direction and have been at West Jordan Middle ever since.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're glad you're here.
Mark:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what do you like most about being a school counselor?
Mark:
Just all the different jobs, meeting, all the different people, constantly moving and changing. And you get to see a lot of the success stories, which is fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
What do you wish parents and kids knew about being a counselor?
Mark:
Oh, just so many resources are available to parents and students. And the first thing that comes to mind is he'll change my schedule and you know, four weeks a year, that is what we do. But the rest of the time, there's so many free college programs and free community programs. And, you know, we all could use some help with one thing or another. It's available. It's there, just reach out. There's a lot that we do down here, a lot we can help.
Anthony Godfrey:
What are the ways that you interact with parents as a school counselor?
Mark:
Well, we certainly host a few nights during the school year where we bring them out and introduce them to some of these programs. We invite them for the four-year planning meetings we do with the students where we go over colleges and career options and different pathways. Those are probably the two biggest in middle school.
Anthony Godfrey:
So if a parent wanted to contact you, is it better to call, email, just drop in or schedule an appointment? What's the best way?
Mark:
All the above. You can just drop in, you can call. If you go to our website, you'll see our smiling faces. If you click on that, it brings up a form, you fill that out, hit submit and it comes right to our screen. And then we'll touch base and set something up.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Now we're here with Rochelle Watson at the West Jordan High School Counseling Center. All of the offices I ever go into, counselor offices are very inviting. And you have Kermit the Frog with the light saber and Ms. Piggy as "Pigcess Lea", a pink princess. However you wanna say that. Very nice. Tell me, how long have you been a counselor here at West Jordan?
Rochelle:
This is my seventh year.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what made you want to become a school counselor?
Rochelle:
I had a really fantastic school counselor when I was in high school that I never forgot. He did a lot to help me and my whole life and the trajectory of my life. And so I always thought this would be something that I would like to do myself.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. What do you like most about being a school counselor? You just like working with the kids?
Rochelle:
I love being able to get to know them and their families and really helping them in meaningful ways.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. Thanks for everything you're doing.
Rochelle:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with Karen Williams at West Jordan Middle School. How long have you been a counselor here at West Jordan Middle?
Karen:
This is my seventh year all here at West Jordan Middle.
Anthony Godfrey:
Seventh year as a school counselor?
Karen:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
And I understand you had a career before school counselor.
Karen:
I did. I was a Sandy City police officer.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what are the differences between being a Sandy City police officer and the school counselor?
Karen:
Well, one of the biggest differences that I'm not arresting kids. I'm working with them, and people are generally happy.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.
Karen:
I did five years in the Youth Unit. I was assigned to two elementary schools where I taught DARE and then three years as a middle school officer. So that started the idea that working with kids in this capacity is a little bit more fulfilling than just arresting and taking them out of school.
Anthony Godfrey:
So rather than on the enforcement side, you're more on the encouragement side, being able to help students earlier on, perhaps in that process. I know that our police officers are very helpful and encouraging with students. And there's been a real focus on connecting with communities and families and being a positive influence on students through the DARE program and some other things. What do you like most about being a school counselor?
Karen:
There's a few things I like. Forming the relationships with the students and letting them see adults on a different level and joking around with them, having fun with them. The other two counselors I work with, I know it's the same for them. We all have these kids that we just have connected with. There might be a bad weekend, but they know when they can come in Monday morning and see us and walk out, hopefully, feeling a little bit better.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for talking with me. It's really nice to meet you.
Karen:
Oh, you're welcome.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. We're here at West Jordan Middle School with Wendy Petrovich, a counselor, and I just realized that we have something in common. We have both visited all 50 States. You're quite the traveler.
Wendy:
Yes, I am. I love to travel.
Anthony Godfrey:
Where else have you been besides all the other 50 States?
Wendy:
I have traveled to Asia a couple of times. Jordan, that country is a biggie. Quite a few trips in Europe and Australia.
Anthony Godfrey:
What was your last state visited?
Wendy:
North Dakota.
Anthony Godfrey:
North Dakota. Last on your list.
Wendy:
Nobody goes to North Dakota on accident. You have to go to North Dakota.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. My purpose was we were driving cross country in a station wagon in the eighties. What do you wish parents and students knew about school counselors?
Wendy:
You know, there are a lot of kids that don't know even to come into us. So I wish that they all knew we like to talk to them and that they are always free to contact us and come and visit.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's great talking with you. Thanks for everything you do. I appreciate you very much. We're here with Brent, who has been a counselor here at West Jordan High for a year. This is his first year here. He was at Herriman High School for a couple of years before that. Happy National School Counseling week.
