Supercast

Student:
Now that we've won, we're going to be building some things that we can put in a box that they'll send up to the edge of space and we'll measure the amount that these different data storage units are going to... like what just happens to them.

Student:
It'll reach 60,000 feet

Student:
And we are going to test how the radiation and pressure there affects the electronics.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. 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. They'll be working on an experiment with real-world applications that will be launched using NASA's high-altitude balloons, a dream come true for these incredibly talented students.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are here at the JATC North campus to talk with Amber Saffen and some of her students about the Aerospace Engineering program. Amber, thanks for talking with us today.

Amber Saffen:
Yeah, welcome. Welcome to our program.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me how you and your students are now involved with NASA.

Amber Saffen:
Yes, so our CTE coordinator right at the beginning of the school year sent an email our way that NASA has a competition called NASA TechRise where students can write proposals for an experiment to be sent up into the stratosphere, and so as part of my program, I was like, "Hey, we're the aerospace program. That seems pretty dang relevant." So fresh to the program, my students got in and they did some research and they put together some proposals of some things that useful experiments they thought would be good to send up there. And then just a couple months ago, I got an email that one of those proposals had been accepted. And so I'm here with four of my students and they wrote a proposal and now NASA will be working with them once a week for the next 18 weeks to build the proposal. Gave them, is going to provide $1,500 for them to buy the supplies, is going to help them learn how to do it, and then that will be shipped back to be go up on the WorldView balloon.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's meet your students and have them describe to me what this experiment is all about. Introduce yourselves, tell us what grade you're in, and what school you're from.

Student:
All right. My name is Blake Bigler. I'm a senior at Mountain Ridge High School.

Student:
My name is Canyon Bullock, and I'm a senior at Herriman High School.

Student:
My name is Mason Rice, and I'm also a senior at Mountain Ridge High School.

Student:
My name is Zach Hull, and I'm a senior at Riverton High School.

Anthony Godfrey:
Someone tell me about this experiment, what's involved exactly. What will you learn from being a part of this?

Student:
Yeah, we created this proposal like six months ago, but basically what it is, is we designed an experiment where we are testing how data storage is affected and how it works in space with like radiation and lower pressure. So now that we've won, we're going to be building some things that we can put in a box that they'll send up to the edge of space and we'll measure the amount that these different data storage units are going to, like what just happens to them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me, how do you send this up? How far up does it go? What is all that going to look like?

Student:
So what we will be doing is we will be taking different data storage types like hard drives, disk drives, flash drives, things like that, and we will put them in a box, which we will attach to a weather balloon.

Student:
It'll reach 60,000 feet and then once it reaches 60,000 feet then it'll gradually go down where they can pick up all the tests and then take them back to the facility.

Student:
And we are going to test how the radiation and pressure there affects the electronics.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the theory? What do you think might happen once you send that information up? I assume you'll send a zip drive up as well, a couple of floppy disks.

Never mind. No, don't worry about it.

Student:
I don't know that a five and a quarter floppy would fit in the box.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it's going to be that small.

Student:
It's not particularly large.

Anthony Godfrey:
That makes sense.

Student:
We have to use a SATA size disk drive because a standard five and a quarter would just be too much.

Student:
We think we're going to put different amounts of insulation around the drives. So we're thinking different materials.

Student:
Lead, aluminum, foil, things like that.

Student:
So we're just trying to stop the radiation from reaching the data encoding because otherwise the radiation can scramble that and then your data that you send up there is no longer useful.

Anthony Godfrey:
So is it the radiation and the altitude? You're measuring the impact of both on data storage. Is that right?

Student:
Yes. It will mostly be the radiation because that's what we'll be getting through into the storage. But the pressure will also be being tested on the other parts of the experiment.

Anthony Godfrey:
I understand they're going to send you some money for materials to conduct this experiment. Somebody want to speak to that?

Student:
On the subject of materials, we're currently in a storage crisis. Things like RAM and NVMe drives and things like that are all way more expensive, like three times, four times. So great timing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, if you change your mind, I do have some of the large and small floppy disks available in my home. And if you really want to take your experiment to the next level, just let me know. We can include that. Tell me what interested you in being part of the Aerospace Engineering Program to begin with.

