Jordan Supercast

It is time for students and their families to relax, recharge, and have some fun together during the summer break. On this episode of the Supercast, we talk to an Intermountain Health Riverton Hospital trauma nurse on the many ways to avoid mishaps and keep everyone safe, whether it's out in the baking sun, waterside by the lake, riding Ebikes, or using child car seats. It is expert advice that can help keep everyone safe from a host of potential hazards over the summer months. Linked below are the education resources referenced during the podcast, including: Window Safety ATV Safety Car Seat Safety Spot the Tot Wear Your Helmet (Helmet Fitting Tips) Kids in Cars Falls Prevention Pathways Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They have dedicated their lives to celebrating culture, community, and academic achievement and now they've made it to graduation, getting well-earned high school diplomas. On this episode of the Supercast, meet some multi-talented Native American students who were part of an annual Jordan School District Community Night celebrating culture through traditional dance, music, a dynamic drum circle, art, and more. Hear how the Native American students hope to use their academic success to serve as a springboard for future pursuits and personal growth. Audio Transcription Student: What it means to us is it just brings us a lot of joy. It means of being part of something, being together with people of any race, whether you're Native American, Mexican, but it's just bringing together togetherness and just seeing the different diversities that you see or ethnicities. It's just really cool. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They have dedicated their lives to celebrating culture, community, and academic achievement, and now they've made it to graduation, receiving well-earned high school diplomas. On this episode of the Supercast, meet some multi-talented Native American students who were part of an annual Jordan School District Community Night, celebrating culture through traditional dance, music, a dynamic drum circle, art, and more. Hear how the Native American students hope to use their academic success to serve as a springboard for future pursuits and personal growth. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: We're here at West Jordan Middle School talking with two of our students who are part of the Native American program tonight. Introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about what this night is all about. DJ: Hello, I am DJ. I am part of the West Jordan High School Affinity Club, and I am here selling beadwork. We came here to present some of the beads that we have presented that our students or some of the people in our club have made. So all these beads or everything you see on the table that we have behind us has been made by our hands. We also came here to present to see other and just can't wait to see like the diversity we see here in different tribes. EJ Jones: Hi, I'm EJ Jones. I'm one of the members of the West Jordan Affinity Club, and yes, we are selling bracelets that are made by our wonderful students. Not only do we not just have bracelets, we also have earrings and phone chains for by wonderful students of ours that joined our club, and I'm so glad to see so many people here tonight because it's like a wonderful experience. Anthony Godfrey: What does it mean to you both to be part of the Native American Affinity Group at your school? Student: It brings us, what it means to us is it just brings us a lot of joy. It means of being part of something, being together with people of any race, being whether you're Native American, Mexican, but it's just bringing together togetherness and just seeing the different diversities that you see or ethnicities. It's just really cool and being part of that club really immerses you into a whole new world where you've never seen. You see like these different creative backgrounds between different people, different stories, and it's just wonderful to see that. Student: Yeah, it's just honestly, this club to us honestly just shows us what, that you don't have to be a Native American to join it. You can just join it to show, we can like show you what us Native Americans do and you can show us what you do just so we all can connect as one person. Anthony Godfrey: As you mentioned, anyone can be a part of the group and really it's about connecting with each other and feeling a part of the broader school. Students: Yeah, exactly. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about some of the experiences you've had through the Native American program. I know that there was a drum making class recently. What are some of the things that have happened as a result of the program and place here in Jordan? Student: So of course the drum making class, I can't put a finger on exactly a lot of the events, but I know like we've gone on a field trip sometimes to see like different like, I think it was the Natural History Museum. That was pretty fun and it's just it, and this program just brings you to like, it brings you to a whole new world. Anthony Godfrey: You mentioned the diversity of tribes here tonight. Do you know which tribes are represented? Student: Navajo is definitely a big one. I know that maybe Ute, probably Apache, Shoshone, and just like there's so many to name that I just can't keep, but there's probably quite a bit that are here tonight that are being represented and some that are wanting to shine out more. Anthony Godfrey: I think that's really exciting that so many tribes are represented and I love this program in the way that graduates are honored with a sash and just with a recognition for all of your accomplishments. How does it feel to be at this stage? You know, if this, if this represents your, your education, you're right here, you're right at the last few weeks as a senior, how does it feel to be honored tonight? Student: It feels very like, like it feels very like surreal. It just feels like it's like it just all went by so quick and it's just like being here is like, you're actually like, “oh my gosh, it's like happening.” Like it's, it just immerses you into a whole new world and you're just like, “oh my gosh, what's like, it's happening now.” It's like, you just like, it like, “where did the time go? Where did the things go?” It just flew by so quick. Anthony Godfrey: So, well it only goes by faster and faster. What's next for you? Student: Straight to college. I'm going to community college first to get my general education done. Anthony Godfrey: Do you know what you want to study beyond that? Student: I know I want to study computer science and then hopefully become a teacher. Anthony Godfrey: Wonderful. Student: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Well, we'll watch for you coming back to Jordan School District. Student: Okay then. Anthony Godfrey: All right, thanks very much for talking with us. Student: Thank you so much. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. More with the Jordan School District Community Night celebrating our Native American students. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of The Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [music] Female Voice: Does your child need the flexibility to learn from anywhere at any time, on a cruise, in another country, or simply at home cozy on the couch? The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is tailor-made for you and your family. It's personalized, dynamic virtual learning on your schedule. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is an integrated system of three schools in Jordan School District, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School, and Kings Peak High School. Our programs are designed to meet or exceed district and state core curriculum standards, ensuring your child receives a superior educational experience tailored to their needs. Join us today at JordanVirtual.org. Anthony Godfrey: Now we're going to come into the gym at West Jordan Middle School and watch some round dances with participants from across the District. Brenda Villal : Thank you so much for joining us today. I'd like to introduce myself in the traditional way that my people introduce themselves. [Native language] Brenda Villal : I just said that my name is Brenda Villal and I am born into the Salt Clan, born for the Taurine House people, and my maternal grandparents are the Edgewater people, and that is how I identify as a woman, as a mother, and as a friend. Do I have any relatives here today? Is there any? There we go. Someone is Ashia or is it Kiaani? So, welcome. Thank you so much to Ami for allowing us to come and lead this round dance. The round dance is done all over the United States and Canada and beyond. It is a social dance that is done to show community and connection. And take a look at the circle. The circle shows that all are equal. This young girl here is equal to this tall man right over there with the tie. This young girl here is equal to this person over here in the blue suit. So a circle brings everyone together in an equal place or an equal space. The round dance is a social dance. Everyone is invited to participate. We always go in a clockwise direction and we usually hold hands and we love to have everyone participate if they would like to. If there are people that don't fit in the circle, just come grab somebody's hand and we'll make the circle bigger for you so that you all get to be a part of it. [Music] [Music] Hello. My name is Brenda Villal and that's the way I identify. I am Dineh. I am born into the Salt Clan. I'm born for the Towering House people. Today or tonight we were able to experience the Native American round dance. The only dance that we have found that the eight sovereign nations within Utah, the only dance that can be done that where everyone is invited to participate. But it is important for these nations to have a Native American representative either host or lead. We write educational resources. We co-create with the eight sovereign nations to change the narrative about indigenous people here within Utah. And tonight we were able to share the Native American round dance. We were very fortunate to have a drum group by the name of Red Spirit join us here in this beautiful building for all of the children and parents and staff in Jordan School District to experience the round dance. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: We also have the Native American mentor here with us from Jordan School District Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about this program and what it involves. Steve Hawkins: Sure. I'm Steve Hawkins and I'm the high school mentor in the District for Native American students. The big goal of the program is to help students pursue their educational and vocational goals in a culturally sensitive way to help them retain a sense of culture, be exposed to their own Native culture and strengthen that within the education system. One thing you should know is these kids are scary overachievers. You'd be very proud of them, Dr. Godfrey. They, the average GPA for our Native students is 3.0. Herriman High School students have a 3.5 GPA. The Native students there, two of them have 4.0. Anthony Godfrey: Oh that's awesome. Steve Hawkins: And also so many of the students are deeply involved in the JATC like DJ, who you just met, has learned computer programming at the JATC and 10 of our students have had a fantastic experience there and prepared for careers after high school. Anthony Godfrey: How many Native American students would you say do we have at any given high school? Steve Hawkins: West Jordan and Copper Hills have quite a few, about 30 each. Our lowest number is probably at Riverton with five. So, I'd say probably the average is 15 to 20. Anthony Godfrey: To me that just makes it so much more important for you to be there to connect and make sure that in schools of thousands of students that they connect with the broader community and don't lose the sense of personal identity, and in fact, enrich their sense of personal identity. Steve Hawkins: Yeah, and that's really the goal of the program particularly like you said is identifying with their culture and continuing to connect with that. That's why we did drum making which is not just making an instrument but there's a whole discussion on the spiritual and cultural relevance of it and it was a great experience. The kids were engaged from the very start to the very end. Anthony Godfrey: On a night like this, beyond what we do as a District and the work you do as a mentor, we see the support from families and from the broader community and the donations that come in and of the booths that are here. Describe a little bit of the family and community connection that's created. Steve Hawkins: One thing you'll see when you talk Native families is they are so close. Not only the parents are inspiring their kids pushing them to educate pushing them to get educated to achieve but they're also very tied in with their aunties and their grandparents and there's this wonderful sense of family values and community among the Native Americans here as witnessed by all the people who are here. The community itself has also been incredibly supportive. We have got thousands and thousands of dollars of prizes donated from retailers in the community in support of our Native students. Anthony Godfrey: It grows every year and it's really fun. I really look forward to it this time of year. What do you love most about being a mentor for our Native American students in high school? Steve Hawkins: Oh by far the best part is just to sit down and talk with them one-on-one and find out how life is going, how school is going and hear about their plans. These kids have great vision. It's really impressive that they are so capable of expressing themselves, that they have goals, they know what they want to do and they also know where they're there as they haven't decided yet, which of course who knows at 15 right? Anthony Godfrey: Sure, sure. Steve Hawkins: But they're just they're the kind of people that give you really hope for your country and your world just talking to them. Anthony Godfrey: I love that. That's what working with youth is all about. So well thank you for everything that you do and for talking with us tonight. We have a great night ahead of us. Steve Hawkins: It's a pleasure. Thank you. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.

They are identical twins with an identical goal, getting the very best out of high school athletes on the Riverton High School girls lacrosse team. On this episode of the Supercast, meet identical twin sisters Hannah and Maddie Kelleher who recently led the Riverton High girls lacrosse team to their very first state championship title. It was a hard-fought victory that came down to the wire in overtime. But the winning didn't stop there, the team had something else to celebrate as Coach Hannah Kelleher was named the 2026 Utah USA Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year. Audio Transcription Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about this team in particular. Student: I mean it's like just such a special group. It is like how can I go and be successful for the team. Student: We all like sisters, we all support each other. Student: We just knew this year, like before the season even started all the seniors just got together. We decided like hey, let's just make this the best year ever. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are identical twins with an identical goal, getting the very best out of high school athletes on the Riverton High School Girls Lacrosse team. On this episode of the Supercast, meet identical twin sisters Hannah and Maddie Kelleher, who recently led the Riverton High Girls Lacrosse team to their very first state championship title. It was a hard-fought victory that came down to the wire in overtime, but the winning didn't stop there. The team had something else to celebrate as Coach Hannah was named the 2026 Utah USA Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: We are at Riverton High School on the field talking with two of the Riverton Girls Lacrosse coaches. Introduce yourselves. Coach Hannah: I'm Coach Hannah, I'm the head coach here at Riverton. Coach Maddie: I'm Coach Maddie, and I'm the assistant coach. Anthony Godfrey: So if you can't tell by listening to their voices, they are twins, and they are incredible. They just won, here at Riverton, the first Girls Lacrosse state title. Tell us how that feels to be part of that. Coach: Oh, I mean it feels great. Like, I mean, we told the girls because we had the privilege of doing it at Herriman when we were played over there in 2019. And it's like, I'm like, it's the best day ever. Coach: Seriously, like, it's all that hard work. It's like finally coming to fruition and to have been able to make history with this group of girls, like, I mean, it's something we've been working on for three years now. And so to have finally seen it happen, like, it's just so, so awesome. Coach: Yeah, I mean, just to add on to that awesome feeling, awesome group of girls, I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. And so it's just an awesome feeling, so exciting. And to see all the girls' hard work come like to this, it's just awesome. Anthony Godfrey: So you were players at Herriman, and you won the state title there. And in 2019, which, because it was pre-pandemic feels like prehistoric to me. That was not long after lacrosse had been sanctioned, probably. So tell me about the timeline. Coach: Yeah, so 2019, it was actually the year before it got sanctioned. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. Corch: So that was when they still had like the divisions. So you'd have Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 championship instead of having it by class. 6A, 5A, 4A. And so we were Division 1 state champions, which was awesome. Played Park City. So yeah, that was kind of this timeline there. Then 2020 is when it got sanctioned. And word on the street was we were going to go back-to-back, but we'll never know. We'll never know. Anthony Godfrey: We'll never know. I'm going to just say that you went back to back. In our hearts. In our hearts you went back to back. So tell me about the evolution of the sport since you played at Herriman the last year that it was not sanctioned. And tell me how it's grown and how it's evolved over time. Coach: I mean, I think the biggest thing that you see is there's a lot more players now. Back when it was pre-sanctioned, schools would have to kind of combine sometimes. So especially the schools up north, like it would be like Davis and Northridge. They didn't have enough to fill their two separate teams, so they would combine. And so I think with the sanctioning, it's getting a lot more girls wanting to play. Honestly, we've seen it with our team. We have basketball players wanting to come. We're having soccer players wanting to come. And initially it's like, "Oh, I just want to come do this for fun. Kind of on my off-season.“ And then they end up quitting their main sport to come play because they love it so much. So I think that's the biggest thing I've seen. Coach: Yeah, I mean, I also think the girls' game is always changing. It feels like every year we get new rules. And so, I mean, it's hard to think back to when we last played in 2019 in high school. Just again, with all those changes. But I think it's also just like a faster moving sport now with like the different rules that they've applied, which is cool to see. Right? Like it used to be a little bit odd, but now it's very free flowing and everything. Anthony Godfrey: So what are some of the rules changes that you've seen happen over the years? Coach: So it used to be on every whistle. So the refs would blow the whistle. The player who got fouled would get the ball. The refs would be like, "Okay, everybody four away." And they would individually have to be like, "No, you have to go four away. You have to keep backing up." Like you were the player who fouled. You had to come four behind. Anthony Godfrey: Four away, meaning four feet away. Coach: Four meters, sorry. Four meters. Anthony Godfrey: Four meters, okay. Coach: And it was like so slow. It was like every whistle. It was like, "Stop. Move everybody away." And then to start play again, it was like a whistle start. Then it's crazy because everybody on the field would have to stop. Like it would be whistle. Everybody stops. Everybody is like being positioned, whistle again. So it was just so slow. Like it made the game so slow. It was so choppy. So now it's like, you know, there's a whistle. They're giving the advantage. So it's just, yeah, much, much better game. Anthony Godfrey: So it's a faster-moving game, the way that they're officiating it now. Coach: Oh, yeah. For sure. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about this team in particular. Coach: I mean, it's like just such a special group. Like truthfully, like they went out there every single game. And it was never about them. It was never about their stats. It was like, how can I go and be successful for the team? We talked at the very beginning of the season, like everybody has a role. And, you know, sometimes that role is you're going to be a starter. It's going to be like you're going to be a sub. Sometimes you're going to be a bench player. You know, but like everybody has a role, and everybody is key to the success in our role. And, you know, I think a good example is that is our freshman goalie, Ellis Snow. You know, she didn't play at all that championship game. And I think sometimes it's easy to be like, “Oh, like I wasn't part of it. Like I didn't do it.”  Like it's very easy to get stuck in that mindset. But you look back to Mountain Ridge, our semifinal game, and you put her in like a little bit into that second half, and she came up with huge saves. Truthfully, we wouldn't have made it to the championship game without her. You know, and so like in Mountain Ridge, she was, she played the sub role, you know, in the championship game, she played the bench role. But like truthfully, every single girl, we couldn't have done it without any of them. And so it was just good group, good group of girls, pure hearts. Like they're just great, great girls. Coach: Yeah. And I mean, I'll add on to that. These girls, they are like, I know it's so corny, but they're like sisters. I mean, they the seniors have done a great job of making such a good like team community, a great culture here. They embrace the underclassmen as one of their own. And they just are great leaders. Like all of our seniors are just great girls, great leaders, and have done a great job getting this team to where they are, as far as culture goes and like the hard work and everything that everybody puts in. Anthony Godfrey: What are the two of you love most about coaching? Coach: I think one of two things for me, I think one, it's just so awesome to still be involved in the game. Like I am athlete at heart. Like I like to compete, and this is without playing, this is as close as I can get to still getting the wins and losses and having that competitive nature. But I think, also like I look back on my time at lacrosse and the things that I've seen from it, and like I've had some awesome, awesome coaches. And for me, it's like I want these girls to experience that. Like, I want the girls to have that state championship feeling. I want them to like, have that and just get back to the sport. And it's just been fun. Coach: Yeah, I mean, very similarly, I've had great coaches, I've had bad coaches. And for me, I want to be a great coach and give the girls that experience to have a good coach. A good coach, because I mean, a coach can definitely change your outlook on, I think, the sport as well as your experience. And so I want to give the girls the best experience possible. And you know, if I can do that by being a good coach, like I'm going to do it. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. The Riverton High Girls Lacrosse team tries to teach me how to play lacrosse. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [music] Female Voice: In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom, along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in. Offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families free of charge. You can take a class called “Blues Busters” for children feeling sad or worried. “Just Breathe” is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District School psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org. Crowd: Go, baby! Let's go! Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go! Anthony Godfrey: We're now going to talk with three of the girls on the team. Introduce yourselves. Student: ”I'm Olivia, and I'm a senior. Student: I'm Paisley, and I'm a senior. Student: And I'm Maggie, and I'm a senior. Anthony Godfrey: Paisley, did I see your dad barefoot on the sidelines during the entire time? Student: He's always barefoot on the sidelines. Anthony Godfrey: And I saw, he has two daughters, your sister is on the team as well. What was it like having your dad on the sidelines there and coaching along through the season? Student: It's kind of awesome because whenever something cool happens or something like bad happens, I'll just make eye contact with him and he'll just be looking right back at me. Anthony Godfrey: Gives you those dad vibes there, right there. Tell us about your experience winning a state championship yesterday. First of all, congratulations. But how does it feel? Student: It's crazy. It's kind of unreal, I guess. Anthony Godfrey: You're still soaking it in. Still taking it in. Student: I don't really know how to describe it. I was talking to a bunch of people yesterday after the game, and everyone was super proud of us, super giving us all sorts of congrats and stuff. They were just asking me, "Oh, I don't know. How does that feel?" And I was like, "I have no idea. This is not like anything I've ever felt." Student: Yeah, it does really feel real just because it's something that we've all wanted for so long. And we finally did it. So I don't know. It's just crazy to think about. Anthony Godfrey: You've wanted it for a long time. Tell me what the revenge tour means. I've seen it on your shirts. I heard it kind of chanted from the crowd. Which, by the way, you talked about bench players. They got the crowd going. It was really exciting to see the enthusiasm and the support from parents and from students. But tell me about the revenge tour. What does that mean? Student: Well, it's like we've always... I don't know. I can just remember from my freshman year, it was like we weren't very good, and then my sophomore year we were good and then we lost our chance, and then my junior year we had a lot of problems. It just feels like everything was building up, and we just got beat too many times. And we were like, "It's time for us to get our revenge and show everyone that Riverton is the best team in 6A and beat all of our rivals, and that's what revenge tour is." Anthony Godfrey: Well, I even talked with a senior who had been on the team last year, who was talking about revenge and was so excited to cheer you guys on. So it doesn't sound like it's revenge against anyone in particular. It's just like moving you forward and kind of reclaiming what you know you could be. Tell me about the team in general. What has this team been like? Student: It's been great. I transferred here this year, and everybody's just been so nice to me. From the first day, I felt welcomed and a part of the team. Everybody's just so great. Student: I think our team culture this year has been pretty great. Like my coach said, we are basically all like sisters. We all support each other through whatever we had to deal with this season. Student: Yeah, and we've definitely had problems with it in past years. And so we just knew this year, before the season even started, all the seniors just got together. We decided, "Hey, let's just make this the best year ever where we're all best friends and we all just feel like a family." And that was really important to us this year, and I feel like it really made a difference in the way we played as a team. Anthony Godfrey: Well, clearly it worked and you've done this together. I love watching lacrosse. I don't understand it. So you are going to teach me a little bit today. I really want to try, what is it called when you start off and you try to see who gets it? It's basically the jump ball of girls' lacrosse. What is it? Student: Oh, it's a draw. Anthony Godfrey: It's a draw. So let's grab some sticks. Let's grab the ball and let you guys are going to teach me the draw. You're going to teach me? You ready? Student: Yeah, let's do it. Anthony Godfrey: All right, let's do it. While she's getting that. So what got you started in lacrosse? Coach: My sisters, like, I don't know. I just remember them always like talking to me, like trying to convince me to like try it. And just, I finally did one year. Anthony Godfrey: And by sisters, you mean your two coaches. Student: Yes. Anthony Godfrey: We didn't point that out to those who are listening. If you're here, it's obvious. But so your sisters are the ones who started it. And did you …. what have you learned from them about lacrosse? Student: Just a lot, like I think honestly, everything like just I grew up watching them like going to like tournaments and stuff. And yeah, I don't know. I think like they're very close and like seeing them on the field working together. I think it like shows like it's like they're good teammates like to each other and to all their other teammates. Anthony Godfrey: So no wonder you want to be part of it. How about the two of you? What got you started in lacrosse? Student: I was playing soccer, and then in second grade, my friend Brittany came up to me, and she was like, come play lacrosse for me and my dad. And I was like, “OK.” And then I just have played ever since. So Brittany got me on that. Thank you, Brittany. Anthony Godfrey: Good job, Brittany. Student: What got me started was my neighbor across the street. She came over with like a little …. looked like a tennis racket before like they like evolved to the like kind of sticks we have today. But she gave me that. She was like, “come to practice.” And I went to school the next day. I got a flyer from Brittany. Student: Yeah. Yeah. Same. Anthony Godfrey: All right. It all comes back to Brittany. Student: She was like, you should come try this out. And I was like, OK. And so I just quit everything else because I liked it so much. Anthony Godfrey: Where's Brittany today? Is she playing lacrosse still? Student: Oh, yeah. She was with us yesterday. Anthony Godfrey: OK. So she's still she's still part of things. That's awesome. And you gave up your other sports. What other sports? You said soccer, Student: Soccer and volleyball. Anthony Godfrey: And volleyball. OK. Well, we're glad we're here. Now, like I said, I loved watching you yesterday, but I do not understand it. You're so you're going to teach me you were flipping this just casually like flipping it around. And I've already dropped the ball and I don't know if I can even pick it up. OK. I'm going to pick it up like this. All right. Now, flip it again for me like that. You're just flipping it casually. Student: Just for fun. Anthony Godfrey: How does it stay in there? Student: Centrifugal force. Anthony Godfrey: OK. All right. I need to spin it a little faster. All right. So show me how this starts off. You two do it and then I'll try to do it. So when you start off, it's called what now? Student: It's called the draw. Anthony Godfrey: It's called the draw. Student: So basically it's like you're going to put the two heads of the stick together. Student: Upper one-third of the stick. Student: And the ball goes in there. And you just push against each other. Anthony Godfrey: OK. Student: And then when the refs tweet, you just kind of like flip your stick. Anthony Godfrey: Somebody's going to say tweet, right? Voice: Tweet. Student: Whoo! Look at you. That's a draw win right there. Anthony Godfrey: Was that a draw win? Student: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: OK. Great. That feels fantastic. Student: That was awesome. Anthony Godfrey: You know, I like I like a sport with a stick in your hand the whole time. I'm going to toss it to you. You said you're not going to hit me, but I can't make that same promise. Here we go. Hey! That was a good catch. You kind of right …. Wow. OK. Well, I admire your skills even more after trying it out. So what's next for you? You're all seniors. What are you doing after you graduate? Student: I want to go to esthetician school, but it's a little bit TBD. Anthony Godfrey: OK. That's all right. Student: I'm going to Grand Valley State University in Michigan to keep playing lacrosse. Anthony Godfrey: Awesome. Student: I'm going to Westminster, up in Sugar House, Utah to also keep playing lacrosse. Anthony Godfrey: Congratulations on a tremendous run and a great victory yesterday. Student: Thank you. Anthony Godfrey: It was so fun to be part of that and to be there. So let's see what next year brings. Student: Yeah, for sure. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there. [music]