Brent:
Right. Thank you so much. We appreciate you coming out here.
Anthony Godfrey:
How do you like being a school counselor?
Brent:
I love it. It's different than I thought it would be. There's a lot of stuff that comes with education that you just didn't really expect. A lot of tasks that have to just get done, like scheduling and helping students graduate. But I think the biggest thing for us is we get to help a lot of students just reach their potential. We get a lot of students that are doing really well and also students that are not doing well and we get to help both of those kinds of students really reach the goals that they have. And that's really rewarding.
Anthony Godfrey:
What do you wish parents and students knew about school counselors?
Brent:
That our training is about the whole student. It's really focused on helping the whole student be successful. So we do have training in mental health and as school-based mental health. We also have a lot of resources and we can help students that way as well. We couldn't run groups and do individual counseling along with all of the other stuff that's really important, like looking at graduation requirements and being prepared for college and career readiness and making those plans as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for being one of those adults that has a huge impact on student lives. Thanks to our school counselors who took time out of their busy schedules to visit with us. We appreciate all the wonderful work they do for students and families stay with us. Up next, Stacee Worthen gets to lie to the Superintendent in our version of Two Truths and a Lie.
Break:
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Anthony Godfrey:
We're back, we're here with Stacee Worthen and celebrating National School Counselors Week. Happy National School Counselors Week to all the counselors out there. As I've told Stacee before, I have a soft spot in my heart for counselors because my mother-in-law was a counselor. And that's how I met my wife. She actually set us up, but she set us up two years after we'd been working together. So it was the longest job interview of my life. But at least I passed. Tell us, first of all, just very briefly about your counseling background.
Stacee:
Initially, I started as a secondary teacher. I taught history and English language arts. Then I moved into an ESL teacher coordinator and my principal said, Hey, you'd be a really good school counselor. And I took his advice. I got my Master's. I started out helping. I helped in St. George, open Desert Hills High School as a counselor there. And then I moved here, started at Sunset Ridge Middle School, and then I moved up to Copper Hills High School. And now I'm Secondary Counselor Specialist for Jordan School District.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you've been a counselor at the middle school and high school. What have you liked about being a school counselor?
Stacee:
I love everything student centered. I love learning about the whole child, learning what we can do to empower them to be the best individual they can be, learning about their strengths, their weaknesses, how we can build them up, empower them to talk to teachers, to talk to parents, to be successful. And then learning how to deal with some of their own inner issues like stress, anxiety. At the end of the day, watching them leave your school as this amazing young individual who is coming into their own or excited to experience life and what it has to offer. It's really rewarding.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with Stacee Worthen to hear her Two Truths and a Lie, her chance to lie to the Superintendent. What have you got Stacee?
Stacee:
When I was seven, I was a bucked off of a horse named Humphrey Bogart.
Anthony Godfrey:
The horse was named Humphrey Bogart. Yes. Wow. Okay.
Stacee:
I was the homecoming queen at Fairfield High School my senior year.
Anthony Godfrey:
You're giving a lot of detail in all of these. That's very deceiving.
Stacee:
Right. Okay. And my second favorite person, after husband, is my dog, Charlie.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Okay. Boy. To involve animals, but homecoming queen, I don't know. You kind of lit up when you said that. I'm going to say homecoming queen is the lie.
Stacee:
No, that is true.
Anthony Godfrey:
That is true. All right. Wow. I was right. But you were lighting up for that one.
Stacee:
It's funny, because you know who cares? It's just, there were 200 kids in my High School, so hey.
Anthony Godfrey:
So Charlie, tell me about Charlie.
Stacee:
So Charlie is actually my dog. He's a soft coated Wheaton, and he eight months old. I love him, but he's not your second favorite person? No, my dog, Sammy, who is a Havanese.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Okay.
Stacee:
He's a tiny little princess dog. My husband and I actually had that discussion just last week. Like, who's your favorite person after me? I'm like, hmm, Sammy.
Anthony Godfrey:
Does Sammy ever pass your husband up and take the number one slot?
Stacee:
Most days.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Fair enough. All right. Does he know which days those are?
Stacee:
It's pretty clear.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Thanks again to Stacee for being here to celebrate Counselors Week. We love our counselors. Stop in and say hi, or ask them to say hi to your students. And remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you.

26 min