Student:
Well, for me, my dad's a pilot at Delta, so I've always been kind of interested in aviation. And I also am pretty decent at math and science, and I like those things, I'd say. So I thought that I'd try to put them together and do aerospace engineering.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm not sure I would be surprised that he's really decent, but I appreciate the humility. So that's pretty cool. So have you traveled lots of great places with those pilot flight benefits of your dad's?

Student:
Yeah, I've traveled some pretty cool places.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you want to be a pilot, or what do you want to do with your knowledge and with your science and math skills?

Student:
Well, that's kind of what this class is doing for me, is I'm trying to figure out if this is something that I'd want to do. And I think that this opportunity to work with NASA has definitely, like, it's got me a lot more excited about aerospace engineering, and it's, a lot more interested in this now for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. How about for you? Why did you decide to be part of this class?

Student:
I've been doing, like, taking engineering programs at JTEC for a while now, and I just thought that aerospace would be the next one. And I was like, that's pretty interesting, but it's been my favorite one so far. And I think it's been really cool learning about things that fly, and rocket ships, and airplanes, and everything that flies. I think it's all really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
What other engineering classes have you taken here?

Student:
Engineering Principles, CAD Mechanical Design, Architecture, Civil Engineering. I was going to do Robotics, but I opted out on that one. But this is the coolest one so far.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. How about you?

Student:
I always wanted to be an engineer, but I didn't know which kind. This is my first engineering JTEC class. And I decided to go with aerospace because I really like NASA and SpaceX, and I think that planes and rocket ships are really cool. So I just decided to take this class, and this class inspired me to start my, well, not start, but I'm going to start my degree in mechanical engineering with an aerospace emphasis at BYU.

Anthony Godfrey:
And for other engineering programs, the sky's the limit, but the sky's not the limit for aerospace.

Student:
No, not for this one.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you want to continue your studies at BYU, ideally.

Student:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. Well, I'm glad you're getting a start here. That's awesome. And it's great that you've been able to narrow that already to aerospace. How about you?

Student:
So I'm actually in aerospace and robotics right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
So flying robots is really your thing.

Student:
Yes. So I've always found both interesting. Like, I would take apart toys to figure out how they work, and rockets are just awesome. There's no doubt about it. But I took these classes because it's just fun for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
How long before robots are our overlords?

Student:
Ideally, never.

Anthony Godfrey:
But let's be realistic. We're just here on the podcast. When's it going to happen?

Student:
If it's going to happen, it will be within the next century, I believe.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like how you leave the door open that it might not happen, but at least we've got a few years left. All right. Tell me, why did you decide to teach aerospace engineering? And what's your background? And how exciting is it for you that your students are now working with NASA?

Amber Saffen:
It's super, super, super exciting. I mean, as a teacher, all I want to do is get opportunities put in front of students so they can fly and do what they want to do. I got my degree in engineering education, and I took over. This is my first year teaching the aerospace course. I took over from Noel Schick last year. She had a good program going through PLTW, and I wasn't able to continue with them this year, though we might jump back on. And so I was looking at any opportunities I had to connect, get into this. I was already teaching the drone course, and I started teaching that because there was a need for it. I saw that there was this huge industry blowing up that we were starting to get college degrees, and I thought, we need to get this in the high school. And that’s my job is, is to connect students. So I started teaching that in partner with Noel's aerospace class, and then when she left the school, I took over aerospace. And so any connection I can make with NASA or anything like that, we have a big aerospace industry here in Utah, with Boeing here. And so there's a lot of opportunities. We have some great college programs, like Mason mentioned, BYU. A lot of the universities have pretty good aerospace programs. So I just want to make sure students get a head start, figure out if that's what they want to do, and then have a head up into getting into those programs so they can work where they want to work.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Mason, you nodded your head a couple of times. Are there specific opportunities that career-wise that you're interested in?

Student:
I would really like to work for either NASA or Lockheed Martin, personally. But that's just because I like the planes and the ships that they make, so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Lockheed Martin, listen up. Lock in right now. Now's your big chance to grab him.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with the students and teacher who are working with NASA TechRise engineers.