He was on a mission to make sure no one felt alone, left out, or without a friend at Riverton High School. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Riverton High Student Body President Seth Christensen managed to write and deliver a personal message to every one of his 2300 fellow students, hoping to make them feel seen, loved, and never without a friend to turn to. It was a labor of love that took Seth a year to complete, spreading smiles and happiness throughout the halls of Riverton High. Audio Transcription [MUSIC] Seth Christensen: If someone writes me a letter, it means the world to me. I've saved every single letter I've gotten since I was in eighth grade. I wanted to find some way that I could make every single student here at Riverton feel loved. Anthony Godfrey: How many students do we have here at Riverton? Just let everybody know. Seth Christensen: Well, at the beginning of the year, we had 2,335. Anthony Godfrey: And so you've written over 2,000 cards. Seth Christensen: Yes. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He was on a mission to make sure no one felt alone, left out, or without a friend at Riverton High School. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Riverton High student body president Seth Christensen managed to write and deliver a personal message to every one of the over 2,000 students at Riverton High, hoping to make them feel seen, loved, and never without a friend to turn to. It was a labor of love that took Seth a year to complete, spreading smiles and happiness throughout the halls of Riverton High. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: We are at Riverton High School today talking with the student body president. Please introduce yourself. Seth Christensen: Hi, yes. My name is Seth Christensen. I'm the SBO president here at Riverton and a senior this year. It's awesome. Anthony Godfrey: Seth, you are on the cusp of graduation. How does it feel to be this close to the end of your public education? Seth Christensen It is crazy. I've had many, many great memories here at Riverton. I owe Riverton so much. I owe Jordan School District so much. It's crazy to think I'm graduating, but a lot of good memories were made here and a lot of good memories are going to stay in those journals. Anthony Godfrey: Well, you've been an incredible leader. It's been really fun to watch, especially this year, the things that you've accomplished and the way that you've lifted your whole school. And that's why we're here today to talk about a particular project that a lot of people have taken interest in. It's the project where you wrote a card for every student in the school. Talk to us about that. Seth Christensen: Yeah, it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made, is taking on this project. I wanted to find some way that I could make every single student here at Riverton feel loved. I knew if I just relied on meeting and saying hi to every single person I saw, yes, it would be good and it'd be great. I do do that, but people are going to fall through the cracks, because obviously I'm not going to have a physical interaction with everyone. So these letters are the next best idea, trying to find some way to get my words of affirmation to these people. Anthony Godfrey: That's really incredible. How many students do we have here at Riverton? Just let everybody know. Seth Christensen: Well, at the beginning of the year, we had 2,335, and then we've had people join throughout the year. Anthony Godfrey: So you've written over 2,000 cards. Seth Christensen: Yes. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about the process of writing those cards. How much time did that take? You have to pace yourself. And these are handwritten cards, every one of them. Seth Christensen: Yeah, handwritten cards. All of them are personalized. They say something different. It's been awesome, because to write a personalized letter to someone, you can't not know them. So I got a book with all the names in the entire school, all the students. Started going through it, wrote letters to those that I knew. Then once I got through the book once, I now had a list of people at the school that I didn't know. A lot of them were sophomores, so I talked to my sophomore class officers. I'm like, “hey, do you know this person? How would I get to know them? What did they like doing?” and trying to track down each individual student to try to get a personal relationship with them. And it was incredible, because as I started doing that, I just started to get people at Riverton and know them on a much deeper level than I would have before. Anthony Godfrey: Is it hard to get through the hallway now, because you know so many more people than you did at the start of the year? Do you need a special pass to be a little bit late to class, because there are too many people to talk to? Seth Christensen: I wish. That saved me a lot of makeup school. But it's awesome being able to walk in the halls and say hi to each person that's coming by. Be able to call them by name, because I think just that, being able to know someone's name, means a lot to them. It meant a lot to me. This entire project was inspired because the SBO president, when I was a freshman, knew my name. And I didn't even go to the school. I wanted to help people feel that love that he helped me feel. So that's what these letters are inspired from. Anthony Godfrey: Well, it's just an example of how when you do something kind for someone, it does tend to be paid forward, and it does spread. But you have really worked hard to make sure that no one is left out, and that's particularly difficult to do. Like you said, great effort saying hi to people and getting to know people, but you have to be very intentional in order to reach the people that you don't get to know just because of your grade level or classes or activities you're involved in. Being deliberate like that and intentional is just really valuable and really impressive. Seth Christensen: Thank you. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me, you said that you wanted to make sure that everyone at Riverton felt loved. Why did you feel that need? Seth Christensen: The students at Riverton High School are the best people I have ever met in my entire life. Truly, they are some of the most inspiring people you will ever see. You know, I've seen people go through such hardships this year, and not only do they go to school with a smile, but they're carrying a weight. My goal is to help people know that not only do I love them, but I'm here to support them. And words can only go so far, but once you have a project like this that's like, "Hey, I'm willing to put in time to write you this letter. If you have an issue, come talk to me. Let's do it." And throughout this year, I've gone to a lot of counselor appointments with different people, helping people, and it's truly been incredible because I have had experiences and opportunities that I wouldn't have had any other way if I didn't get to reach out to them first. For example, I had someone come up to me and say, "Your letter came up the perfect time." Found out that their parents were getting a divorce. And I had someone else who came up and just started crying to my arms, and their sister had died of cancer the week earlier. It's just deep. I think if I didn't do these letters, actually, I don't want to think about it. I want to keep it where it is. Anthony Godfrey: Well, what I love about this is that you created this opportunity. It's not even that someone said, "Hey, you should write a card to everyone in the school." And then you decided whether that was worth your time. You care about the students, every student at Riverton, and you tried to think of a way to reach out and make sure they knew that you loved them. That's pretty incredible. Seth Christensen: Thank you, Dr. Godfrey. And if anyone knows it's you, it's like once you get to know these people, they're pretty easy to care about. They're pretty easy to be able to look them in the eye and ask them how they're doing. It's pretty easy once you understand how truly incredible they are, how blessed we are to even know them. Anthony Godfrey: Well, you're exactly right. And you've heard me say it before. I get a backstage pass in Jordan District. Is that the way I like to say it? And I get to meet lots of incredible people. And they're all incredible in their own way. The more you get to know them, the better you can understand that. This is a lesson that you're going to really benefit from for the rest of your life. But every person who received a card is going to benefit from this in a big way as well. One other thing that I love about it is that you don't have anything to gain from this. It's not like you're the student body president and now you're going to run for Supreme Chancellor and this is really going to help with the votes for you to be Emperor Palpatine or anything. It's like you're finishing your time here and you wanted to make the most of your position. You wanted to make the most of your opportunities. That's probably what I admire the most is that you've been creative about making the most of your time because too many times we look back and think, oh, there's more I could have done. You're going to have lasting friendships and even acquaintances. Aren't acquaintances a wonderful thing? Seth Christensen: They're awesome. Anthony Godfrey: Someone that you know. But maybe you don't know them deeply, but you know them and you have a connect and you've expanded that in a big way. So congratulations. Seth Christensen: Yeah, thank you so much. And I'll say it again. It's, it's just so easy to love them. It's so easy to care for these people because they make it easy. And it's just …. it just really is wonderful. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back more with Riverton High student body president Seth Christensen. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [music] Female Voice: In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families free of charge. You can take a class called “Blues Busters” for children feeling sad or worried. “Just Breathe” is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District School psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org. Anthony Godfrey: Now you say you have a few cards here that you haven't been able to connect with students. Let's hear some of the things that you wrote. Seth Christensen: Yeah, sorry if I tear up a little bit, but I can't say their names, but I'll just tell you what I wrote. I'm like, “you are so cool. I can't wait to see where you go in life and what incredible things you do. I hope you always remember that you are so loved and never forget that you are so amazing.” “I'm so glad that you have come to Riverton. You have truly entered a school of love and happiness. Never forget that you are so loved.” “You are so sick. Seriously, one of the coolest dudes. I hope that one day I can have half of the guitar skills that you have. Love you so much, man.” “I'm so grateful to go to the same school as you. You are just such a light.” “I think it's crazy we've known each other for eight years. Miss Brown knew what she was doing when she sat us next to each other on the seating chart. And it was awesome going to your 10th birthday party and being the only boy. Basically, you are incredible. Let's make some more memories.” “You are one of the funniest people I've ever met. You're going to be a stand-up comedian one day.” “You are such an exemplar to this school. You shine a light that no one can replicate. Thank you for coming to Riverton and you have truly changed so many lives.” Seth Christensen: Yeah, that's just a couple of them right there. Anthony Godfrey: That's wonderful. Tell me why you landed on cards as the way to express that caring for individuals, because handwritten cards are kind of a lost art. I write them much less than I intend to and every time it's a huge reward for me to write them. I love receiving them. But like I said, it's not as popular as it used to be by a long shot. So why did you land on this in particular? Seth Christensen: Yeah, of course. You know, I'm like you. If someone writes me a letter, it means the world to me. I've saved every single letter I've gotten since I was in eighth grade. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. I have a drawer of them in my office when I get a thank you and I keep them. I have a box of thank you's from throughout my life. So I've kept them as well. Seth Christensen: Yeah, exactly. It's like a letter is something that's substantial. It's something that you can take with you throughout your life. I know whenever I'm having a hard time and I can pull out a letter that I got from my friend two years ago where it's just talking about me and it's making me feel loved. That helps. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, yeah. Seth Christensen: That helps so much. So not only can this letter stand out because not a lot of people write physical letters anymore, but it's something that you can take with you throughout your life. Anthony Godfrey: So you told me that you started with the people that you knew and then you had a list of students that you didn't know that you weren't familiar with and worked from there. How long was this process from card one to finishing the last card? Seth Christensen: So we talked about this project as soon as school started and just kind of started working out details. Then I went to the library and asked for 2,500 copies of this card and they're like, “let's start you off with just a thousand.” And that was at the beginning of September. So that welcomed me in and we started in September and worked through it, tried to get as many as I could done before Silver Rush, our annual charity, and didn't do a lot during Silver Rush. Then once January hit, it was letters, letters, letters. It was waking up at 3 a.m. on B days and just doing letters until school. It was standing up until 3 a.m. doing letters on A days. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Seth Christensen: And it was hard. It was probably one of the hardest things I've done, but it was by far one of the most rewarding things I've done. You know, again, the opportunities that I had to bond with people that I wouldn't have never met any other way, it was just beyond worth it. Anthony Godfrey: That's remarkable. You kept up with students as they moved in and out. Seth Christensen: Well, it's been hard, you know, because once someone moves out, it's so much harder to get to them. And frankly, we don't find, we can't find a way to really get it to them. So we have this big pile of letters of people who have either graduated early or transferred because they had to move. But moving in, it's just trying to keep track of everyone who has moved in. And, you know, I still have a stack of letters. So those people who moved in, I can write them a letter. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. So you're keeping up on new students as well. Seth Christensen: Trying my best, but yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Wow. You're creating the type of school spirit that's going to require a reunion every year. People are going to want to see each other every 12 months because you've created this culture. And Riverton has had a great culture for a long time, but you have doubled down on that. It's really incredible. Did you test out different types of pens to get just the right type of pen that would write smoothly and quickly? Seth Christensen: Absolutely. The pens that I found were the Cypress Credit Union pens. So I'm not going to say how many I took from their bank, but I will say that I went through seven pens throughout the school year. Anthony Godfrey: Cypress Credit Union is one of our best sponsors. So I'm actually going to call and tell her that. She's going to like hearing that. Seth Christensen: Don't tell them it was me who took the pens. They were just right there. It was so open. Anthony Godfrey: Look, you can take a lollipop or you can take a pen and I take both. So it's good. You went through seven entire pens. Like you kept the pen, depleted it of ink and then moved on to the next one. Seth Christensen: Well, yeah, those are the ones where it's like I know I went through the entire pens. I don't know how many I went through that were like half full or half of them are in pencil. Anthony Godfrey: So it's incredible. And I'm so happy to hear about this. I'm so impressed, but not surprised because this is who you are. Who you have always been. Seth Christensen: Thank you. Anthony Godfrey: You've been …. when we were at the Silver Rush assembly, you talked about writing the speech when you were in ninth grade, planning ahead in case you had that opportunity. And then you did a whole different speech. To me, what that shows is that you plan ahead, but you also are ready to meet the moment and nobody does that better. So congratulations. Well done. Seth Christensen: Thank you so much. And honestly, I've said it before, I'll say it again. Riverton High School is one of the best in the nation. You know, I've been truly blessed even to just go here, much less be able to represent them. I will always remember the memories I made here at Riverton High School. Anthony Godfrey: Well, you've made a lot of memories yourself for others. So, thank you very much for everything you've done. And we look forward to seeing you at graduation. Seth Christensen: Yes. See you there. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today.” We'll see you out there. (upbeat music)

They have been learning together, while thousands of miles apart this year, about the rich history of Air Force Pilot Gail Halvorsen, nicknamed the “Candy Bomber” or “Uncle Wiggly Wings” from his time flying candy drops in Germany during the Berlin Airlift. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what happens when students from Berlin arrive in Utah to join West Hills Middle School students as part of their Colonel Halvorsen history lessons. It all culminated in the bonding of young minds, making chocolate bars, a moving assembly, and inspiring words from Halvorsen's daughters, words that would make “Uncle Wiggly Wings” proud. Audio Transcription Mark Sanderson: You know, the Candy Bomber was all about from small things, great things come and this event today was a manifestation of that. Daughter: We're just so thrilled that his legacy could continue because of the principles he taught. Lorraine Moore: He had no idea the power of what he started, but he spent the rest of his life sharing that. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They have been learning together, while thousands of miles apart, about the rich history of Air Force pilot, Gail Halvorsen, nicknamed the Candy Bomber or Uncle Wiggly Wings, from his time flying candy drops in Germany during the Berlin airlift. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what happens when students from Berlin arrive in Utah to join West Hills Middle School students as part of their Colonel Halvorsen history lessons. You'll hear about the bonding of young minds, making chocolate bars, an impactful assembly, and the inspiring words from Halvorsen's daughters, words that would make Uncle Wiggly Wings proud. We're talking now with Mark Sanderson, the teacher who put all of this together. What a wonderful event. Introduce yourself and talk about what inspired you to bring everyone together to commemorate Gail Halvorsen today. Mark Sanderson: I'm Mark Sanderson. I teach 8th grade at West Hills Middle School, 8th grade English. The project started really two years ago. I had been doing chocolate projects before that in connection with “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” But since I wasn't teaching “Charlie,” I thought, "Hey, like, I need something else." But also I had been collaborating with the Aggie Chocolate Factory up at Utah State. And I said, "Hey, like, we've done this a few times. Like, let's do something more ambitious, like something bigger. Like, what about the Candy Bomber?" And they said, "Yeah, he's connected to Utah State. He came here." So they really latched onto the idea and I said, "I'm gonna reach out the Candy Bomber Foundation and make sure they're okay with that. I want to make sure we're doing it legitimately." I emailed the Candy Bomber Foundation and they were like, "Yeah, totally. Let's do it." And the project has really, to me, the key of the project has been the collaboration. Everybody who's been involved with it has caught the vision of it and has made the project bigger and better. Through the foundation, we were connected with the Gail Halvorsen School in Berlin who also did the project and had their students fly out here today. So to me, it's just been the collaboration that's the big takeaway. Anthony Godfrey: What impact do you see this having on students and on the community? Mark Sanderson Hopefully it'll make projects like this more possible, like easier to do, more common to do. And we can take pride in some of our local heroes and celebrate them at our schools. Anthony Godfrey: Well, I really appreciate the creativity and the drive and the energy that you brought to this. These are the types of experiences that students will never forget. What is the personal impact on you of Gail Halvorsen's story? Mark Sanderson Well, I don't... well, ultimately I'd rather have my students remember the event than necessarily remember me or my name. If they can remember the event, to me, that's the main thing. But for me, you know, the Candy Bomber was all about from small things, great things come. And this event today was a manifestation of that. It started with a small idea and a bunch of other people joined in to make it happen, make it possible. I couldn't have done all this by myself. So I think it's a manifestation of his vision, his belief, his legacy. And hopefully our students will collaborate with others to make big things happen that are positive in our community. Anthony Godfrey: Well, today's activity, in my mind, honors what he did and exponentially extends the influence of his actions. I just really appreciate your providing such a unique and meaningful experience for these students. [band music] Anthony Godfrey: Talking with Lorraine Moore about the Gail Halvorsen Foundation, we're here waiting for the Candy Bomber event to happen. Tell us a little bit about what you do. Lorraine Moore: Wonderful. I appreciate the opportunity at the Candy Bomber Foundation. We're looking to carry on Gayle's legacy of kindness, service, education, and really bringing hope to people that need it because we all do. Anthony Godfrey: I remember that he was very active in the community, loved visiting schools, and I got to meet him when he visited, I think it was, Oquirrh Hills Middle School years ago. Lorraine Moore: Fun. And if you got the opportunity to speak to him for 30 seconds, you had a lifelong friend. Anthony Godfrey: Yes, that's right. Lorraine Moore: He's always like that. Anthony Godfrey: Yes, very friendly. Tell me about the work that your organization does. Lorraine Moore: Absolutely. Well, Gayle always felt that education is the power to create a life, and service is the power to create a life of joy for yourself and for those that you're serving. So we like to combine those two elements, and our programs are values-based STEM programs, not only teaching kids what they can do with science and education, but what good they can do, and helping them to see how important even a little bit of good, even just two sticks of gum or a parachute with a chocolate bar, how much that can do for people. Anthony Godfrey: Well, Gail Halvorsen is an incredible example of making the most of your circumstances and finding opportunities to do good, not just do what you're assigned to do, but to go well beyond that. Lorraine Moore: Way beyond that. He was very likely thought he was gonna get court-martialed for doing it, but he saw a whole generation of children that had never known anything but war, and there was just a light had gone out of their eyes, and he realized, "I can't do a lot, but if I can do a little, I can bring a little bit more light back in those eyes," and he had no idea the power of what he started, but he spent the rest of his life sharing that. Anthony Godfrey: When he did that, I'll bet he had no idea it was going to last a lifetime, and well beyond. For those who may not know, tell the story of Gail Halvorsen and what he did. Lorraine Moore: He grew up here in Utah, so he is a local hero. He was serving in the Berlin airlift as one of the cargo pilots, bringing in food and fuel and all of the supplies that Berlin needed to survive after the war, and when they would unload the planes, the pilots would want to get out, stretch their legs, and him just being a people person, the first thing he loved to do is go talk to the people at the fence of the airport, and usually it was young kids. A group of them there loved meeting the American pilots. He loved that he could help these kids realize that planes flying into their airport didn't mean bombs. It meant someone was here to help, and that meant a lot to him, and so one day he was at the fence and he just really felt inspired. These kids needed a little something more. He reached in his pocket and all he had was two sticks of gum. He thought two sticks of gum and 30 kids, I'm gonna start a riot. He was so worried, yeah, but he just knew he had to do it, so he gave the gum to the kids, and instead of fighting over it, they broke it into the smallest pieces they could break it into, and the kids who didn't get gum smelled the wrapper. Double mint gum. It's become the smell of freedom all over the world, and for them they knew that was the smell of freedom, and they asked him, "Don't give up on us. We can do without food for a while, but if you guys give up on us, we'll lose our freedom, and we'll never get it back," and it just really put a fire in his heart to do more to help these kids, so he told them he'd come back and he'd bring them more candy. He went that night and got everyone's candy bar rations and everyone's handkerchiefs and tied parachutes and made these parachutes with the candy. The kids asked him, "How will we know it's you because there's a hundred planes coming in every hour and we don't know who you are," so he told them he'd wiggle his wings, and that's how he got the name Uncle Wiggly Wings, and so a legend was born. Anthony Godfrey: I didn't know that part. I didn't know that part. That's cool. Lorraine Moore: Yep, he loved that. That was one of his favorite nicknames. Anthony Godfrey: And how many candy runs did he make? Lorraine Moore: I don't know how many runs, but by the time they were done, they had dropped almost 10 million pounds of candy. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Well, thank you so much for being here, and let's join the ceremony. Lorraine Moore: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. We continue to celebrate Gail Halvorsen at West Hills Middle School. Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. Female Voice: Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District, we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org. Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with Gail Halvorsen's two daughters who were here for the ceremony today. Thank you so much for being here. Daughter: Thank you. It's a privilege. Daughter: Happy to be here. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about some of these events and what it's meant to carry on this legacy over the years both while your father was alive and now as you as you continue to talk about his life and his story. Daughter: Well it's a wonderful thing. We've been to many events like this with him both in Germany and here in the States. Candy drops, school visits, auditoriums full of kids and he always had them captivated and we're just so thrilled that his legacy could continue because of the principles he taught. Anthony Godfrey: I was lucky enough to meet him when he visited one of the schools here in Jordan School District and it was very inspiring. Everyone was really changed by that. Tell me what are some of the types of events that you've attended over the years and that he's attended over the years that have commemorated and extended the influence of his Candy Bomber days. Daughter: Well he dropped candy at all of our children's elementary schools and spoke at the in the auditorium; spoke about freedom and the importance of freedom and the children at the fence how they were so impressed. He was so impressed with him because they wanted freedom more than food. Because of that and he saw their gratitude he wanted you to do something nice for them and dropped from candy so he's been in schools he's been in many flyover candy drops in Sarah Park. People remember that just all over the country. Daughter: In Germany and Berlin they have an airlift memorial there and every May 12th they have a service and ceremony and I remember one particular year there they had a flyover in the original airplane C54 that he flew and they dropped candy. That might have been for the 50th or they always have a really big thing on the 50th, 55th, 60th and so on. Anthony Godfrey: Wow that's amazing. So when you were growing up did the candy flow freely in your home or was it restricted? Daughter: Gum did. We had a gum jar. The gum was there. Anthony Godfrey: Just like the two sticks of gum that started it all. Daughter: Honestly I didn't know my dad was the Candy Bomber until I was in high school. Anthony Godfrey: Oh how did you discover that your dad was the Candy Bomber? Daughter: I had to write a report and he told me a story what happened to him during the airlift and that's kind of when I found out about an experience flying into Berlin. Anthony Godfrey: What did your teacher say when you turned that in? Daughter: They probably knew before I showed up. Anthony Godfrey: Did you at least get an A on the project? Daughter: I don't remember. Anthony Godfrey: I'm sure you did. I'm sure you did. And when did you discover that your dad was the Candy Bomber? Daughter: I was also in high school. So I remember one summer we were living in California and he was invited to Berlin for the 40th anniversary of the end of the airlift and then when he came back he told us about all the things that happened. They had a candy drop at the Temple Hall airbase. They had thousands of people that would come to that and he signed autographs and sat in his airplane and showed us pictures of all this so that's when I started thinking “oh”. Then when we moved to Berlin in 1970 and he was commander there we met many of the people that had been alive during that time. They're so full of passion and gratitude. They're just speaking to him with tears coming down their faces. Their whole lives they've strived to serve and give back. We still are communicating with one another. Anthony Godfrey: It's an honor to meet you both. Thank you for sharing those stories and for being here. I'm sure these students will never forget it. Daughters: Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity. Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with one of the German students who came to visit West Hills as part of the Candy Bomber event today. Tell us your name and tell us a little bit about why you're here. Student: I am Bayam and we are here because we won an art competition. We had to design a chocolate wrapper and yeah. Anthony Godfrey: So you designed the chocolate wrapper for the chocolate that was created for this event to be given to the students as part of this commemorative event for Gail Halvorson but you go to the Gail Halvorson school. Tell me a little bit about that. Student: Well the school has many well we have our signature speech. It's I don't really know it anymore like right now because we have it in German and we do have a picture of him, a drawn portrait, in black and white in our auditorium so we do honor him a lot and he really didn't want to be famous but he just made a small act and is now very very known for that small act. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about the design that won you a trip to come visit us. Student: My design was I had a text it was a small rhyme I don't really know anymore but I also had the Berlin TV tower and a bit of the Berlin Wall on it. Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Nice. Well, your English is excellent we're so glad to have you here and it meant a lot to have you and your friends and your teachers here visiting us. It really made it an important event for us so thank you for being here. Student: I'm honored to be here. Thank you. Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with the chocolate designer and the chocolatier. Is that the right term? Student: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. Not a Mouseketeer a chocolatier. It has the same exciting feeling. So tell me about your design and what the contest was. Student: Yeah so the contest was about who can make a chocolate bar inspired by Gail Halvorson and kind of you know market it and make a good design that represents it. Anthony Godfrey: As part of the ceremony we heard your description of why you chose the elements of the chocolate bar that you did. Talk to us about that. Student: So when I made the chocolate bar, it was kind of a cartoon idea at first not supposed to be real so I want everything to have a meaning and represent something more important, so I had caramel for its comfort and like classic and then milk chocolate because it's sweet just like Gail Halvorson's act, and then I had the honey to represent kindness. Anthony Godfrey: Have you tried the chocolate bar? Student: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: How did it turn out? Student: It's actually really good. Anthony Godfrey: I bet it is. Now let's talk with our chocolatier who helped support this. Introduce yourself and tell us about this project. Grant Fryes: Yeah, my name is Grant Fryes. I'm the co-owner at Taste Artist and Chocolate Down in Provo and yeah Mark connected with me first and introduced the idea of having this competition and us kind of taking the role of bringing these ideas to life and I just immediately got excited you know letting the students just take the creative reins and then just turning that into something delicious and yeah, they did a great job. Anthony Godfrey: We really appreciate your support. Our German visitors went and visited this morning came down there and took a little tour. Grant Fryes: Yeah they actually made their own chocolate bar. Anthony Godfrey: They made their own chocolate bars. Fantastic. I wanted to come for that part. I just had meetings I couldn't get out of. Tell us about the results. How did the chocolate bar turn out? You're the chocolate expert. Grant Fryes: Yeah, no they really I was excited when the ideas the finalists were chosen, and they sent the ideas over because I immediately knew both of these are gonna be incredible. Ryan's idea was I saw it come in and we normally don't do fillings in our bars. We usually try to keep just solid bars. His came in and I was like no, that has to be a filling in the middle of the bar. So that was a fun fun adventure for us to make our first filled chocolate bar. Anthony Godfrey: Breaking all the rules. Making this delicious bar with Ryan. And so thank you for doing that and for supporting us in that effort. Tell us a little bit more about your business. Grant Fryes: Yeah, so we're what we what you call bean-to-bar chocolate. So we import the raw cocoa beans ourselves from all over the world and do the whole process from scratch. And then attached to the factory, we have a little cafe where we do afternoon tea service and little light lunch menu. Lots of desserts obviously with the chocolate. Anthony Godfrey: Sure. Grant Fryes: And kind of showcase chocolate from not just our factory but around the world as well. Anthony Godfrey: Thank you so much for being here. Grant Fryes: Absolutely. Anthony Godfrey: I'll be stopping by. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today.” We'll see you out there. [MUSIC PLAYING]

She is a high school student determined to pursue her dreams, and never let a disability get in the way of her drive to success. On this episode of the Supercast, meet Mountain Ridge High School junior Linda Boequi who was recently crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026. Hear how finding success in the competition is helping Linda and others explore their passions, in and outside of school, with pride, purpose, and power. Audio Transcription Teacher: Becoming Miss Amazing Teen has given her the opportunity to have more confidence with advocating. Linda: My advice is that it doesn't matter what challenges you have. We are all different, but everyone deserves to be happy and go after their dreams. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: On this episode of the Supercast, meet Mountain Ridge High School sophomore Linda Boequi, who was recently crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026. Hear how finding success in the competition is helping Linda and others explore their passions in and outside of school with pride, purpose, and power. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: We're here at Mountain Ridge High School to talk about the Miss Amazing Teen Pageant. Go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us about, tell us a little bit about why we're here. Teacher: Hello, I'm Alexis Sway. I'm one of the special education teachers at Mountain Ridge High School, and I get to work with Linda, who won the Miss Amazing Teen Utah Pageant this year, back in March. Anthony Godfrey: Linda, thank you for talking with us today. Tell us, what is the Miss Amazing Teen Pageant and how did you get involved? Linda: Miss Amazing is a wonderful program that helps girls build confidence. When I first got involved, I was so nervous, but at the same time, I was very excited to be part of it. Teacher Do you remember how you heard about the pageant? Linda: No, I never hear before. When my mom, she was with me doing a dub during a cheer, inclusive cheer. I hear about it is very, like, my first time to hear, so I'm dancing to do my passion and to link those ideas, to pass through my, my in progress to know my future, what is it? Anthony Godfrey: Tell us more about what your role was in helping support Linda in applying for this and being part of this competition. Teacher: Yeah, so we actually had a former student here at Mountain Ridge. Their family started Adaptive Arena in Bluffdale. It's an awesome facility where they provide sports, dance, and gymnastics opportunities for students and cheer with disabilities. That way they can be included in those opportunities, and it was through Adaptive Arena that Linda found out about the Miss Teen Pageant. And so we really just appreciate that parents reach out and share that information for us as teachers to share with our students and their families so they can know about these resources in the community. This year, when Linda came to school one day, and was telling us that she's going to be in this pageant, and she tells the dates when the competitions were coming up and what she was doing to prepare for it. We just got to cheer her on, and we're so stoked when she came back to school with her sash and tiara, saying that she won Miss Teen. Miss Amazing, right? Anthony Godfrey: You have the sash and tiara on now. Do you ever take it off? Linda: It depends on the place where I can take to use my crown and sometimes I tell some teacher if I can use my crown or some other place to have like a band or cultural evemt. I pull my crown and my sash to know everyone, to know about me, to follow me, and to know about more some people and to have fun. Teacher: Did you wear it at the lacrosse game this week? Linda: Yes, I put because from the last week it was my birthday on April 3rd, and the same time was on Lacrosse Day and then I saw a friend, she was doing lacrosse and I was hoping to. So she was like doing great, and her whole team did great, and then this time did like the girls gym, did it so well. I'm so proud of her. Anthony Godfrey: What was going through your mind when you were crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026? Linda: I couldn't believe it. I still think about the crown in my head all the time. It's made me so excited to use my title to do great things in my future. Anthony Godfrey: Now I've heard that you did a dance for the talent portion. Can you tell us about the dance that you performed for the talent competition? Linda: Yes, dancing is my passion. So it's a feel great. I perform a fun mix of ballet and hip hop all put together to music from the movie Tangle. Speaking of which, I have a hip hop performance today May 5th at my school auditorium. I would love to invite you and all your listeners to come and see it. Anthony Godfrey: That's fantastic. So you can do ballet and combine it with hip hop? Linda: Yes. Anthony Godfrey: I can't do either one of those things, much less do them together. So that's awesome. The Miss Amazing program, from what I understand, focuses on confidence, like you said, and self-advocacy. How has participating in the program helped you see yourself now and see yourself in the future. Linda: The program gives me a lot of confidence because of it. I believe in my future. I want to keep taking dance classes and focus on my passion for dancing one day. Anthony Godfrey: Wonderful. If there's one piece of advice you could give other students who are looking for the confidence to pursue their dreams, what would that be? Linda: My advice is that it doesn't matter what challenges you have. We are all different, but everyone deserves to be happy and go after their dreams. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about Linda in class. Teacher: Linda is very sweet and very motivated to be independent and work hard. She strives to be the best student that she can be. She puts her head down and gets right to work. She asks for help when she needs it. Becoming Miss Amazing Teen has given her the opportunity to have more confidence with advocating, too. That's something we've worked on a lot with Linda, is asking for help, not being afraid to ask teachers to use translation tools or for more clarification if she's not getting something. I've really seen that bloom this year with her advocating for herself. She works really hard, and she's very friendly. Anthony Godfrey: Tell us about what you teach here. Tell us about your job. Teacher: I'm one of our three self-contained support classroom teachers here at Mountain Ridge. Anthony Godfrey: For those who don't know what that is, describe that, please. Teacher: It's a special education class. It's students who have moderate to severe disabilities who need more time in a special education class. I have a unique position where I get to work with the students who can handle being fully mainstreamed into their classes, but they still need a home base and to have an aide or a peer tutor with them. I get to manage the peer tutors and the aides that work with the students and support them as their home base, helping them with emotional regulation and executive functioning skills. Anthony Godfrey: Describe how that peer tutor program works. Teacher: We have students. It's just open for any student. They can select it as an elective during arena scheduling. We do a training at the beginning of the year, and we definitely rely on spreading awareness and having peer tutors try and recruit friends that they think would be good peer tutors too. So they get to be paired up one-on-one with a student with disabilities and help them in their classes by staying on task and getting the academics done. Anthony Godfrey: It's an important program for everyone involved. Thank you for running that and teaching that. It's a great support to our students. Teacher: Thank you. I enjoy it. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. Linda teaches me some Samba dance moves and I do my best to learn them. Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. Female Voice: Does your child need the flexibility to learn from anywhere at any time on a cruise in another country or simply at home cozy on the couch? The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is tailor made for you and your family. It's personalized dynamic virtual learning on your schedule. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is an integrated system of three schools in Jordan School District. Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Our programs are designed to meet or exceed District and state core curriculum standards, ensuring your child receives a superior educational experience tailored to their needs. Join us today at jordanvirtual.org. Anthony Godfrey: What do you love most about dancing? Linda: Dancing is like …. for like you like it something like want to go your future for your graduation. So when I was a kid I was dancing from ballet club and then this is could be one day dance teacher. And then I moved to here in United States like four years ago. And then this is could change my life. And then now with me the Miss Amazing pageant changed all my life. So I can like help the kids teach them how to dance work, how it's easy or hard for them. And then could be fun is like I'm like my dance teacher. I love dance. I love like everything like music and dance, type of dance. I love my passion. Teacher: When I got to teach our class some of the Brazilian dances that she used to do back in her home country. Anthony Godfrey: Oh wow. Super fun. Yeah. Do you think you can teach me a Brazilian dance? Linda: Yeah for sure. Some steps is like easy and like I have….. Anthony Godfrey: So you're saying it has to be easy for me to be able to do it. Is that what you mean? Linda: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. I think that's fair. I think that's fair. Show me what we got. Linda: It's kind of like a Samba one. Do you know like Samba? Anthony Godfrey: That means nothing to me. I don't Samba. Linda: Salsa? Samba. Anthony Godfrey: Samba. Linda: So like one. Anthony Godfrey: One. And I do this so I take one step forward with the right and I do this with my arms. Anthony Godfrey: So like one back first. Anthony Godfrey: Kind of like I'm punching. Linda: Right. Anthony Godfrey: One kind of punch alternate. Linda: Back first and then to the left. Anthony Godfrey: And then left. Same thing. Okay. Linda: And then go back third. He's like, one. Anthony Godfrey: Oh turn my heel out on the right. Okay. Linda: And then its like one two three. Okay. Anthony Godfrey: That one two three was not as easy as one two three. Teacher: That was your ankle. Anthony Godfrey: So tell me the one two three again. Linda: So one. Anthony Godfrey: Step out. Step back. Two. Linda: Two. Three. Anthony Godfrey: Step forward again. Okay. Linda: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: So that was easier when it's slow. Anthony Godfrey and Linda: One. Two. Three. Anthony Godfrey: All right. Linda: And then we're going to twist like your left. Anthony Godfrey: Twist out. Linda: And then you do like. Anthony Godfrey: Twist back. Linda: Like shaking. Anthony Godfrey: Shaking. All right. I'm shaking. I'm shaking. Linda: Twist your left again. Anthony Godfrey: Twist the left out. Linda: Together. Anthony Godfrey: Together. Oh all right. Linda: And then you do back. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. It's a lot of twisting and shaking. Linda: Shaking. Teacher” I'm just wondering what the harder dances are like. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. If this is the easy one. I'm glad I'm not trying the hard one. Linda: So first, let's stay on this one. I like to do like one two three. One two three. Anthony Godfrey: I'm trying to do it with her for those listening. I'm a half step behind at least. Okay. Why don't you do it full speed the way you would do it. And I'll stand beside you and do a terrible job of trying to keep up. How's that? Okay. I'll give it my best. Here we go. Go ahead. Do what you would do. Linda: One. Two. One. Two. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. It's the moving and the twisting at the same time. Linda: One, two, three. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. So like...  Outstanding. Linda: One, two... Wait. I like it so much. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. That's okay. That's good. Thank you very much. That's more dancing than I've learned in a long time. Congratulations on being crowned Utah Miss Amazing Teen 2026. I hope you enjoy your reign. And I'm impressed with how much progress you've made in the four years you've been here and the dancing that you've learned your whole life. And just... I'm very impressed and very pleased to get to meet you and to see your skills and actions. So good luck tonight and good luck with everything in the future. Linda: Thank you. If you want to follow me on Instagram or Facebook, too, to follow me to see about more, to go in some of the life I'm doing and to do like something I wrong, sometimes my back, what is the back of the crown I'm doing? Or is like right now in school? My mom, she's helped me for doing this Miss Amazing. I'm so happy she helped me for this Miss Amazing to go on July for nationals. And then I can't wait to do, and everyone cheer on for me. Anthony Godfrey: Good luck at the next level. Good luck with the dance tonight and with everything you're doing, I'm sure you're going to be successful. And it's a real pleasure to meet you and to see your talents. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there. [MUSIC PLAYING]