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:
In Jordan School District, communicating and connecting with parents is really important, and that's why we're very excited about ParentSquare. ParentSquare has replaced Skylert as the District's new communication platform. With ParentSquare, you'll receive all district and school communication via email, text, and/or the app based on your preference. All messages can be translated to your preferred home language indicated in Skyward, and it takes less than a minute to set up your notification preferences. You can use the ParentSquare app on any device. The app is available at parentsquare.com/sign-in. We look forward to connecting with you through ParentSquare.

Female Voice:
This is from the NASA TechRise announcement.

Male Voice:
“We know that taking on the challenge to innovate and explore is never easy. It takes hard work and courage to share your ideas, and we applaud everyone who submitted a NASA TechRise proposal. From all of us here at WorldView, thank you for participating. We cannot wait to see the final experiments fly.”

Amber Saffen:
. . . link on their website, and some of you might recognize this little paper right here on “The Effects of Low Space Radiation on Electronic Devices and Data Storage.” So . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us what it was like to hear that your experiment had been approved by NASA. Talk us through that scene.

Student:
I just couldn't believe it was totally unexpected. You'll hear all of us say this, but we didn't even recognize it was our project at first because we weren't expecting it. It had been so long.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. You submitted it. You'd kind of forgotten about it. Now all of a sudden you're working with NASA.

Student:
First I saw what was it that Zack jumped up in his chair, and I was like, "Oh, that's so cool. He won the project." And I was like, "Wait a minute."

Anthony Godfrey:
"Wait a minute. I'm part of that.”

Student:
I'm part of that. That's so cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's great.

Student:
Oh yeah. I was also really shocked. I didn't recognize the project. I saw that all these random people were there, so I was like, "Oh, so somebody must have won. And then they pulled it up, and I was like, "Oh my goodness. That's our project. I never would have thought in a million years that would be us."

Amber Saffen:
I found out about a month before I was allowed to tell them, and I found out while I was at a conference in Nashville, and I was looking at my computer, I got the email. I immediately pulled up an email to tell them all and then read the next line that said, "Do not let students and parents know yet," and realized I had to be sworn to secrecy for a month. And that was, it was not easy. I was just so excited for them, and I wasn't allowed to tell anybody.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, NASA also told me that I have to wait for—no, I'm just kidding. Tell me, what do you hope that students gain from a program like this? Because this is the time of year where people are choosing classes for the coming year, and this may not be the first one that pops to mind. And they may wonder, "Oh, am I ready for this? Do I have the math and science skills to be able to be part of it?" What would you say to those considering this, and what do you hope is the outcome for students who are in your class?

Amber Saffen:
Well, the number one thing that I try to teach, and we try to teach here at the engineering department at the JATC, is critical thinking and problem solving. Because no matter what you go into, those are skills that if you develop them, it's going to help you. So even if my students don't go into aerospace, I'm not mad, but I know that the experiences they got here in teamwork and troubleshooting and problem solving and critical thinking, no matter what they go into, that's going to be helpful for them. And so, if I, you know, giving those connections and opportunities to students, if they can take it, and then also giving them those experiences, so if they go do something else, it's still beneficial. I see how much my students grow in a year working together and doing all these hard tasks we do in engineering. And they do. They grow, and it's just so awesome to see.

Anthony Godfrey:
Aerospace engineering in particular, but engineering classes in general, are going to be changing a lot over time. And what you just described is exactly the type of education that we hope to be providing. That is problem solving, the sort of skills that you will be able to use no matter what comes your way. You also want the industry-specific knowledge, but really, if you can't problem solve, then you're not going to be able to adapt to future needs. And I just, I love the way you describe that. It's really exciting. What have you loved most about this class? I want to ask each of you, whether it's just a general, something that you've learned, or a particular class, what have you liked most?

Student:
For me, I think it's just how hands-on it is. Our main project is we're building a drone just from scratch. And I think it's really cool being able to solder everything together and program things and just really see a drone just appear out of nowhere because of what you and your group are doing. I think that's pretty cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it gives you a deep understanding of how it all works when you're building it from scratch.

Student:
I just like making my ideas become a reality and just getting what I think would be cool to make it real.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me one of your ideas that you've been able to work on.

Student:
I don't know, our drone, for one. I don't know, we're making like a claw for it right now, and I think it's really interesting to try to...