They are spreading kindness and enhancing a positive culture at Daybreak Elementary School. The school even celebrates student kindness with a big parade through the happy halls of Daybreak once a month. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Isaac Broadbent, school counselor at Daybreak and a former Daybreak student himself, has stepped in, revamping school wide expectations, and together with the support of teachers, is making kindness rule number one. The work has earned Daybreak a national Kind School designation. Audio Transcription Isaac Broadbent: Through this program, Teach Kind, we were able to go through each grade and teach a variety of lessons centered on kindness and how that looks like, how that sounds like, and how that feels, and the impact it can have. Student: I think kindness is important because it makes people feel noticed and wanted, and it just makes people feel like they're proud. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are spreading kindness and enhancing a positive culture at Daybreak Elementary School. The school even celebrates student kindness with a big parade through the happy halls of Daybreak once a month. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Isaac Broadbent, school counselor at Daybreak and a former Daybreak student himself, has stepped in revamping schoolwide expectations and, together with the support of teachers, is making kindness rule number one. The work has earned Daybreak a national Kind School designation. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: We are at Daybreak talking with the school counselor, Isaac Broadbent, about a kindness initiative that's been happening here at the school. But first, talk to us a little bit about yourself. Isaac Broadbent: My name is Isaac. I am a school counselor here and I've been a school counselor for about three or four years. I started here, and then I stayed because it's so amazing. And, fun fact, I actually used to attend the school when it was first built. Anthony Godfrey: And what grade did you... How old were you when you came? Isaac Broadbent: Fifth and sixth grade. So, when it first opened up, they pulled us from Rose Creek to help populate it a little bit because Daybreak wasn't as built out as it was back then. Anthony Godfrey: Right. Yeah. Isaac Broadbent: And so, I was a student here and there were some familiar faces that were around as well. Anthony Godfrey: Some of the teachers are still here that were there when you were in fifth grade. Isaac Broadbent: Correct. Yep, correct. There's actually, I think, four. Yeah. Four of them. So, it was kind of cool to have a full circle where I was a student. And then, lo and behold, I'm working here with some familiar faces from back then. Anthony Godfrey: And how has the school changed? First of all, it seems a lot smaller now, right? Isaac Broadbent: It's a lot smaller. I remember this was a gigantic place when I was a student. Anthony Godfrey: That's right. That's right. Isaac Broadbent: But no, it's really great because obviously I'm biased. I really like this school because I used to go here. And it's great to be able to help it become a better place because the whole reason why we kind of want to focus on kindness is that in our MTSS meetings and leadership meetings, we were realizing that there's just a lot of meanness going on. Every school has their bullying instances, but there's just a lot of overall just meanness, just one-off jabs and things like that. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Isaac Broadbent: And so, through a process, we revamped our entire school system with our big three rules and number one is being kind. And we really tried to push that as much as we could. And so, with this year particularly, we doubled down on kindness and through this program, Teach Kind, we were able to go through each grade and teach a multiple, I guess I should say, a variety of lessons centered on kindness and how that looks like, how that sounds like, and how that feels, and the impact it can have. And then we were able to wrap it all up with a huge school-wide initiative that included snowflakes, actually. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about the snowflakes. Isaac Broadbent: Yeah. So, as part of this program and this designation, we had to, after we focused everything on kindness throughout the school year, we had to wrap it up with a school-wide project. And that project was, each student was able to get cutouts of a snowflake, and they would write down what they did as an act of kindness for someone else. And then I would periodically go by week after week and collect those and then hang them in a main hallway that we have. Anthony Godfrey: So, these how large are the snowflakes? About the size of the palm of your hand? Isaac Broadbent: Yeah, exactly. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. Isaac Broadbent:And we had hundreds of them. Anthony Godfrey: Larger than actual size. Isaac Broadbent: Large, exactly. Yep. And we wanted to kind of have that visual effect so everyone in the school could see how kindness was falling over. Anthony Godfrey: Some things were snowballing. Isaac Broadbent: Exactly. And that's a good way to put it. Anthony Godfrey: Nice. Isaac Broadbent: And so, we had hundreds of those, right, get submitted throughout that time window, and they were all out there on display for a while. And then we were able to submit for the Kindness designation and luckily, we were able to get that award. Anthony Godfrey: What organization gave the award? Isaac Broadbent: Oh, yes. It's the Teach Kind program. And so, it's a national program and we were able to get nominated as a Teach Kind school, one out of 32 in the nation. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Isaac Broadbent: And so, it was really cool. Anthony Godfrey: That's fantastic to have that designation. That's wonderful. So, what are some of the other things that you did with students to help motivate them and not just motivate, but to highlight the great things that they were doing to focus on kindness? Isaac Broadbent: Yeah, absolutely. So, what I would do is I would go in and push into every class, every grade level, and have different presentations and lessons based on kindness. Anthony Godfrey: So, it's not just, "Hey, everybody, be kind," but it's, "This is what kindness looks like. These are some specific things you can do to be kind and some things you can avoid in order to be kind." Isaac Broadbent: Yes, exactly. We did a deep dive. I even, with one of those lessons, shared the science behind kindness and the psychology that goes into that because it's the only thing in this world that doubles when you share it. And there's nothing else that does that in the economy, in the world, nothing like that. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Isaac Broadbent: We just really focused in on that. And since it was such a high priority, we had a lot of momentum going. And so, we had a lot of those students being kind and then filling out those snowflakes. And since we had so much momentum, we decided to keep it going even though the submission deadline had passed and we were waiting to see if we got the award or not. We moved forward with this kindness initiative with the challenge of looking for kindness or writing it down and sending that to those individuals who are being exceptional. Anthony Godfrey: Now, I've heard about a kindness parade. Is that right? Isaac Broadbent: Yes. Yeah, so we have, yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Explain that to the folks. Isaac Broadbent: Absolutely. Yes. So, that's actually one of the things that we revamped at our school with our leadership team is we have something called an MVP parade. And so, a teacher gets to nominate an MVP for the month who has shown exceptional kindness and looking out for others. Since then, we've actually modified it to match up with different elements of A Portrait of a Graduate to be aligned with the District. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, I love to hear that. Isaac Broadbent: And so, yeah, we've kind of modified it since then but initially, we were just focusing on kindness. And so, for a couple of the parades, it was just only kindness, who has been a leader and outstanding in kindness. And then, on the first Friday of the month, we would call all the families together of the MVP kids and they would re-line the halls of the school as well as the rest of the school and the students. And then, we would get them all together, we'd line them up in the office and then we would make a lap around the entire school while everyone's just cheering them on. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Isaac Broadbent: For a good like 10, 15 solid minutes just like a huge spotlight on them. Anthony Godfrey: Great. So, the MVPs walk through all the halls, one from each class, with the entire school cheering them on. Isaac Broadbent: Yes. Lots of clapping, lots of cheering. Everyone's chanting, "MVP, MVP." So, it's really wonderful to have that spotlight on the students. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. I don't remember being cheered by 600 people in elementary school. That's got to be quite a good feeling and I love that this reaches students from five years old to 12 years old. This is a wide range, so you really have to adapt your kindness lesson to the classroom you're visiting. Isaac Broadbent: Yep. Exactly. Yeah. And modify that so that way each student can grasp it. And then, more importantly, implement it. Anthony Godfrey: And what changes have you seen at the school as a result of these efforts? Isaac Broadbent: Well, we've actually got like hardcore data showing that our overall sense of belongingness is increasing with the Panorama data that we administer. We've also had an up...well, actually, I should say that we've had an uptick in all five areas of social-emotional learning. And it's been cool to see that actual data being transferred over from the interventions that we're doing. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, wonderful. Well, before this interview, I knew how important the counselor role has become in our elementaries. I walk in and people say, "Don't take our counselor ever." We love having that role. We love having that position. And it just...this is further evidence of the huge, positive, school-wide impact that our counselors have and that you in particular are having here at Daybreak. So thank you for all those efforts. Isaac Broadbent: Well, thank you because, you know, like I said, I am biased, but I really love this school. And we have some amazing students and phenomenal staff. Anthony Godfrey: Now, I understand that you are a Jordie Award winner. Tell the listeners about what that means. Isaac Broadbent: Absolutely, yeah. The Jordie is a super awesome award. I was actually very surprised to have received it. Really, really cool because what happens is the Counseling department and all the counselors will get together and they'll nominate certain counselors throughout the District that they feel deserve to have the Counselor of the Year Award. And then it's the counselors that will vote on who they want to designate it to. And so that's why I say it was kind of a big surprise and really humbling because the Counseling department, as you know, we have phenomenal counselors. Anthony Godfrey: We do. Isaac Broadbent: And it's like I've learned so much from them and it's, I don't know, it was just a really cool experience. Anthony Godfrey: Well, congratulations. This is momentum that's going to continue for a long time. So thank you for everything that you're doing. And this is really exciting. Stay with us. When we come back, we'll talk with students who are members of the Student Council who have been working to make kindness the main goal at Daybreak Elementary School. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [music] Sandy Riesgraf: Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @Jordan District. We can't wait to connect. Anthony Godfrey: We're at Daybreak Elementary School now talking with two students who are part of the Kindness Initiative. Please introduce yourselves, tell us what grade you're in, and then let's talk about your involvement. Cooper: I'm Cooper, I'm in sixth grade. Mara: And I'm Mara, and I'm also in sixth grade. Anthony Godfrey: Tell us about the Kindness Initiative and some of the things that you did as students to help move that along. Student: Well, first of all, we had to help promote it, basically. Otherwise, people wouldn't know about it or anything. Anthony Godfrey: And are you on Student Council or student government? Is that part of why you were involved? Student: Yeah, we were involved through Student Council. We were both in it. Anthony Godfrey: And what is your role on student government? Are you attorney general or what? Student: We don't really have roles, but we manage the huddles, the fundraisers. Through the Tyler Robinson Foundation Coin Wars, we manage that. Anthony Godfrey: Nice. Who won the Coin Wars, by the way? Student: I think it's still going. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, it's still going. Oh, okay. Yet to be determined. Student: Yeah, like two left. Anthony Godfrey: And what are the huddles? Student: So the huddles, we have a monthly theme for MVPs, and we kind of go over that and then all of the new announcements around our school. And in those huddles, we also talk about our fundraisers, like the Coin Wars, and where all that money is going to. Anthony Godfrey: So tell me your involvement in making sure people knew about the kindness initiative and promoting kindness in the school. What are some of the things you did as members of the Student Council to help promote that? Student: We all helped in, like we have a slideshow for the huddles. We would have the main theme of the huddle, and then we'd put away like a slide or two to promote the kindness challenge, like the kindness cards. And another way we were involved is we have meetings every Wednesday before school, and we've been sorting the cards, figuring out like where this card came from, who it goes to, and then we deliver the kindness cards. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me more about the cards. Student: I thought it was really cool seeing all like the nice cards to each other, and it's kind of just explaining something that someone did kind to you, and then it gets delivered. And then at the end of the kindness challenge, we sorted them all out, and the reward was a prize for the class who put in the most kindness cards. Anthony Godfrey: So if you received kindness from someone or were treated kindly, then you reported that by using the card that was delivered to the person who was kind, and that sounds like it had kind of a snowball effect, and more and more people were kind because you were pointing it out, you were noticing it. Tell me, it sounds like you have a pretty busy schedule on Student Council. How did the school change as you focused on kindness? How did students' attitudes change? Student: Well, I used to be like bullied like a bunch, but I feel like ever since that's been a little less, and I don't know if that's just me being less dumb or something. But I can tell like a difference ever since we've done the cards and stuff. Anthony Godfrey: Well, I think people notice things differently sometimes when you're focusing on it. Like if you need to buy a car, all you see is car commercials, and if you're looking for kind acts, I think you reflect on what you're doing, and you notice the good things other people are doing that you might have overlooked before. Tell me more about what impact you have seen in the school after focusing on kindness. Student: In the past two assemblies, we've talked about doing 20% more kindness, and I think as a whole student council and as the teacher staff, we've seen a lot of change and just basic more kind around the school during recess and all those fun activities. Anthony Godfrey: How many kindness cards have you seen? Just give me an idea of the number given. How many students do we have here at Daybreak? Isaac Broadbent: We've got over 600. Anthony Godfrey: Over 600. So how many kindness cards have you seen coming through? Do you know that number? Student: Over 1,100. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. That's a whole lot of kindness, and I think that's really exciting. Tell me some of the specific acts of kindness that you've been aware of, either observing it or seeing it on some of the cards. Student: So sometimes they will be specific. It's like he helped me pick up my pencil case after it spilled, but sometimes they feel kind of shy knowing we're like sorting out and I think it's going to be like, oh, this is embarrassing. So there's like, blank did a nice thing for me today. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, that's nice though that you allow them. It can be a little generic if they don't want to get too personal about things. That's good. What do you remember? Student: I remember, like I said, a lot of like recess comments because we also have a Buddy Bench here at our school, and I feel like that's honestly helped a little bit. Just noticing people feeling left out and just inviting more people to play with each other at recess. Anthony Godfrey: For those who don't know what a Buddy Bench is, can you describe it? In the 70s it was called a Nobody Bench, but the Buddy Bench is much better. Student: So the Buddy Bench is basically, it's a bench outside and it's by our playground, and if you're ever feeling left out or just like lonely, you can go sit on there. And then I know a lot of the times I look over at the Buddy Bench and see if anybody's sitting over there, and you kind of just like go over there and treat yourself and like try to become friends and just invite them to more things to try to make them feel more included. Anthony Godfrey: Do you find that people use the Buddy Bench? You'll look over there and see somebody sitting there? Student: Yes, I know one of my friends that I've made from the Buddy Bench, we hang out at recess, and we play tag sometimes, and I feel like it just creates more friendships. Anthony Godfrey: That's really exciting. I love hearing that it's not just a chance to solve something in the moment, but you remain friends. You've made a friend because of the Buddy Bench. Tell me, why do you think kindness is important? Student: Kindness is really important because if someone is just feeling really bad, sometimes really bad things can happen, and even that it is just not good to feel sad and bad. So with kindness, it's basically like, I want to say weapon, but it's something that gets rid of it. Anthony Godfrey: You get to fight loneliness and sadness. Student: I think kindness is important because it makes people feel noticed and wanted, and it just makes people feel like they belong. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, I like that, noticed. And if you feel noticed, I think you can accomplish great things. So the two of you are an important part of a school-wide effort, and it really comes from students. Adults try to help make that happen, but students are key to all of that, being successful. So thanks for serving on the Council and for talking with me today. I think that's awesome because you're doing great things. It's fantastic. Student: Yeah, thanks for having us. Student: Yep, I enjoyed this interview. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there. [music]

They are getting top notch on-the-job training by industry professionals while still in high school. On this episode of the Supercast, hear from some high school students themselves about all the benefits of internships offered in Career and Technical Education or CTE. Find out how internships allow juniors and seniors to have fun doing what they love, while exploring career paths, building professional networks, gaining industry-recognized skills, and earning high school credit. Audio Transcription Teacher: They're working in an area that they're interested in pursuing once they graduate from high school. Student: I've always been passionate on working things, but you know mostly cars and smaller pickup trucks, so working on a bus, it's a whole other story. Student: I love the relationships that we have with everyone here. It feels like you actually work here. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are getting top-notch on-the-job training from industry professionals while still in high school. On this episode of the Supercast, hear from some high school students themselves about the many benefits of internships offered in Career and Technical Education, or CTE. Find out how internships allow juniors and seniors to have fun doing what they love while exploring career paths, building professional networks, gaining industry-recognized skills, and earning high school credit. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: We are here at the Transportation Department talking with Melissa about the internship that students are participating in here as mechanics in the Transportation Department. Melissa, introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about this program and how it works. Teacher: Sure. So my name is Melissa Goble. I'm the CTE internship teacher for Jordan School District. This program is …. the students apply for it. They interview. We place interns in all CTE pathways. This just happens to be one of them. Once they're in the program, they have to get a minimum of 40 hours of internship time, and then they also complete a LinkedIn profile. We work on some employability skills, things like that. We just help mentor them through the semester. Anthony Godfrey: A lot of the internships are created with outside companies and other groups, but we get to benefit from these students and what they're learning right here in the Transportation Department. That's what's unique about this one. Teacher: Yes. It's great. We are very excited that our own district took on students. We're hoping that it will spread the excitement because it is beneficial. The kids get to be invested in their district. They're getting to learn new things, and they're with our own people. Anthony Godfrey: Now, you started recently in your role in the last year or two, and I have seen a real uptick in just presence on LinkedIn, and internships have really been propelled since you started, and we've added this emphasis on internships. Just talk generally about what would attract a student to an internship and the kinds of internships that we have available in the District. Teacher: What attracts them, generally what I find, attracts them to the internship is the opportunity to work with industry. They're working in an area that they're interested in pursuing once they graduate from high school. They're meeting people who could give them recommendations, mentor them, help point them in the right direction. Sometimes they know what they want to do, but they don't know how to get there. I also have students who come to my program because they think they know, and then they find out that they want to go a little bit different direction, which is also a great way to get through my program. Anthony Godfrey: It's the perfect time to find out that this is not the career for you. A lot of times people love what they try, but if you don't, this is the time to find out, and that's long been something I knew was a benefit of CTE programs. Teacher: Absolutely. And they also, when they're working in industry, they find out that there's pathways they didn't even know about that are related to what they're interested in. It's just this might be a little bit more interesting, or it might be a little bit more accessible for them. And so that is awesome as well. And then we have, we do have a lot of internships. In fact, I have joked that I'm getting to the point where we have more internships than I have students right now. I need to switch my focus a little and really start targeting them because we've had so many great industry partners step up and offer us multiple opportunities. And from anything from our diesel students, we've got students who are doing aviation internships, engineering, business, all over. We're all over the place. Anthony Godfrey: So if someone with a business is listening and they think, "I'd love to have a couple of interns and I think I'm aligned with the CTE pathway," do they just reach out to you? We can put your email address in the show notes, and then you can get them set up with some great students. Teacher: Yeah, yeah, that would be great. I also can help them get into the schools a little bit before they take interns. If they want to do some job shadows or maybe a tour or something like that, I'm absolutely the person that can help them. Anthony Godfrey: Fantastic. Is a job shadow kind of a precursor to an internship sometimes? Teacher: Yeah, so we do have some programs that, well, in fact, Diesel, they go in their first semester, they spend time doing job shadows, so they'll spend just a few hours at different locations and they get to see different types of industry that's within their field. And then we go for the internships second semester. Anthony Godfrey: Wonderful. Well, thank you very much for everything you're doing to provide these opportunities for students and for businesses to benefit from these great students We talked about what businesses can do. If a parent or student's listening and they would like to be part of an internship next year, how do they go about doing that? Teacher: Well, there's a couple of ways that they can do that. First, the JordanTech.org is our website and our applications open every year in February, March timeframe. They can apply that way or my application actually stays open all year and they can go out to JordanTech.org again, but go to the CTE internship webpage and I have information there that they can apply. So it involves doing a resume and letting me know what they're interested in. And then I also should mention that one of the requirements for applying to my program is that they do have to have some coursework in their background. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. Wonderful. Richard, let's talk about Diesel Mechanics specifically and these students. Introduce yourself and tell us the history of internships in the Diesel Mechanics program in Transportation. Richard Burrell: My name is Richard Burrell. I'm the shop coordinator, shop foreman for Jordan School District here. I have 15 employees out here in the shop with me. We keep tabs on about 500, 600 vehicles. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Wow. Richard Burrell: So we're a full-time job. Anthony Godfrey: Millions of miles. Richard Burrell: Every day. So, and the internship, when I first started back in 1989, internship, we'd take on the interns from the schools like we did here, the colleges. And we would bring a couple of kids in and they'd work with us and the object of the game is to give them every chance what we do out here every day. I mean, oil changes, we do that a lot, but we do brake jobs, we do engine work, we do everything out here. So these kids, three kids right here, get in the middle of it all. I put them with each mechanic out there. It takes on a kid. It's a supervisor position. So they watch him and they teach him everything that goes on out here and what we have to do. Some days it's repeatedly learning how to do services, but they get into other things too, brake jobs and everything else and go with it. It takes a lot to keep these things on the road every day. Anthony Godfrey: Yes, it does. And we're glad to have their help. Tell me about these three students. Richard Burrell: These are great kids. They came in during their spring break time to work with us because we worked here. So they wanted to come in and keep playing. So we let them come in and work with us. Anthony Godfrey: That's awesome. Richard Burrell: And they enjoy what they're doing out here. And they're seven o'clock in the morning, they're here and they're here till ten o'clock every or twice a week. And they love what they do. Anthony Godfrey: I didn't know I was showing up so late into their shift here. Richard Burrell: I told them they had to stay somewhat clean today. Anthony Godfrey: All right. Well, all bets are off after we're done. You can get nice and dirty. Well, thank you for everything that you're teaching these students and the opportunities you're providing for them. Richard Burrell: We love these kids. They're good. Hopefully it can work out. When some of us retire, we can move other kids into this place. Anthony Godfrey: Well, you started just after Reagan was no longer president. So I mean, hopefully we have you for a few more years. Richard Burrell: Not too many more. But there's a few. Anthony Godfrey: All right. We'll get you for as long as we can have you, Richard. Stay with us when we come back. Hear from student interns in our own Transportation Department and find out what they are up to as diesel mechanics working on our school buses. Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. Female Voice: Does your student want to become a veterinarian, commercial pilot, programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of career and technical education. CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or for a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District, visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession. Anthony Godfrey: All right, Richard. We're walking through the facility here and this is just a few years old. Talk to me about this facility. Richard Burrell: This is a four-year-old shop. We had it, the District, finally had it built four years ago. It's the best one in the state. Everybody's dreaming on it. Anthony Godfrey: Good. I like hearing that. Richard Burrell: Fourteen days. I have enough for everybody to do their work on here. These morning guys right here, these are the guys that do all the heavy stuff for me. These are the ones the kids work with. I split them up with each mechanic out here. Carl right here is doing suspension work on this thing. He's been noisy for the last two days out here. We're doing engine work. We do all sorts of stuff here. These guys stay busy and these kids like to learn. I split them up differently every day. So if he does suspension one day, he'll do something else the next day. Anthony Godfrey: Oh yeah, so they get the variety. Richard Burrell: They've got to get in there and learn. Yep. Anthony Godfrey: Yep, great. Male Voice: Chase that wire. And he started from the battery. It's right here at the battery that he's... Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with three students here who are part of the Diesel Mechanics internship program in Transportation. Tell me your name, your grade, what school you're from, and then we'll talk a little bit about this program. Student: My name is Fred Bond. I'm a senior at Bingham High School. Student: Maverick Brown, also a senior at Bingham. Student: I'm Garrett Lewis and I go to Mountain Ridge. I'm a senior. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me what drew you to this program. What got you interested in Diesel Mechanics? Student: I've just been working on cars in my driveway for years. My dad works with FedEx and so I've just always been around semi-trucks and heavy-duty diesel. And so when I eventually got to the point where I was kind of looking for a career to go into, I decided that just being a mechanic was where I wanted to go, and I kind of went towards diesel because, like I said, I've been around them a long time. And so I got the opportunity to come here, and I just love doing it. Anthony Godfrey: Your experience here has made you more interested in becoming a diesel mechanic. Student: Absolutely. Anthony Godfrey: What is it about the experience that you've liked the most? Student: Just the way they work. It's kind of they give you time to do everything the right way. You're not rushed. You're able to do everything 100 percent, get it back on the road the way it came from the factory. Anthony Godfrey: Fantastic. What do you love most about this program? Student: I like the real-world experience, like actually working in a workplace environment. It's more professional, and it looked at on resume, and we get to actually work on things. Anthony Godfrey: Is the work harder or easier than you thought? Student: It's heavier. Anthony Godfrey: Describe that. Student: Well, everything's heavy. Just like him, I've always been passionate on working things, but mostly cars and smaller pickup trucks. So working on a bus, it's a whole other story. Everything's tripled the weight and size. Anthony Godfrey: Have you been able to convert a school bus into a transformer yet? Student: Not yet, no. Still working on it. Anthony Godfrey: That's toward the end of the semester. What drew you to diesel mechanics initially? Student: Just the passion for working on things and then of course the workplace experience. Anthony Godfrey: Okay, great. Tell me about your experience here. Student: My experience has been great. I initially wanted to go into the program. I liked the CTE stuff and the hands-on stuff. I like learning with my hands and doing things more. I began employment just like changing oil. So I had a little bit of experience working on cars. Then this opportunity presented itself, and I decided to take it. Then I had the internship, and this has been really great for getting real-world experience compared to just like in the classroom where it's not quite the same, but working on these school buses has been really great. Anthony Godfrey: Does this make you more interested in a career in diesel mechanics? Or is this just something you do with your hands that's going to help you along another path? Student: It's made me more interested. It's definitely taught me a lot of things. Some good things, some bad things about the industry. What direction in the industry I want to go. It's been really great to learn the ins and outs of what it's like working. Anthony Godfrey: Has it opened up some other directions that you might choose by being here? Student: Somewhat. Personally, I'd like to go into diesel, but then maybe go into a little bit more management, business-related stuff. That's just me personally, but I really enjoy working on these trucks and machines and stuff. Anthony Godfrey: Having the hands-on experience can really set you on that path and give you some experience that allows you to be effective as a manager. Student: Oh yeah, for sure. I've seen my employment translate over to my good classroom and this internship. Anthony Godfrey: Right. I'm glad that you've seen a relationship between the two. How about you? What are you thinking career-wise? Student: Well, at first I want to work on heavy duty machinery, and then later on I want to start my own performance shop. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, nice. That's great. Tell me about something that you've learned in your experience here. Either mechanical, technical, or just about being at the workplace generally. Student: When school buses come into you, sometimes it's diagnosing issues. It isn't as easy as it always seems. Sometimes it's a way longer process than you initially think it will be. It's just the range of different things that you see here. It's not just five different failures that happen all the time. You get so many different things on these buses that you have to go through. Anthony Godfrey: But the problem-solving aspect of it must be pretty satisfying when you do figure out what's wrong. Student: Oh, absolutely. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, that's awesome. How about for you? Student: All the tools. There are so many tools. There's a tool for every job. Having the right tool will make everything easier. For the tires, getting those tires off by themselves would be crazy hard. But they've got that tool for it so it makes it way easier. Anthony Godfrey: So the right tool for the right job and you're way ahead. Student: Yeah, for sure. Anthony Godfrey: There's a life lesson in that. And for you? Student: For me, it's just doing the job right and making sure you have a high-quality of work. One of these guys out here really takes pride in doing it correct the first time. All the guys take pride in doing it correct the first time. They don't want to have buses coming back with problems that they quote “fixed.” They cut corners. So it's been really great to learn how to do the job right and learn to always do the job right so that you don't have problems. Anthony Godfrey: Pride in your work. Again, something that will translate to whatever you end up doing. Student: Oh yeah, definitely. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about Richard and the group. What's it like working with the crew? Student: It's super chill. I show up and we kind of sit down for a second. Richard gets us all situated and then he's like, "All right. I'll put you with this guy today. I'll put you with that guy today." No. And then we just kind of follow the guys around and they're like, "All right. Here's what we're doing. Here, pass me this. Take this bolt off. Take this thing off." And then some guys teach more than others, but it's always a good learning experience. Student: Oh, it's great. Everybody's positive for the most part and it's always a good time to joke around with people in the real world experience and actually get to work on things and practice taking stuff apart and put it back together in the correct way. Anthony Godfrey: Excellent. Student: I love the environment here with the people. I love the relationships that we have with everyone here. It feels like you actually work here. It's not scary to go up to them. We've been getting to know all the people here. It's not intimidating or anything like that. You just get to talk to them like they're your buddies. Anthony Godfrey: Fantastic. I love that. So, well, we're very lucky to have you here and thanks for taking time to talk with me today. I know you've got work to do. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there. [Music]

Elementary schools in Jordan School District are giving each other a run for their money in the second annual “Pony Races.” On this episode of the Supercast, hear how two incredible science specialists came up with the idea of “pony races” to track RISE standardized testing progress and make science exciting and fun for students and staff. It's turning out to be a win-win for everyone. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They work tirelessly to give students every opportunity to find success in and outside of the classroom. On this episode of the Supercast, meet the amazing counseling team at Mountain Creek Middle School, recently recognized as an American School Counselor Model Program. It is a prestigious national recognition that is not easy to come by and only given to the best of the best in comprehensive school counseling programs around the country. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

She is a teacher by day and plays defensive line for the Utah Falconz at night and on weekends. On this episode of the Supercast, meet West Jordan High School business and financial literacy teacher Makayla Brown who has a passion for playing women's tackle football in the premier semi-pro league. Hear how this teacher balances her time in the classroom with her love for being on the football field taking on teams from all over the country, part of the Women's National Football Conference. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They are the quiet, but fiercely passionate force behind celebrating 68 Outstanding Educators in Jordan School District every year. On this episode of the Supercast, meet the caring community volunteers who are part of the Jordan Education Foundation, making it possible to recognize and reward teachers who rise to the top. Teachers in every one of our schools, who are often brought to tears when total strangers show up to thank them for their tireless work in the classroom. Audio Transcription [MUSIC] Jenna Miller: Being a part of this Bus Day, going around to different schools and celebrating outstanding educators means a lot. You actually get to learn about what these outstanding educators are doing in their classroom, the impact they're having. Laura Klarman: We saw the mayors involved, they would come to their local schools. I love seeing again that community support is so important. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are the quiet but fiercely passionate force behind celebrating 68 Outstanding Educators in Jordan School District every year. On this episode of the Supercast, meet the caring community volunteers who are part of the Jordan Education Foundation, the group that makes it possible to recognize and reward teachers who rise to the top. They reward teachers in every one of our schools, teachers who are often brought to tears when total strangers show up to thank them for their tireless work in the classroom. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: We are on the bus today celebrating Outstanding Educators with the Jordan Education Foundation. We're talking now with Jordan Education Foundation President Jenna Miller. Jenna, thanks for taking a few minutes with us. Jenna Miller: So glad to be here, so glad to be on the bus today. Anthony Godfrey: So for those who do not know what Bus Day is or even Outstanding Educator Awards, would you please describe what this program and what this day is all about? Jenna Miller: Yes, I would love to. So the Jordan Education Foundation, each year we have the opportunity to recognize outstanding educators in every school in our District. There's one day in particular where we join together and ride on the yellow school bus as a [Jordan Education] Foundation Board with a great driver. We have the chance to visit the top 12 or 14 teachers that were nominated for Outstanding Educator for the entire District. Anthony Godfrey: There's an award for an educator at every one of our 68 schools and for 14 of them, they receive $1,000 and an invitation to the banquet. It's just for every educator, this just means the world. All of them get a sign for their yard and a sign for the school so that everyone knows what an amazing educator they are, along with a lot of other really cool prizes. So the Foundation does an incredible job of putting together a really fun package for every teacher. You've done this for a long time. Talk to me about the impact of giving these awards. Jenna Miller: Well, it's always a pleasure to be able to go out and visit all 68 schools every year to see the things that they are doing, to recognize Outstanding Educators. As a Foundation, we have the chance to read nominations that principals and staff and students and parents and peers put together. So, we actually get to learn about what these Outstanding Educators are doing in their classroom, the impact they're having with their school and with students in terms of their testing and the impact that they're having each and every year through their nominations. Anthony Godfrey: We get to see the families come, families are invited to supporting their teachers, talk about that. Jenna Miller: Yes, this is the best. So all of these visits are kept as a surprise. But the principal reaches out to family members to let them know that this special award will be given and they coordinate with family to make it a large surprise. People fly in from out of state. There's family members, friends, sisters, cousins, as well as their peers in the school. It makes the party even better to have the people that you love there to celebrate you. Anthony Godfrey: It's really an amazing experience to be able to see a teacher honored in this way. And there's no way it can happen without the Foundation. So we really can't thank you enough for your leadership and for all the work that the Foundation Board members do and our sponsors do to make these awards possible. Jenna Miller: Yes, we are so grateful for our sponsors, for the community support that we receive from businesses and individuals that want to support Outstanding Educators in our District. And it does impact our schools and our District overall, and we're grateful for this opportunity. Anthony Godfrey: : It's a huge morale boost, not just for those getting the award, but it feels good to be in a District that has this community support and the Foundation really provides that in a way that I don't think anyone else in this state benefits from. So we're really thrilled to have you and to have the Foundation be so involved in who we are as a District. Jenna Miller: Well, thank you. Yes, we have four staff and 32 volunteer community members that give up their time, their talents, their treasure to all support educators and students in our District. Anthony Godfrey: Any moments or stories from this year in particular that stand out for you? Jenna Miller: Well, one of the things that we love, especially on Bus Day, is to get to recognize our Principal of the Year. And that's something we got to do today at Aspen Elementary School. Principal Susie Williams, who has had amazing impact on this school, but also the community that her school resides in. Susie does a great job and it was such a privilege and honor to recognize her as the Principal of the Year. Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for everything you're doing. Jenna Miller: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Male Voice: We are here to recognize Ms. Heckman as Copper Hills Outstanding Educator of the Year. [APPLAUSE] Female Voice: It was really powerful enough to just go and do that for a lot of people, appreciate all the hard work you do. Sorry. Male Voice: So we are really fortunate to work with a great group of people. Look at all the people that are here to support you today. But we get nice donations from the community to help support our educators. They want us to let you know that you're loved and appreciated. Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with Ryan Gregerson, the newest member of the Jordan Education Foundation Board. Introduce yourself and tell us what it's been like to jump in right before teacher awards like this. Ryan Gregerson: It was like the best timing ever. So I'm an attorney in town, have a law firm in South Jordan. I grew up in Jordan School District going to all the schools in Jordan School District and also the son of an educator. My dad was an elementary school teacher for 40 plus years. My mom was a lunch lady. My sister's a teacher. So education's super important to me, and it was just such an honor to be on the Board. And the best time ever to start being on the Board and get to see all these amazing educators getting these awards. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, it's so fun and it means a lot to have members of the community come back and you have a ton of education connections. We have a connection as well. You were my student in middle school many years ago. Ryan Gregerson: Yes, indeed. Anthony Godfrey: And a very memorable one in all the right ways. Ryan Gregerson: Yeah, it was great. Honestly, we talk and I tell everybody this even when Dr. Godfrey's not here, but in eighth grade and ninth grade, he was the favorite teacher. Everybody loved being in his class. He was the cool teacher, had a band that he played in. Had him for English in eighth grade, French in ninth grade. Great memories of last year of being a middle school up in Copperton.Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Ryan Gregerson: That had ever existed and then we got to open up West Hills Middle School, which was also super fun. Anthony Godfrey: We shut it down together. Ryan Gregerson: We did, we did. Anthony Godfrey: Talk to me about how you have felt as you have seen and been a part of honoring these teachers at various schools. Ryan Gregerson: What's been really special for me is it's in part, I always kind of see it like it's also my dad. Because he sacrificed a lot to be a teacher and to raise our family and to do all the things that he did for his students. So seeing these same sacrifices be recognized by amazing teachers, inspiring kids, is just so personally special to me to see that recognition happening and to be inspired by them. Anthony Godfrey: Well, it means a lot to have you on the Foundation Board. We love that you're part of it. What would you say to those who are thinking about being involved either through a donation or by serving on the Board? Ryan Gregerson: I mean, there's so many things that are great about what the Foundation does. With the South Valley Chamber last year, we had the opportunity to do a fundraiser to be able to provide more for the pantry packs. It was something I didn't even know existed that through the school district and the Foundation, that students who don't have sometimes a meal over the weekend or over a holiday, that there's something that actually can be done to help give these meals to them. That there are actually students in this District who don't have meals and that there's a way to be able to provide those. So, donations to the Foundation, donations through the pantry pack or different coats and clothing just makes a difference for these wonderful students who need it. Because we do have needs even though maybe people don't remember that or don't realize it, there are. When we can help them meet those needs for these students, then they can focus on their education. They can focus on learning the things that they need to so that they can grow up and have things to be successful in life. Anthony Godfrey: I'm glad you mentioned that the celebrations and honoring teachers is a really important part of what the Foundation does. There are many other things the Foundation does as well, including making sure kids are fed so they can learn, and that they're fed overnight, that they're fed over the weekend, just taking great care of kids in every aspect of their lives. So, thank you for everything you do to help that. Ryan Gregerson: That's my pleasure. Anthony Godfrey: As you've been honoring teachers, there's a quote you've shared. Will you share that with everyone now? Ryan Gregerson: Yeah, absolutely. It's from Fred Rogers, otherwise known as Mr. Rogers. He said that, “Anyone who does something to help a child is a hero to me,” and that's really what I see these teachers are, is they really are true heroes to these children, to our community. Anthony Godfrey: Well, your dad is a hero to a lot of people, and I can't thank you enough for being part of this. I was so happy to see you sign up for the Foundation Board. We have a lot of good times ahead of us. Ryan Gregerson: No doubt about it, I appreciate you guys so much. Ryan Gregerson: All right, so Mr. Rogers said that, “Anybody that helps a child in this life is a hero to me.” And you are a true hero to these kids, and we appreciate you. A few things here, this is your official invitation to the banquet at the aquarium. There's that for you. This is the nomination. You need to read all the wonderful things that were written about you so you can share them. So that's for you as well. And then last and of course not least, all of our finalists received a $1,000 award. [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. More from members of the Jordan Education Foundation. [MUSIC] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [MUSIC] Female Voice: They're out on the job in the rain, sleet, snow, ice, and in the sunshine. As Jordan School District students navigate their way to and from school every day, we are truly grateful for our city crossing guards, always vigilant and looking out for students to ensure everyone's safety. Because they work so hard protecting our kids, let's give those crossing guards a hand. If you're driving near or around schools, slow down, pay attention, watch for students and staff, and follow instructions from the school crossing guards, and know our cities are always looking to hire crossing guards. If you like kids and need some flexible hours, contact your local city and apply to be a crossing guard today. Together, let's make this a safe and successful school Year. [MUSIC] [Cheering] Male Voice:    . . . as Herriman Elementary Outstanding Educator of the Year! [Cheering] Anthony Godfrey: We are in the gym of Aspen Elementary. We've just awarded Principal of the Year and Outstanding Educator for Aspen Elementary. We're talking with Laura Klarman, who is one of the Board members for Jordan Education Foundation. Introduce yourself, talk about your role and how it feels to be a part of these celebrations. Laura Klarman: You bet. So I am a marketing and communication manager at Riverton Hospital. I've been there 13 years. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Laura Klarman: So lucky 13. One thing I love about healthcare and education is it touches every family in our area. I live in our community, I work in our community, and I serve in our community. So being a part of this Bus Day, going around to different schools and celebrating outstanding educators, means a lot to me. My mom was a school librarian, my sister teaches at high school, and we all remember those outstanding teachers in our lives that make a difference. Anthony Godfrey: It makes a huge impact when someone like you comes in. I mean, I'm paid to support teachers, but you choose to come here. You choose to be a part of this, donate your time. Riverton Hospital has been extremely generous through you. You've hosted our meetings, we've done tours. You've done so many things to help support us, and it means the world when it's someone from outside of our organization that is really emphasizing the impact on the community these teachers have. Laura Klarman: Yeah, in fact, we love our community. We want to help people live the healthiest lives possible, and part of that is a good education. We want to start people out strong. We love kids. We have Primary Children's services at our hospital. So we treat families. We see families, and we know that they're healthier and happier when they have a good school experience. And we love the teachers because they are a part of that experience. Anthony Godfrey: You even provided speakers for the podcast to help elevate the health of our community and our students, including a doctor that specializes in vaping and its negative impacts and helping prevent students from engaging in that. So, you've supported us in so many different ways, and it just shows the value of having the community as a partner, as we educate these students. And really, we have the same goals but different roles. But we're all working toward building this community and making it a great place to be and you and Riverton Hospital are a really important part of that. Tell me some of the stories you've heard as you've had the opportunity to go from school to school, and you see the families, and you hear from colleagues, and from the teachers. What are some of the stories that have really touched you? Laura Klarman: One of the teachers stuck out in my mind, she was retiring this year. So she has been a teacher for years. This was her last year. I was really touched by that because she was being recognized as she was leaving. So retirements are bittersweet. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Laura Klarman: It's a good ending to a good beginning. And so we see that all the time in healthcare and in education. We saw the mayors involved, they would come to their local schools. I love seeing, again, that community support is so important. And then all our Board members who are leaders in their own right. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Laura Klarman: They own businesses, they serve their community, they're elected officials. Or they've been teachers themselves, so they know how important this is. So it's been great community building to see everybody come together. Anthony Godfrey: And seeing the kids and their enthusiasm when their teacher's being honored. It's really fun to see how excited they are for their teacher. Laura Klarman: It was electric. When we went to Bluffdale Elementary, my kids went there. So it was really fun to go back. And it was electric as we walked in, and you feel like a superstar. And really the superstars are these teachers, right? And the principals and the kids, and so it was really touching. Anthony Godfrey: Well, thank you for making it possible. There's just no way we could do it without you, so. Laura Klarman: Thanks, I love being here. I love it. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today!” We'll see you out there. [MUSIC]