Anthony Godfrey:
You're making a what?

Student:
Like a claw for the drone.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, a claw for the drone. Oh, wow. Okay. So it can pluck people out of their backyard and transport them someplace else.

Student:
Yeah, I guess.

Student:
It's for stealing hats.

Anthony Godfrey:
For stealing hats. Hey, you know what? You got to start somewhere. How about for you?

Student:
I like just how different it's been from a regular education and how similar it will be to real life. I enjoy it a lot more because there's more creativity and there's more teamwork. And you're not just doing things just to like waste time or get credit. You're actually building something that has a task, that has a purpose, and in the real world can make something happen. So it's very exciting.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there's an application for what you're learning, and really every minute is useful.

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful.

Student:
Kind of the same thing that Mason said, honestly. It's how hands-on it is, how I'm not sitting at a desk just staring at a screen. You know?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. No, I understand. I appreciate that. That's great. What's the timeline for completing the project, and what will that look like? What are the steps?

Amber Saffen:
We've started meeting with the TechRise team. The students will be meeting with their NASA TechRise team and the NASA engineers they'll be working with this Thursday for the first time. And then they'll be meeting with them once a week for the next 18 weeks to help them learn how to put this together, build the experiment. The box that will be going up on the balloon that they sent us arrived the other day. It's sitting in the classroom. We're very excited to open it. And then they will finish it up around May right at the end of the school year, ship it back to NASA, and then it will be going up in the summer on a Worldview balloon to lower stratosphere. That date is pending on weather, of course, for the launch. But it will be in the summer.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is really going to be rocket fuel for your careers where you think, “Hey, wait a minute. Maybe I do really want to do this. Maybe this is something that I could turn into a profession,” because there's nothing like working with NASA for figuring out whether aerospace engineering is for you. So congratulations. This is really exciting. And I can't wait to hear more about how the experiments go.

Amber Saffen and Students:
Thank you.

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.

Mr. Luchs:
It's a competition between hundreds of different schools and thousands of students.

Student:
It had to be local folklore.

Student:
It was this guy that was exiled in like the mid*-1800s to like Fremont Island.

Student:
I think that that'd make a pretty good ghost story.

Mr. Luchs:
You spend those all-nighters making that color palette just right. That's the small details that separates you from, you know, sixth, seventh place or even two hundredth place.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are talented students being recognized on the world stage because of their passion for filmmaking and 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.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Riverton High School talking with students from the video production program. Introduce yourself, tell us what grade you're in, and what drew you to this program. Why did you want to be part of this?

Brennan Staggs:
Hello, I'm Brennan Staggs and I'm a sophomore and the thing that drew me into this program was the — I've always been into film so I think film is pretty cool.

Rockwood Inkley:
My name is Rockwood Inkley or Rocky and I'm also sophomore. The thing that drew me into this is I just, I love learning new types of art so I guess I saw this and thought it looked cool so I signed up.

Amden Olson:
Hi, I'm Amden Olson. I'm a sophomore and the thing that drew me to this is I've been doing photography for about two and a half years. I run an automotive photography business where we just started doing video so doing this helps me advance in my career and hopefully the video will be a pilot.

Scott Nelson:
Hello guys, I'm Scott Nelson and what drew me to this class was I've always wanted to be a filmmaker when I was a child and I saw that Riverton had video classes and thought it was really exciting.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me what it's like being in this class right now. What are some of the things you've learned and what you love most about it?

Student:
I think I've learned mostly on how to make better videos on film and that's what I love about it.

Student:
My favorite thing in this class is using Premiere Pro and post-production. I find it fascinating.

Student:
I enjoy this class because it has helped me learn more about video composition, which is some of the things that clients really like. If you don't have good composition you're not going to get clients.

Student:
I love this class because it lets me be creative in the morning and I've learned how to use the equipment and how to edit better.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the competition that you just won, the international competition that you just won and what that's all about and what you made that allowed you to win this competition.

Student:
This was a horror fest so we had to make a one-minute horror short film. It had to be local folklore so we spent a while, me and Brennan, spent a while looking for local folklore and we came across this story from the 1860s.