It is a heartwarming partnership between senior citizens and elementary school students, a partnership where seniors from a local assisted living center are showing up and reading with kids in the library. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Oquirrh Elementary School. That's where we see first-hand how being book buddies is building connections and companionship between the students and seniors, and bridging a generation gap. But best of all, it is inspiring a love for literacy in young children who look forward to the monthly visits from their senior friends. Audio Transcription [MUSIC PLAYING] Teacher: One of my students came back in with a huge smile on her face. I asked her how Golden Hour was and she said that it was so much fun. She loves reading with the grandmas and grandpas. Oh, they get so excited. Diana: And then we had different kids this month and last month. And some of them said, “we have to go back. That was so fun.” They love it. [MUSIC PLAYING] Anthony Godfrey: Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a heartwarming partnership among senior citizens and elementary school students, a partnership where seniors from a local assisted living center are showing up and reading with kids in the school's media center. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Oquirrh Elementary School. That's where we see firsthand how being book buddies is building connections and companionship among students and seniors and bridging a generation gap. But best of all, it is inspiring a love of literacy in young children who look forward to the monthly visits from their senior friends. [MUSIC PLAYING] Anthony Godfrey: We are here at Oquirrh Elementary School during Golden Hour Reading, where Sun Ridge Assisted Living residents are working with students to improve their reading skills. Let's listen in. [INTERPOSING VOICES] You're going to read your book and show them how awesome you are. Here, tell you what. Wow. Hey, have you ever seen--have you ever been driving with your parents and have you ever seen this before? Well, I have. That's a long you. Called-- Good job. Good job. Anthony Godfrey I'm talking now with one of our visitors and one of the students here at Oquirrh Elementary. Tell me your name, what grade you're in. Cooper: Cooper and first grade. Anthony Godfrey: And Cooper, how's first grade going? Cooper: Good. Anthony Godfrey: And what did you guys read today? Cooper: Going Fishing. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, Going Fishing. So what did you like most about the book? Cooper: Like you have to get a special hook, like as a fish, but it's not actually a fish on it, but there's no splashing. Anthony Godfrey: And does this make you want to be a fisherman? Cooper: Yes. I really want to go fishing with my dad. Anthony Godfrey: So go home today and tell him, “Dad, I read about fishing and it's time we go fishing.” Cooper: OK. Anthony Godfrey: All right, nice to meet you. So how did it feel to be read to? First introduce yourself and how did you feel being read to today? Dale Koth: Felt great. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me your name. Dale Koth: I'm Dale Koth. Anthony Godfrey: And you're one of the early volunteers to come visit, but I understand there's something in your history that would make that not much of a surprise that you want to be at an elementary school. Dale Koth: I'm a retired teacher, elementary school teacher. Anthony Godfrey: And where did you teach? Dale Koth: I taught at Terra Linda for a while, and I also taught at Southland Elementary. Anthony Godfrey: How long did you teach? When did you start and when did you finish? Dale Koth: OK, I taught for about 29 years. I think it was in 1974. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Over 50 years ago. Dale Koth: That's right. That's right. Yeah, in a little town called Antimony, Utah. Anthony Godfrey: OK. Dale Koth: I had nine kids. Anthony Godfrey: Nine kids in your class? Dale Koth: Five in the third, five in the second, five in the first. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Dale Koth: No kindergarten because there were no kindergarten kids there. Anthony Godfrey: And from there you went to-- Dale Koth: I went to-- I taught every year then I went to Blanding. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Dale Koth: And I taught Blanding Elementary. I taught three years. Then we came to the Jordan School District and I started in Southland Elementary. Taught there for about, I don't know, three years. May have been longer, but I forget. And then I went to Quail Hollow and I taught at Quail Hollow for a long time. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, wow. Dale Koth: Yeah. Then I finished up at Terra Linda and that's where I retired. Anthony Godfrey: So did you retire in the early 2000s? Dale Koth: No. Kind of in the late-- oh, yes, it's the late 1990s. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, OK. Dale Koth: You might say, yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Wow. All right. Well, so you've been enjoying retirement. But is this an exciting addition to your retirement routine? Dale Koth: Yeah, I think it's great. You know, you have a good successful experience here for you and for the kids. And you know, you're doing something. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Dale Koth: And I really like it. Anthony Godfrey: Good. How many times have you been? Dale Koth: This is my second time. Anthony Godfrey: What did you love most about teaching? Dale Koth: Just watching kids progress, learn something. Anthony Godfrey: In elementary, you get to see a lot of that. Dale Koth: Oh, yes. There was a lot of it. Anthony Godfrey: What grades did you teach most? Dale Koth: Third grade. Anthony Godfrey: Third grade. That's a big one. Dale Koth: Which was my favorite grade. Anthony Godfrey: Third was the favorite. Dale Koth: That was the age when they start cursive writing. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, yeah. Dale Koth: I don't know if they still-- do they still do cursive writing? Anthony Godfrey: It's more-- not like they used to. Let me put it that way. Not like they used to. Dale Koth: If you had your way. Anthony Godfrey: Not that weird Q that looks like a 2. No, we don't do that stuff anymore. Dale Koth: OK. Yeah. Also, they learn their multiplication facts. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Dale Koth: And you could just get into reading, and like what somebody told me, the kids can be smart at that age without being a smart aleck. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, that's right. Absolutely. Well, I really appreciate your coming and just getting to watch you with the students. It's really fun to see how much you get their attention right away. Dale Koth: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: And they stay focused when they're reading with you. So thank you for doing that. Dale Koth: That's great. What's your name? Anthony Godfrey: I'm Dr. Godfrey. I'm Anthony Godfrey. I'm the superintendent for Jordan School District. Dale Koth: You're the superintendent? Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Dale Koth: I've worked here a long time, but I don't think I've ever met the superintendent. Anthony Godfrey: Well, it's very nice to meet you. Dale Koth: I forget names a lot. Anthony Godfrey: Barry Newbold? Dale Koth: Barry Newbold. I knew Barry Newbold, yes. Anthony Godfrey: It's very nice meeting you. Dale Koth: Well, nice meeting you Anthony Godfrey: And thanks for doing this. We look forward to seeing you back next month. Volunteer: Well, great. I'll be back. I'll be back. Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with Principal Jennifer Ludlow about the program here at Oquirrh Elementary. I know it's new. What do you think so far? Jennifer Ludlow: I love it. It's like my favorite thing and I just grin from ear to ear the hour before they come and about two hours after. Awesome. Anthony Godfrey: There's a great immediate connect with the kids and these volunteers. Jennifer Ludlow: Yes. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about how the kids have reacted to this. Jennifer Ludlow: Oh, they get so excited. And then we had different kids this month than last month and some of them were like, “we wanted to go back. That was so fun.” They love it and they just love opportunities to read with kids or read with somebody else and get some practice. So far, it's been really positive. Anthony Godfrey: Having a new audience when you're reading out loud, so I'm going to try to impress. It really puts you on the spot, but it also puts you at your best. It helps you really be focused. Jennifer Ludlow: So yeah. And we know kids learn to read through repetition and practice and so what a great opportunity for them to practice with somebody with a lot of wisdom and experience. And we love it. It's so great. Anthony Godfrey: Add some novelty to the day and another human connection, another adult rooting for them. Jennifer Ludlow: Exactly. Someone else on their team. Anthony Godfrey: Well, it's another great thing happening at Oquirrh Elementary. Thank you very much for letting us be here today. Jennifer Ludlow: Thank you. It was a pleasure. Anthony Godfrey: We're now talking with a member of the PTA and the School Community Council. Introduce yourself and tell us how you got this idea. Alicia Abbott: My name is Alicia Abbott. I am on the Community Council at Oquirrh Elementary, also on the PTA board. So we were reviewing the stats of the school last year, and it hurt my heart to see how many kids are not reading and are not doing math. And it hurt my soul. Like literally, I couldn't handle it. And our school is amazing. I don't want to diss on our school. Our school is awesome and I love Principal Ludlow. She's amazing, and our teachers and the community here is awesome. Anthony Godfrey: And tell me, what's the impact that you have seen for the seniors and for the students doing this? I know it's only been a month. Alicia Abbott: Oh, I'm not sure I've seen an impact yet, but I feel an energy and a love of the seniors for the community here. And the impact on these kids is going to be life-changing. They are literally changing lives and the direction of the lives that these kids are stuck in, they are going to be helping them for generations, really. If you help a child, you help a generation. So I'm so excited about it. Anthony Godfrey: I think it's very meaningful when someone from the community spends time. They know their teacher has to. They know their parents have to. But when someone's choosing to volunteer and come in and be a part of their lives, I think that's a big boost to students, even beyond literacy. Alicia Abbott: Well, I have kids. I wouldn't be OK if my kids couldn't read either. So you know what? We got to put in. If we have parents working three or four jobs just to try to put food on the family table, they need help. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for being a big part of that help and bringing this idea. I'm excited to see the impact that it has over the years. Alicia Abbott: Thank you. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. More with the seniors and students of Oquirrh Elementary School. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of The Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. Sandy Riesgraf: Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @ Jordan District. We can't wait to connect. [music] Anthony Godfrey: We're now talking with a first-grade teacher. Please introduce yourself. Teacher: Hi, I'm Anashele. I'm a first-grade teacher at Oquirrh Elementary. One of my students came back in with a huge smile on her face. I asked her how Golden Hour was and she said that it was so much fun. She loves reading with the grandmas and grandpas. She was reading a book about pets and she said that it was so much fun because books help her learn. They make her brain grow every day and she loves to read because she has so much fun doing it. Really seeing them learn to read is my favorite thing because they walk in the door at the beginning of first grade really not knowing how to read. And now I have students like the student going to Golden Hour and reading her own story about pets. So I love seeing that growth throughout the year. Anthony Godfrey: Thank you very much. It's great to be here talking with you. We're here talking with another one of our volunteers today. Collette Craig: Collette Craig. Anthony Godfrey: Collette. Now I understand Collette, that you used to be a teacher. Collette Craig: Yes. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about your teaching career. Collette Craig: I was a cluster teacher. Anthony Godfrey: Where was that? Collette Craig: Clusters were east side and then west side. I taught at, I think, nine different elementaries. Anthony Godfrey: What district were you in? Collette Craig: Jordan. Anthony Godfrey: In Jordan District. What were some of the schools where you worked? Collette Craig: Let's see. Midvale. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Collette Craig: Sandy. Then they went west to Terra LInda, but not at the same time. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Collette Craig: And Monte Vista, Heartland. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. You really did cover a lot of area. Collette Craig: Oh, yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Collette Craig: If you know culture history, it was all east side at first. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Collette Craig: And then they opened up west side. Anthony Godfrey: Right. What years were you teaching? When did you start and when did you finish? Collette Craig: 1985, I think. Anthony Godfrey: Is that when you started? Collette Craig: Uh-huh. Anthony Godfrey: And when did you finish? Coll: I finished in 20 years later. Anthony Godfrey: 20 years later? OK. 2005. OK. Very good. And 20 years later, you're back volunteering, reading with students. Collette Craig: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: How has that been? Tell me about that experience. Collette Craig: This is my first time. It's been good. I didn't know what to expect, but it's been good. Anthony Godfrey: Good. Tell me about the students you've worked with so far today. Collette Craig: Oh, they're great. They're cute. Yeah, they're great. What else can I say? The pH sound is really hard for them to grasp. Anthony Godfrey: The pH sound. Hey, it doesn't make sense. Why does pH sound the way it does? No one will ever know. What did you like most about teaching? Collette Craig: I liked it when they got something. When they finally understood something. You had spent weeks, sometimes months on the same thing, and they finally got it. It's like, yay. Anthony Godfrey: It's rewarding. It's rewarding. Well, you're helping do that again, so thank you. Collette Craig: You're welcome. Anthony Godfrey: We're talking now with the activities director from Sunridge Assisted Living and Memory Care. Thank you for talking with us today. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what's happening. Diana: My name is Diana. I'm working in the center for eight years and we have a purpose to have activities with purpose. So this activity is amazing for our residents because they find their friendship. They have a purpose in life, teaching kids. Also, that bring memories to them. We have some teachers participating in the activity, and that is amazing for them. They really enjoy it. The first time when we came, they came back telling the other residents, “that was so fun. We teach kids. That was amazing.” So we want to back. And today, when we back, other friends came with them. So that is amazing. They found a purpose coming here. Anthony Godfrey: Tell us more about the facility. Diana: OK. Our community has two areas. One is for memory care. The other one is for assisted living. We have seniors with some difficult to walk or to get medicine. So we assist them to get the most normal life like they knew it. So part of that and really important part of the life is to have activities. So we have activities every day from Monday to Sunday and we have our clubs. We have sewing clubs, cooking clubs. We have outings. We go one time a month to a different restaurant. Each week, we go to Walmart or to Smith's to do shopping. We have also assisted shopping. So we have volunteers to come with them and assist them to get whatever they want in the store. So that is part of the normal life like everyone knows. We have different things to make them feel like this, “I feel happy today.” And that is our purpose, to have them happy, to have them participating in every activity we have. And that is my satisfaction to see them when they are happy. And when I came with them last time, I saw their happiness in the faces. And it's just like a miracle to see them, how they share with the kids, and the kids accepting them. And it's like a miracle. Miracle happen. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, wonderful. Well, thank you very much for making us a part of those activities and a part of the lives of these seniors. Diana: It's a pleasure. Thank you to let us participate in this program too. [MUSIC PLAYING] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today.” We'll see you out there. [MUSIC PLAYING]

You could say he was born to run with a high school career in cross country that is hard to beat. On this episode of the Supercast, meet Jackson Spencer who was recently named the National Gatorade Player of the Year in Boys Cross Country. Find out what sets Spencer apart from others in his sport, and how his love for running is paving a path for future success, possibly in the Olympics. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

Something really cool is happening in classrooms at Oak Leaf Elementary School these days. Older students are stepping up and leading by example, proving to everyone that life is better with books. On this episode of the Supercast, meet some sixth-graders who are taking their love for literacy to the kindergarten classroom. They are reading to younger kids as part of the Planet Kindergarten literacy program. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They are going about their days demonstrating the characteristics of Jordan School District's “Portrait of a Graduate.” On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Copper Canyon Elementary School where students are posing for pictures in their cap and gowns already thinking ahead to graduation. They are being recognized for their actions demonstrating the six characteristics of “Portrait of a Graduate.” At this celebration breakfast, students are being recognized for being a responsible teammate. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

Born with cerebral palsy, she has risen above challenges all her life and inspired countless people; friends, family, even total strangers along the way. On this episode of the Supercast, we invite you to listen closely as Oquirrh Hills Middle School Para-Educator Aubrey Allen talks about earning a bachelor's and master's degree in recreational therapy, leading her to a career in the classroom and as a Unified Sports coach. Amber doesn't let her disorder, which impacts movement, muscle tone, and speech, get in the way of making her dreams come true, and in the process, supporting others with special needs around her. Listen to Aubrey's powerful message, watch on YouTube or read along with subtitles in the transcript below. Audio Transcription Kathy Taylor: Aubrey is amazing. She is helping us with warm-ups. She's helping us design activities to do during our practice time, but not just for sports, because she helps with academics. Aubrey Allen: Students are the best part of my job. Anthony Godfrey: The students are always the best part of our job. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Born with cerebral palsy, she has risen above challenges all her life and inspired countless people, friends, family, and even total strangers along the way. On this episode of the Supercast, we invite you to listen closely as Oquirrh Hills Middle School para-educator, Aubrey Allen, talks about earning a bachelor's and master's degree in recreational therapy, leading her to a career as a classroom aide and as a Unified Sports coach. Aubrey doesn't let her disorder, which impacts movement, muscle tone, and speech, get in the way of making her dreams come true and, in the process, supporting others with special needs around her. You won't want to miss Aubrey's powerful message. Subtitles and a transcript for this podcast are available on our website. [music] Anthony Godfrey: We are here at Oquirrh Hills Middle School talking with Aubrey Allen. Aubrey, thank you for taking time to talk with us. Aubrey Allen: Thank you so much. I'm excited. Anthony Godfrey: I'm really happy to meet you and talk with you. I think I've met you before, but it's been a little while since we've talked. Aubrey Allen: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about your job here at Oquirrh Hills Middle School. Aubrey Allen: I am a para-educator and one of our special educators. I'm here at Oquirrh Hills, and I love it. Anthony Godfrey: You love being the aide here in the class, the para-professional. Aubrey Allen: Yeah. Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: What do you love most about this job? Aubrey Allen: I love being able to work with and support the kids. The students are definitely the best part of my job. Anthony Godfrey: The students are always the best part of our jobs. Aubrey Allen: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: That's wonderful. Who's your favorite student? I'm just kidding. I'm not making you say or answer that question. Now you are a highly qualified individual. Tell me about your degrees and the work that you do outside of Oquirrh Hills. Aubrey Allen: Yeah, though I have a bachelor's degree in math, my master's degree is recreational therapy, and now I'm a certified recreational therapist. I also manage a nonprofit called Adaptive Arena, and we offer free adaptive sports and activities for people of all abilities. I love working there, too. Anthony Godfrey: Now I understand that you also are an advocate for those with disabilities on social media. Aubrey Allen: Yeah, yeah. I started a social media platform for the video about my day-to-day life just to try to make others aware of what life can be like having a disability. Anthony Godfrey: For those listening, tell them about your disability. Aubrey Allen: I have cerebral palsy, and I have a moderate case of it. It affects the way I talk. The end is just how my body moves and how my muscles work. Anthony Godfrey: I've heard you're a big inspiration to those around you here at the school. What do you think about that? Aubrey Allen: I just try to be positive and uplift everyone. I think having my disability has given me a lot of pushback. There are a lot of things in life that are challenging for everyone, and you can either let them know who you are or try your best to write about your challenges and just be happy and positive. Anthony Godfrey: You're a great example of rising above your challenges, and I'm sure that your students really look to you for that positivity. I've only met you a couple of times, but you've been extremely positive. You light up, you're so friendly both times, and you really stand out that way. So I appreciate the positivity and the positivity you're bringing into the lives of the students and the people you work with. Aubrey Allen: That means so much to me. I really do try my best to overcome my challenges. Anthony Godfrey: So tell me more about what happens at the Adaptive Arena. Aubrey Allen: Yeah, it's more like a rec center for people with disabilities. We offer different activities. We have a cheer program and a wheelchair basketball program, and the cool thing about us is we let everyone play. So if somebody in a wheelchair has a brother who is not in a wheelchair, we put the brother in a wheelchair, too, and now they can play wheelchair basketball, or whatever together, and families really like that because typically kids with disabilities can't play on the same team as their siblings otherwise. So I just love that we can do well with different types of families and kids with all different abilities. Anthony Godfrey: So it really is inclusive. Anyone can participate. Aubrey Allen: Yeah. Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: And if you are playing with others who are in a wheelchair and you don't need a wheelchair, you're going to get a wheelchair. Aubrey Allen: Yes, yes. Anthony Godfrey: That seems fair. Now what is your favorite sport? I won't make you tell me who your favorite student is, but what's your favorite sport? Aubrey Allen: I think my favorite is wheelchair basketball because everyone gets so into it. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, it's fast-paced. Aubrey Allen: Yeah, we do wheelchair basketball every Saturday morning, and we just have a blast. Anthony Godfrey: So it's your favorite and everyone else's also. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. More with Aubrey Allen and her colleagues. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [music] Female Voice: They are out on the job in the rain, sleet, snow, ice, and in the sunshine, as Jordan School District students navigate their way to and from school every day. We are truly grateful for our city crossing guards, always vigilant and looking out for students to ensure everyone's safety. Because they work so hard protecting our kids, let's give those crossing guards a hand. If you're driving near or around schools, slow down, pay attention, watch for students and staff, and follow instructions from the school crossing guards and know our cities are always looking to hire crossing guards. If you like kids and need some flexible hours, contact your local city and apply to be a crossing guard today. Together, let's make this a safe and successful school year. Anthony Godfrey: What advice do you have for folks about how to make sure that people with disabilities in their lives feel included and noticed and a part of things? Aubrey Allen: Yes, that's a great question. I remember when I was growing up and it was so easy to feel invisible because I had a disability. The people that stood out to me the most and that had the most impact on my life are the people who treated me like they were just anybody else and not only that, but they were comfortable talking to me and asking what I needed and if they should be aware of anything. So I think that is very important. Individual people do know that people with disabilities, they often times know they just want to be treated and included like everyone else. Anthony Godfrey: I love that. Just treat them like you treat everyone else. And I love that you said the people that have had an impact on your life are the ones who said, "How can I help you?" And just treated you like everyone else, asked you questions, and talked with you. Aubrey Allen: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Let's talk with some of the folks that you work with. Introduce yourself. Kathy Taylor: Hi, I'm Kathy Taylor and I am the teacher of the classroom that Aubrey is working in right now and we love Aubrey. She brings so much to our class. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me what it's like getting to work with Aubrey day in and day out. Kathy Taylor: Well, she's always positive. Anthony Godfrey: That's obvious. That's obvious. Kathy Taylor: Even when sometimes it doesn't feel like it's a positive day. Some days are up and some days are down, but Aubrey is always up. Aubrey's expertise with the recreational therapy has been great. We are a Unified Sports school meaning . . . Anthony Godfrey: You're a premier Unified Sports school. You're an award-winning Unified Sports school. Talk about that. Kathy Taylor: So Unified Sports is a program with Special Olympics where we are participating in team sports with our students that have disabilities and with their peers. Peers and our students with disabilities all play on the same team. And for us, that's a huge deal because a lot of times our students are not on teams. Or parents, they go and watch a lot of sibling games, or they watch a lot of their friends play sports. But a lot of our kids don't play sports on their own. So this gives them the opportunity to be on a team, to get that camaraderie, feel like what competition is like, feel experience at the tournament. And Aubrey has brought so much to that. She is our coach basically. I don't know if you've gone through all the trainings yet. I'm still working on those, too. But our official coaches, hands down Aubrey is amazing in that capacity with the sports. She is helping us with warm-ups. She's helping us design activities to do during our practice times that will help us work on specific skills. And she's able to adapt things for the kids that aren't able to do what everybody else does, and they can still interact with their peers. So it's been amazing having Aubrey, but not just for sports because she helps with academics. She goes to classes with kids. She helps us with their personal care. She does it all. She does it all, and she does it with grace, and she does it with humor, and she is a pleasure to work with. Anthony Godfrey: I would think it's pretty hard to be negative around Aubrey or be down on yourself. She doesn't let that happen. The incandescence keeps everyone from getting off the path, I guess. Kathy Taylor: She's very positive and the kids have responded really well to her. They really enjoy her. Anthony Godfrey: Let's talk with the principal. Introduce yourself and tell us about Aubrey. You contacted me and let me know that we really ought to come talk with her. Lisa Jackson: I did. I did. I'm Lisa Jackson, Oquirrh Hills principal. When we interviewed Aubrey, after Aubrey left the room, we all looked at each other and said, "How can we make this work because she needs to be part of our team here at Oquirrh Hills.” When we called for her references at the Adaptive Arena, they said the same thing, “She's amazing. Everything she does. She's just highly qualified. She's kind. She's motivated.” I interact with Aubrey in the halls a lot because she's walking these kids to and from class, and she understands what they need. She's receptive to their needs. And I think the coolest thing about it is just having our kiddos who do have disabilities, who have some struggles, being able to see just what they can accomplish in life and how successful they can be. And I think seeing Aubrey every day and seeing how successful she is just gives them motivation to follow in her footsteps and do some of the things she's done. Anthony Godfrey: You're not very convincing when you say you can't do it and Aubrey's in the room and she's bringing the energy and demonstrating that “yes, you can. You absolutely can.” Lisa Jackson: You can do it with a smile. Anthony Godfrey: Right. Lisa Jackson: Right. It might be hard, but you can do it. I think she also inspires all of the kids, though. Like, I feel like they didn't necessarily know, even our peer tutors didn't know what to expect when you meet Aubrey and you're not sure, you've never met Aubrey before. You're not sure. A lot of people don't have experience with somebody that has cerebral palsy. And so it's been great. I think it's an inspiration to them, too, because you're knowledgeable. You're educated. You're well spoken. And when you say they need to do something, you mean business. So, like, it's, you know, there's a level of respect that Aubrey has earned among all the kids and the adults, really. Anthony Godfrey: I'm inspired hearing about what you do and meeting you again. What do you like to do when you're not at the Adaptive Arena or here at school? Aubrey Allen: Oh, man. I spent a lot of time with my family. I have two younger brothers who I helped raise because there's a big age gap between them. There are things that my family and I work out every day. So I'm at the gym a lot. I feel like and then I like to hike and bike and just be outside. Anthony Godfrey: You're very active sounds like. Aubrey Allen: Yeah. Anthony Godrey: I sit in a lot of meetings. I do email. But, you know, I try to get as much pleasure from that as I can. [laughing] Anthony Godfrey: Well, it's a real pleasure meeting you. Thank you for everything you're doing, for inspiring me, the people that you work with and the students that you serve. You're awesome. Thank you. Aubrey Allen: Thank you for your time and opportunity. Anthony Godfrey: Thank you. And thank you both for talking with us. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today!” We'll see you out there. [music]

He has a love for music and theater, has performed with the likes of Donny Osmond, in national commercials, musical theater, and is passionate about teaching and sharing his tremendous talents. On this episode of the Supercast, meet Bingham High School music theater teacher David Martin. He is an incredible educator with an impressive resume, who also happens to perform in a Beatles tribute band, having fun for a good cause, with all concert ticket sales going to charity. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They are learning literacy by making clay model animals like a tiny toxic octopus and a very interesting elephant. It's all part of a Language Arts Curriculum called Wit and Wisdom that is fostering critical thinking in students across Jordan School District. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Terra Linda Elementary School where a first-grade teaching team is taking student success to new heights with this rich Wit and Wisdom reading experience and they're inviting parents to be part of it all. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

You could say they are hitting new heights as winners of a NASA Aerospace Engineering contest. On this episode of the Supercast, we head to JATC North to hear how four students will be working with NASA TechRise engineers over the next 18 months to bring an experiment they proposed to life. It is an experiment, with real world applications, that will be launched into the edge of space on one of NASA's high altitude balloons, a dream come true for aspiring space engineers. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They are talented students being recognized on the world stage because of their passion for film making and for their amazing skills in storytelling. On this episode of the Supercast, meet students in the Riverton High School video production class who just walked away with second place in an International Video Competition as part of the Student Television Network. Find out how a short horror film they produced is getting rave reviews and critical acclaim, with the students competing against young storytellers all over the world. View the winning submissions from the Student Television Network video contest Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

It is a high note in the very successful career of a Jordan School District music educator. On this episode of the Supercast, meet Majestic Elementary School music teacher Lisa Blodget who just returned from marching in the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade. Find out why Blodget was one of more than 300 band teachers and directors from across the country selected to march in the prestigious parade, and what it felt like to be on the national stage cheered on by thousands along the five-mile route. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