Student:
Yeah, around the mid-1800s. It was a, what was his name? Jean Baptist. It was this guy that was exiled in the mid-1800s to Fremont Island, I believe.

Student:
One of the islands in Salt Lake. He was a grave robber and he got sent to the island and they found a skeleton, I think, at the base of the Jordan River with the words "grave robber" in the skull and it was chained and shackled which they didn't send him to the island chained and shackled. So I thought that'd make a pretty good ghost story.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's ask your teacher to introduce himself and tell us a little bit about the competition.

Mr. Luchs:
My name is Mr. Luchs. This is my fourth year at Riverton High School. I'm the video productions teacher and I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about the competition, what's involved and who were they up against?

Mr. Luchs:
Yeah, so the competition itself is for an international organization called Student Television Network. They have a lot of different competitions throughout the year. This one is their horror film competition. This one is very unique because throughout the year, their competitions involve lots of categories for all different types of video. And so though it's a competition between hundreds of different schools and thousands of students, your category often has a portion of those students. The horror film is unique because every student in every team is making the same type of prompt. These guys, to my understanding, were up against a couple hundred different first-year student teams, and so getting second place out of all those hundreds of teams, let alone many, many, many hundreds more of students, is very cool. They did have a set of requirements. They required, as they said, to find a local folklore and based the one-minute film on that. They were also required to meet certain story and recording-based specifications, which they did a very good job of doing. Or at least so the judges did.

Anthony Godfrey:
I already like the color tones here. Did you change the color tones at all or is this just what the Jordan River looks like? Because I'm already terrified.

Student:
I did the editing for this.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Student:
So I get every question.

Anthony Godfrey:
How long, how much editing does it take for a one-minute horror video? Because I think people probably underestimate the time that it takes. At least three minutes, I would think.

Student:
I spent an all-nighter and half a day working on the editing for this.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does editing horror films require that you do it in the middle, in the dead of night, really? Is that when you should be editing a horror movie?

Student:
No, but I am the oldest of four siblings. So that's what I get.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have to wait till it gets quiet.

Student:
So yeah, that's when I get the most peace and quiet to work.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that sounds fair.

Mr. Luchs:
If I might jump in, I want to give these guys a lot of credit for what he said, too about working overnight and into another day. One thing that's really interesting about being a video teacher is you have students that come to get the grade, and you have students who really give themselves to their projects and program. This is one of many classes, and I didn't require them to spend hours and hours doing this. This was an optional competition.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
And he edited this during his fall break. So this wasn't just something he did on a whim. They really dived themselves into it. I think you guys had to record, rerecord like three different times to get all the shots that you needed.

Student:
Yes, we did have to rerecord three times. The first time we weren't very coordinated, and it ended up taking a lot more time to get us all in the right location. And our footage was kind of rushed and not very good. And the second time, the second time, was more like we had equipment malfunction and again, uncoordination. And then the final two times was when we had the actual footage that we filmed.

Anthony Godfrey:
So a lot of logistics, a lot of things to account for that you can't totally control always. And I appreciate that you went back to redo things. I think that's really cool that you dedicated as much time as you did.

Mr. Luchs:
Yeah, and I think that's really why they did so well, because like I said before, they are part of a first-year student film team. Everybody in this competition has, let's say six weeks of prior experience at most, depending on when their school year started. But what separates different first-year students from others is A) the passion and B) the commitment, because I can only teach them so much in six weeks. Their dedication to re-film, film again, get those extra shots that they think that they needed, to spend those all-nighters making that color palette just right. That's the small details that separates you from sixth, seventh place, or even 200th place in the competition. And you have to have skill. You have to have learned in your classes and pay attention for the time you have. But it's really that passion and dedication that makes them stand out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, we watch the horror video with the students who produced it.

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:
So I see the big screen here that maybe we get to watch this video. Can we can we take a look?

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That was chilling. Honestly, honestly, I kind of got-- I absolutely got the chills watching that. So Rocky, you do your own stunts, I see.

Rocky:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Falling on the bike there and you're a grave robber right out of the chute there. So it pulls us in right away and then pulls you in literally at the end.

Rocky:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know what, listeners, I can't describe it. You're just going to have to see it for yourself. Now, I want to ask about one special effect. You couldn't actually see your breath or you could actually see your breath.