He is known for his winning ways at the helm as head football coach at the University of Utah, leading the Utes to historic success over 12 exciting seasons.  We're talking about Ron McBride, or Coach Mac as many have come to know him over the years. On this episode of the Supercast, we have the honor of sitting down with the legend and hearing first-hand about his time coaching, recruiting, and giving young athletes opportunities they never thought possible. Find out how Coach Mac is continuing his passionate work in our schools today with the Ron McBride Foundation, making sure at-risk youth have every chance to succeed. Plus, hear how Coach Mac impacted the life of one of our very own, Valley High Principal Jacinto Peterson. Audio Transcription Coach McBride: The world is about adversity and how you handle adversity and you got all this social media where all these kids are very mean to each other. You've got to get beyond that so somebody doesn't get their self-image spoiled. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, and the negativity sticks with you. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He is known for his winning ways at the helm as head football coach at the University of Utah, leading the Utes to historic success over 12 exciting seasons. We're talking about Ron McBride or Coach Mac as many have come to know him over the years. On this episode of the Supercast, we have the honor of sitting down with the legend and hearing firsthand about his time coaching, recruiting, and giving young athletes opportunities they never thought possible. Find out how Coach Mac is continuing his passionate work in our schools today with the Ron McBride Foundation, making sure at-risk youth have every chance to succeed. Plus, hear how Coach Mac impacted the life of one of our very own, Valley High School Principal Jacinto Peterson. [MUSIC] Anthony Godfrey: We're talking today with Coach Ron McBride. Mac, thank you so much for being here today. Coach McBride: Absolutely, Superintendent. Hey, I'm glad to be here. Anthony Godfrey: It's a real thrill. I've been telling my friends I get to talk to you today. [LAUGHTER] Coach McBride: You got to tell that to my wife. Anthony Godfrey: We have felt your support in Jordan School District through your foundation, and I think it was high time that we just talked with you about the great things that you have going and all the support that you give to our kids in need. So we just wanted to talk with you about the foundation and where that came from. Coach McBride: Actually, Lavell Edwards and myself started it nine years ago. The thing was to help the underserved kids and to give them a chance to see a brighter side of life. Basically, from the time I was in high school, junior high, I was always very involved, particularly with my teammates that were underprivileged because I came from a lower middle East LA neighborhood. So I understood, and my parents were month to month trying to keep afloat. Anthony Godfrey: So through your own experience and your experience with players who were underprivileged, you've always had this focus on helping people. Coach McBride: Absolutely, yeah. So I've always been. So when I retired from Weber, then and Lavell and I were doing the radio show on Fridays. So we said, "Let's start this foundation." West Jordan Middle was one of our first schools. Anthony Godfrey: You've done a lot of work with them consistently over the years. Coach McBride: Oh ya, lots. First of all, the principals, the vice principals, the people that worked there were outstanding. The librarian was outstanding. Anthony Godfrey: She really is. Coach McBride: Oh, yeah. And she cares. I mean, I think we did a book club was the first thing we did over there, right? Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: This was many years ago. She was so appreciative and loved the kids so much. She was so excited about what we were doing, you know. Then I loved the principal, you know, and she was awesome. Anthony Godfrey: When you're able to bring resources to a school, and you see that the school has these caring adults that are trying to do their best for kids, it's got to feel good that you know that those resources are going to the right place. Coach McBride: Well, West Jordan Middle always followed up with whatever, you know. I mean, you go over there and check with their .  . .  watch the after school program. The lady that ran it, Ivy Erickson, one of the best people in the world. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, she's done like it. Coach McBride: But first of all, she the kids, she's all into the young people. Anthony Godfrey: Right. Coach McBride: She's all into the young people that have problems and she's a good listener. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: And so she's excited about what she does. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: So it's easy to go there and watch her in action. Anthony Godfrey: Well, I'm thrilled that you picked West Jordan Middle and they really are amazing people there. Coach McBride: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: There's been some turnover since you started. Coach McBride: Well, yeah, Dixie was a principal and she's at a bigger job. Anthony Godfrey: That's right. Coach McBride: And I tell you what, she's, first of all, her dad, I think, was a principal at that school. Anthony Godfrey: Right. That's right. Coach McBride: And she has a real history in education. Anthony Godfrey: Yes. Coach McBride: She's a great lady. You know what I mean? The great thing about when she was at West Jordan, it was always open anytime. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: We would go by to check out what they were doing or talk to the kids or whatever, but it was always very open to us. I think it was, that was the first school that, when Jerry Sloan was sick, we kind of dedicated that school to Jerry back then to begin with. So we called it “Jerry's Kids” to begin with over there. Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Coach McBride: And then, of course, Jerry had problems and finally, his problems took his life. It was too bad. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, it is. You were really instrumental in helping those after-school programs happen at West Jordan Middle School. Coach McBride: Oh, absolutely. Anthony Godfrey: That made a huge difference for those students. Coach McBride: Oh, yeah. I mean, they had-- And they had a lot of things going on. Besides sports, you know, they had Pokémon and they had chess club, it's ceramics club. So they had a lot of things. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. It was all this pent-up need from the kids and interest from the adults in providing those opportunities. Yeah, yeah. And when you come in with those resources with caring adults and needy kids, it was just an-- it's an incredible combination. Coach McBride: And they-- Anthony Godfrey: And you've allowed us to do things we couldn't do on our own. Coach McBride: Oh, absolutely. And you know, they have a lot of-- since they've kind of redid West Jordan Middle, they have a whole bunch of access to things they didn't have before. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: The shop classes are really good. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: Because, you know, in today's economy, it's important that young people know how to do a trade. Anthony Godfrey: Right. Coach McBride: Because that's where all the money is right now. Anthony Godfrey: That's right. Coach McBride: Trade-- so more young people need to go into trades because they're paying a good wage, you're going to make a good living, and you're going to be working every day. Anthony Godfrey: AI doesn't fix things or remodel things or repair things, you know? Coach McBride: Yeah, but we have a huge need in that sector. Anthony Godfrey: This feels like an extension of what you were able to do as a football coach. Coach McBride: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: You gave kids opportunities as a football coach. Talk to me about the relationship. Coach McBride: Well, I always-- you know, we always divided the locker room into three segments because of red, yellow, and green. So the red guys were about 10% of your football team and these are guys that were underappreciated, needed academic help, needed structure help, you know? Just needed to put them on a different line. So we would put our red guys with our green guys and therefore, then they would get them to thinking a different process. Anthony Godfrey: I see. Coach McBride: The idea is to take the red guys and get them to the yellow and get the yellow to the green. So you hopefully, by the time they graduate from college, that they were all into the green zone where they could take care of their own problems, take care of their own situations, handle adversity, do things that people have to do to be successful. Anthony Godfrey: There's a lot of work off the field to help them become everything they can be. Coach McBride: It's a lot of brainwashing. [LAUGHTER] Coach McBride: So, yeah, you just have to change the way people think. Anthony Godfrey: Right. Coach McBride: And if you put them around people that think different, then they slowly buy into it. What I find now with these red people, when I go to different places in Hawaii or in the South or anything, all these kids that play for me are academic people now. That's all they want to talk about is, "Oh, my kid's in college. He's doing this. He's doing this." And all of a sudden I says, "Well, I guess you got the message a long time ago." Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, it definitely worked. So, the message was, "There's more than football, and we need to prepare you for that." Coach McBride: Yeah, football is a vehicle. And if you don't do what I say, then I can take football away from you. So therefore, the kids, they want to play football, so if they want to play football, they have to get an education, they have to become the kind of citizens you want them to become. Anthony Godfrey: Let's figure that out, yeah. Now, you coached one of our principals. Coach McBride: Oh, yeah, Jacinto. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: His story is unreal because I can still remember going to that high school, and then he was living with his grandparents in a trailer out in the middle of nowhere. I said, "Well, how do I find the trailer?" "Well, go down this dirt road, turn right at where you see this dog tied up, and then turn left, and then you'll see the trailer, right." Anthony Godfrey: Wow. Coach McBride: They were beautiful people, you know. And Jacinto's had so much success here, and I'm so proud of him because he's always been a stand-up man. Anthony Godfrey: He's an incredible leader. Coach McBride: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: He's a great educator and he's saving a lot of kids. Coach McBride: Yeah, well, he understands it all because he lived through it. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, absolutely. When you first met Jacinto, what were your impressions? Coach McBride: Oh, I loved the kid. You know, he was easy to talk to, good communicator. I loved his grandparents, his grandma, you know. They're all just great and all they were interested is in getting this kid in a better spot for his life. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: So they all wanted the same thing. Anthony Godfrey: You accomplished that, and he's changed a lot of lives as a result. So thank you for that. You did me a big favor by sending Jacinto our way. Coach McBride: I'll tell you what, he did me a big favor by coming here. So he's the best, that kid. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, absolutely. Well, tell me about the foundation now. Tell me about your operations and how people can help if they wanted to. Coach McBride: So we started out with nothing, basically. And then we're up to, I think we got 32 schools now we support, between Ogden, Salt Lake, Canyons District. We got schools in all those places and so we gave away a little over $400,000 last year. Anthony Godfrey: Amazing. Coach McBride: In different schools. And everybody on our foundation has a school that they're responsible for. And we got, when we have our meetings, everybody reports on their schools, what's going on. And then I visit as many as I can. Anthony Godfrey: You've been very visible. Very hands on with us. Coach McBride: Yeah, because what you want to do is you can't have a foundation and then the guy's name on it, you know, who's that guy? But I love the kids because the kids are so much fun. Anthony Godfrey: Nobody says, “who's that guy?” I've seen you in school so many times, interacting with the kids, interacting with the adults. Coach McBride: Oh yeah, we have a lot of laughs when we go and then getting to know different kids and watching them go through the system. Anthony Godfrey: Sure. Coach McBride: Yeah, it's all fun. Anthony Godfrey: Middle school kids in particular, you can't help but have a good laugh when you're around middle school kids. Coach McBride: Well, middle school kids are making some decisions that are important to their lives. Because that's kind of that age group where you kind of start thinking, you know, a little more than you really should know, or you think you know more, and you're starting to question things, and you call it a growth spurt. So you got to make, you got to try to get these kids to think a little different and think beyond where they think they can be. Anthony Godfrey: They're having a growth spurt in every aspect of their lives, really. It's a big time. Coach McBride: Well, it's a huge time. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, you're right. Stay with us when we come back. More with Coach Mac and he talks with us about the recent coaching changes at the University of Utah. Male Voice: Never miss an episode of The Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. You can find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. Female Voice: Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education, as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District, we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org. Anthony Godfrey: There have been a lot of changes in the football world lately. What do you think of all the coaching shifts? Coach McBride: I'm in the middle of most of it every day because every time somebody gets leaves or something they call and say, “I'm going.” Obviously, some of those guys that Kyle took with him to Michigan were guys that played for me. A lot of staff have played for me. With Lewis Powell leaving, Doug LSI leaving, Jim Harding leaving, Jason Beck leaving. Those guys all have a history with all those guys. That was tough. I talked to most of them before they left and tried to talk them into staying. Now Morgan has hired some really good people. So it looks like Jordan Gross is going to be the old line guy, which is a great take. I think they're bringing back Noki who worked for me up at Weber as one of the D-line guys. They just hired Bumpus back as a wide receiver guy, which is a good hire. Then Colton Swan, who was my defensive coordinator at Weber, he's now the defensive coordinator. Luther's back, which is good. Colton is good. Sharif is good. Jordan will do a nice job with the offense. Kevin McGivin is going to be the offensive coordinator. He worked for me at Weber and was up at Utah State. We lost some good ones, but we hired some good ones. Anthony Godfrey: It's good to hear your take on that and your connection to all those folks. Coach McBride: The interesting thing, a guy that I coached with at Wisconsin, Fred Jackson, worked for the Michigan football program for 27 years. They retained him. Today I get a picture with him and a couple of the Utah people. They sent it to me. I said, "I can't believe how old you are, Fred." [LAUGHTER] Anthony Godfrey: When I've talked with people who worked with you in the past, they talk about kindness and loyalty. That you are just extremely loyal. When someone needs help and they ask you, you're all in. You're there to help. That's been your career and it's been your passion in retirement with this foundation. You're a dedicated loyal friend who wants to help people have a better life. Coach McBride: The whole key to our civilization are young people. What we have to do is create positives for them that they can go beyond what their parents have done. The key to the whole thing is, I want to have a positive voice on education. Anthony Godfrey: Yes. Coach McBride: The more you invest, the more you have a voice. The voice has to be positive. It can't be negative. It has to be that if you have a problem, you've got to adjust to the problem and solve it. The world is about adversity and how you handle adversity. Are you equipped? Can you handle the problem? All these kids at that middle age are asking questions, and you've got all this social media. Kids are very mean to each other, and this social media. You've got to get beyond that so somebody doesn't get their self-image spoiled. Anthony Godfrey: The negativity sticks with you. Coach McBride: Absolutely. Anthony Godfrey: It has an outsized impact way beyond. I know that even if you hear a negative comment from someone you don't know, it sticks with you at that age in ways that are so damaging. Coach McBride: Oh yeah. I mean, when I say cut out the noise, but with all these cell phones, these kids get a lot of noise. Anthony Godfrey: Like you were saying, you're lifting them at such an important time, providing these resources to our middle school kids. Coach McBride: Absolutely. Hopefully, we will continue to grow. Anthony Godfrey: If people want to help, they just go to RonMcBrideFoundation.org and they can make a donation right there. Coach McBride: Absolutely. We don't spend a lot of money paying people so we only have two people that we pay. Anthony Godfrey: You're also helping with Joel P. Jensen and with Majestic Elementary. Majestic, our elementary arts academy, a very unique place. Coach McBride: Oh my, it's so much fun over there. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, yeah. Coach McBride: How they've incorporated the music with the teaching, with the learning and very positive people. Anthony Godfrey: Oh, they are. A lot of great energy. Coach McBride: Yeah, extremely. Anthony Godfrey: You're a good match for that school. Coach McBride: Yeah, oh yeah. They're great. I like the process. It's an interesting way of education. It's an interesting way to keep the kids involved. And then your teachers over there are heavily involved in that formula. Anthony Godfrey: Oh yeah, no, they're all in. They're all trained. Coach McBride: Oh yeah. Anthony Godfrey: They approach education in a whole different way. Coach McBride: Exactly. Anthony Godfrey: And your support really makes some incredible experiences possible. So you bought the pianos for the piano lab, is that right? Coach McBride: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Well, I remember when we started down the academy pathway, and we wanted to make it a music school, and that was a big obstacle, is being able to get those keyboards in there. Coach McBride: Oh yeah. Well, it's all, you know, if you're going to have that kind of school, you've got to have good instruments and you've got to have a way to, you know, and you've got to make it first class. Anthony Godfrey: I received an email from someone at the state level who had attended their program right before the winter break and they were so impressed with how important this clearly was to the families of the students who were benefiting from the program when they all came there. It's just, it's a whole community impact. You've done a lot of great work with Joel P. Jensen as well, offering those after school . . . Coach McBride: Karen Moore, yeah. Anthony Godfrey: Karen Moore at... Coach McBride: Yeah, yeah. She's a good leader, very good leader. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah. Coach McBride: And she's great. Yeah. So yeah, you've hired some really good people in your district. Anthony Godfrey: Thank you. We really do have good people everywhere. Coach McBride: Very extremely positive role models for the kids. Anthony Godfrey: You have these strong relationships that stay because you create strong relationships to stay with. Coach McBride: Yeah, absolutely. So it doesn't stop because your eligibility is up. Anthony Godfrey: Right. Coach McBride: And you're basically in these kids' lives forever. My wife, she's on social media, I guess, with around 200 players. So every morning she's answering their questions, answering what their problems are. And then she'll come in and she'll say, "Hey, so and so's got a problem. You need to get ahold of them." So he's doing well. So we have one of the kids play for me at a heart attack two days ago. So she's been on the phone taking, "How is he? How's he doing?" And then I'm on the phone with his family. And yeah, so yeah, it's just... But that's where it's supposed to be. Anthony Godfrey: Doesn't surprise me a bit that you're still in touch with those 200 players. Coach McBride: Yeah, well, it's probably more than that. It's fun to watch them have kids and then see how they handle their kids. Anthony Godfrey: Sure, sure. Coach McBride: We've had a lot of... Kids have had a lot of success. Anthony Godfrey: That's amazing. What are some of the success stories you remember with your students that are most meaningful? Coach McBride: Well, you know, probably all starts with Joe Mosley back in high school. Overfeld High School was a minority school and Piedmont Hills was the first place that I coached. So they were busing kids from Overfeld to Piedmont, minority kids and Joe was a really good football player. So, he wasn't showing up. And he wouldn't get on a... They were busing these kids. He wouldn't get on the bus. Anthony Godfrey: Yah. Coach McBride: So then I said, "Okay, I'm going to pick you up every morning. Get you dressed. Take you to McDonald's and then we'll go to school." And he said, "You're not going to do that." I said, "Yes, I am." So I'd show up. I'd get him out of bed and make sure he got dressed. "Okay, we're on the way to McDonald's." And then I'd make sure he got home at night. I did that for maybe almost a year until I got him squared away. And then he became a leader in the school. And then he became in charge of all the gang units in San Jose. He just retired recently, so I was kind of the guest speaker at his retirement. This was 60 years ago. Anthony Godfrey: My goodness. Coach McBride: So everywhere there's a success there is a Joe Mosley story. Anthony Godfrey: Lots of stories like that. Coach McBride: And some of you failed. Anthony Godfrey: Sure. Coach McBride: I mean, so some people, you try to help them, try to put them right, and then they just keep falling back into a pattern. So sometimes you fail and I know the failures and I know why. Anthony Godfrey: A lot more successes, sounds like. Coach McBride: Well, yeah. I would say, yeah. I think we're on the positive side of— Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, for sure. Coach McBride: But there are, you know, everybody has problems. Anthony Godfrey: Yeah, it's true. Well, thank you, Mac, for supporting these three schools in our district and for what you do in the broader community throughout the state and just for the positive impact you've had in Utah for so many years. Thank you. Coach McBride: Well, it's a good agenda and it's important. So it looks like we're in this for the long run. Anthony Godfrey: I love it. Thank you. [MUSIC PLAYING] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there. [MUSIC PLAYING]

They have worked hard learning the English language trying to be the best they can be, making change in their own lives and the lives of generations to come. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to a very emotional WIDA graduation. WIDA stands for World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment. Listen as we talk to graduates about the great pride they take in their achievement, becoming proficient in the English language; listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Find out what the milestone means to the multilingual students and their families now and well into the future.

He is a middle school principal who loves working with students, bringing out the best in them every single day. But there is a secret talent that keeps Bryan Leggat going long after the last bell of the day at Elk Ridge Middle. On this episode of the Supercast, we find out about Mr. Leggat's longtime passion for painting and creating beautiful works of art. Hear how he finds inspiration as an artist, sometimes thanks to his meaningful and impactful work as a school principal and the relationships he has built along the way. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

It is a showcase of student talent, musical magic, and seasonal joy. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Joel P. Jensen Middle School for a holiday music program that will make your spirits bright one note at a time. Listen and enjoy. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They are less than an inch long, weigh mere grams, and move incredibly slow with average speeds of 0.03 miles per hour. We are talking about snails, a soft-bodied mollusk called the Gastropoda. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to an Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science class at Mountain Ridge High School where small snails are having a big impact on students studying the ecosystem. Find out the role snails are playing in the AP course, and how the class is capitalizing on the snail-based learning. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

It is a unique program that is helping students achieve huge success in reaching their reading goals, and students and teachers alike are having a blast in the process. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Riverton Elementary School where kindergarten students and teachers are dressed as astronauts to celebrate their incredible accomplishments in a Districtwide initiative called “Planet Kindergarten.” The space-themed program is helping students reach for the stars in achieving their literacy goals and we're about to hear from some of the amazing educators behind it all. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They traveled thousands of miles away on a mission to foster education and share knowledge with fellow educators in Mongolia. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what inspired three amazing Jordan School District employees to spend much of their summer providing training to English teachers in Mongolia. We'll hear about the incredible lessons they learned and the life-changing impact they discovered, learning about another beautiful and very different culture. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

They were high school students already getting up close and personal hands-on experience at the Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers (JATC) in their quest to become firefighters. On this episode of the Supercast, meet some recent Jordan School District graduates who spent this past summer on the front line fighting wildland fires in Utah. Hear how they got a jump start on their careers in high school, enrolled in the JATC Fire Science program. Find out what advice they have for current students eager to don their turnout gear and start their own careers as firefighters after graduation. Audio Transcription Transcription coming soon.

It is a long-time tradition at Valley High School thanks to the hard work and dedication of two incredible teachers. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Valley High's Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos celebration, a touching and colorful commemoration, remembering lost loved ones though family photos, favorite ...continue reading "Episode 323: Valley High School's Long Time Tradition of Celebrating Day of the Dead"

When she's not in the classrooms of her school caring for kids, one assistant principal has a unique passion, and you could say she is having a dog-gone good time pursuing that passion. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Elk Meadows Elementary School where we meet up with Stacie Thompson and ...continue reading "Episode 322: Assistant Principal Has Passion for Showing Rhodesian Ridgebacks"

He works tirelessly to improve the motor skills and mobility of students, so they can get the most out of their education and all the fun activities that go along with it. On this episode of the Supercast, we meet Jordan School District physical therapist Mitch Gibson. Hear why Mitch is considered quite the character, ...continue reading "Episode 321: School Physical Therapist Uses Fun Costumes to Connect with Kids in His Care"

Some classrooms on wheels are making their way to kindergarten and first-grade students throughout Jordan School District right now. The classrooms are actually big yellow school buses. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how our dedicated school bus drivers have come up with an entertaining and hands-on training course to keep kids safe ...continue reading "Episode 320: School Buses Become Safety Training Centers on Wheels"

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the many things we do as a school District to keep student data safe and protect employees and families from falling victim to phishing and other scams. On this episode, find out how partnering with parents and the community can make a big difference ...continue reading "Episode 319: How We Protect Student Data and Defend the District Against Cyber Attacks"

They work hard to safeguard the health and well-being of student athletes, focusing on injury prevention on-site during practice and games. On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Mountain Ridge High School to meet two amazing certified athletic trainers. Listen and hear about the difference they make in the lives of students in ...continue reading "Episode 318: JSD Athletic Trainers Focus on Safety First in Sports"

Could it be magic? It was something like that for an amazing Jordan School District music teacher. On this episode of the Superast, meet Riverton High's Performing Arts Director Jason Weimer. Mr. Weimer recently received the prestigious Barry Manilow Music Teacher Award for the State of Utah. The award came with a once in a ...continue reading "Episode 317: Looks Like He Made It; Riverton High Music Teacher Receives Barry Manilow Music Award"

Teachers in Jordan School District are transforming their classrooms with more personalized, efficient, and engaging lessons than ever before, thanks in part, to the use of SchoolAI. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside an amazing classroom at Valley High School. It's where students are thriving and the classroom experience more dynamic ...continue reading "Episode 316: Customized Learning in Our Classrooms with Teachers Using SchoolAI"

It is a ‘first-of- its-kind' High Tech Learning Lab for elementary school students in Jordan School District made possible through a partnership with the Utah Jazz, Utah Mammoth and America First Credit Union. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside the Learning Lab where students are wild with excitement over 3D printing, ...continue reading "Episode 315: Inside the Brand New “High Tech Learning Lab” Where Students are Loving Exciting Hands-On Experiences"

They are students at Copper Hills High School who recently risked their own lives by breaking down a front door and running into a burning home hoping to save the lives of others. On this episode of the Supercast, join us as we take you inside the big surprise where the students received a military ...continue reading "Episode 314: A Big Surprise for Copper Hills High Students Who Ran into Burning Home to Save Lives"

She was just a teen when she lost an eye to a rare form of cancer, had to wear an eye patch, and suddenly became a target for hurtful teasing. On this episode of the Supercast, hear the incredible story of Columbia Elementary School kindergarten teacher Alexa Byrd. Find out how one middle school teacher ...continue reading "Episode 313: Teacher Who Lost Eye to Cancer Encourages Kids to Embrace & Celebrate Their Differences"

It is an impressive sight to see in the student parking lot at West Jordan High School. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how a Paint & Park project is raising money for senior class activities throughout the school year. It's a project where some students were able to paint and personalize their ...continue reading "Episode 312: Paint & Park Project at West Jordan High Funding Fun Student Activities"

It's that time of year when thousands of students are making their way to school walking eagerly through neighborhoods, along established safe walking routes. On this episode of the Supercast, find out how we can all work together to better protect young pedestrians and make sure their travel to and from school is safe. Audio ...continue reading "Episode 311: Let's All Stop, Look, and Listen to Keep Kids Safe Walking to School"

She is a motivational speaker, an amputee, athlete, humanitarian, and goalie for the gold medal winning U.S.A. Para Ice Hockey team. On this episode of the Supercast, we meet West Jordan High School graduate Hope Bevilhymer. We hear Hope's inspirational story of tragic challenges in life to hard-earned triumphs. And, you'll find out what happens ...continue reading "Episode 310: West Jordan High Graduate is Gold Medalist in Sled Hockey and in Overcoming Obstacles"

They are internationally known recording artists who have made it to the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100. The American Pop band AJR recently performed in Utah and guess what, they invited the Copper Hills High School marching band to take the stage with them. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what the ...continue reading "Episode 309: Copper Hills High Marching Band Takes the Stage Performing with National Recording Artists, “AJR”"

Before you know it, the first bells will ring and students will fill the halls ready for new adventures in the brand-new school year. On this episode of the Supercast, we share some tips for parents on preparing kids for a smooth transition back to school. Listen and find out how you can get your ...continue reading "Episode 308: Preparing Students for a Smooth Transition Back to School"

As thousands of Utahns enjoy parades, rodeos, fireworks, and other festivities to celebrate Pioneer Day, it's time to pack up and take a field trip for a hands-on lesson in history for some Jordan School District elementary school students. On this episode of the Supercast, we follow teachers and their students to “This is the ...continue reading "Episode 307: Students Take a Step Back in Time as Utahn's Celebrate Pioneer Day"

It is giving every student an opportunity to learn at higher levels in ways some never imagined. On this episode of the Supercast, we talk with companies igniting curiosity in the classroom with the use of technology, technology which is bringing better education opportunities for students, enhancing what teachers teach, and impacting education in some ...continue reading "Episode 306: Unlocking Student Potential with Technology"

It is an exciting new addition to Jordan School District, using a cost-efficient approach to provide a growing number of essential educational services to families in a centralized location. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what Jordan School District is doing with the former Walmart space across from Elk Ridge Middle School off ...continue reading "Episode 305: What's Going on Inside the Former Walmart Location Off of 9800 S. in South Jordan? A Sneak Peek Inside"

Do you know the signs to watch for if you suspect your young teen might be vaping? Do you want to talk to your teen about it, but don't know where to begin? On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with a doctor from Intermountain Health Riverton Hospital, who gives us some strategies ...continue reading "Episode 304: A Doctor Talks About the Dangers of Teen Vaping"

She has been a teacher at Riverside Elementary School by day, by night and on weekends, performing live concerts throughout the State. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to a weekend regional music festival in American Fork. That's where we catch up with teacher, Lydia Theobald, who is a vocalist and keyboard ...continue reading "Episode 303: A Teacher's Journey from the Classroom to Live in Concert"