Student:
I think I found a PNG GIF and just overlaid it on top.

Mr. Luchs:
Wow. I actually-- I didn't even know that they did that. That just goes back to the test to their attention in detail because there's some things that they weren't told they had to do or how to do it. And I guess they figured it out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I was a language arts teacher and we used to do an exercise where you had to try to write a really short horror story. It's kind of the same thing where you only have so much time and you guys made the most of every second. It just pulls you in really fast. I really love that. I thought that was very cool. How do you guys feel about the final product now that you've put all this effort into it?

Student:
I saw this and I was really proud of all of the effort that Rocky and Brendan put into it. And I felt like they did a lot of things that I wasn't expecting in a good way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. How about you two?

Student:
I'm really happy with the way it turned out. There were a few things we wish we could have done better.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's the art of sensibility. You're always going to tinker. You're always going to think, “oh, I could do this thing or I could do that thing.” There's always the director's cut that comes out later. George Lucas wants to put all the special effects in after the fact. Everybody thinks they could do a little better. But that's why you did so well because you're always striving to make sure that it's the best.

Student:
Yeah, I think the final product of the film is really, really impressive. I filmed some of it, Amden filmed some of it, and Rocky edited the thing, and when I saw the edited portion and the full final product, I was like, this is really impressive. I'm really proud.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hearing the story you based this on and then seeing the product, there's a lot of creativity between the source material and where we ended up. And it's really impressive. I'm excited to see what you guys do from here because that shows just a ton of potential. And speaking of that, are you all going to continue in video production going forward? In these video classes? Now, tell me about what you want to do. What are your goals? Let's start here because you've got a vehicle photography business. Is that right? I was just really excited once I finally got a vehicle, but you're already photographing them. So let's talk about that.

Student:
Yeah, me and my friend Hunter, we met doing aviation photography. So things like the fighter did some of the Air Force Base, the commercial planes of the International Airport, things like that. And we both showed a passion for cool cars like Mustangs, McLarens, Corvettes, things like that. And we decided to start a business to try to make money off of our photos that we would go to car meets and do . . . And it did decently well the first couple months we got upwards of 10, 15 clients. And then after that, we kind of dropped off a little bit because we started school. So we weren't able to take as many as often, but we still have a consistent one or two, maybe three clients a month.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that's really cool. So they hire you to take pictures of their classic cars or their expensive cars to show them in the best light. How about the rest of you? What are you thinking about building on this success? Do you want to continue with this as a career as a class? What are you thinking?

Student:
Uh, yeah, I mean, I plan on taking Video 2 and 3. I really enjoyed this. I'd like to make a longer horror film. I, but yeah, hobby, just professionally, I'd love to continue doing this.

Student:
I'd also love to continue doing this, not just as a hobby, but maybe a career. I think a director of like a TV show or series would be an interesting career path.

Student:
I really like the art of video. I don't think I'm going to do it as a career, maybe like a hobby-istic side career, like get extra money and stay in the art.

Mr. Luchs:
Yeah, I was gonna say I you mentioned before that we're excited to see where these guys go and nobody's more excited than I am because I . . . because they're sophomores, you know, seeing them be passionate first off. Awesome. And I have two more years that we get to experience things. And so I'm glad they want to experience things because one of the hopes we have for the program is to help them understand where and how this can be a part of their life by the time that they leave and prepare them for that. And I'm sure many of these guys have a lot of different routes they're going to take, but they, they all have what it takes to get to those routes as we, as we keep going these next couple of years together. It's exciting to have discovered this talent and interest so early in their high school career so that they can capitalize on that. I think I mentioned this prior a little bit, but the type of student that we get here in the program is, is fascinating because it's not just the people who love like watching videos online or film. I've had a lot of students who love video, who give up because they didn't realize how much work it takes to do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
The students who stick around and really make this program what it is in our advanced classes, they're the ones with a lot of grit. I get people from anywhere from drama programs to yearbook, anybody from a lot of cross country kids. It's anybody who has that desire to make something good and is happy with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
I love recruiting those kids because you could have a silver screen class. For example, we make a school show and we only have 16 kids and they make a consistent show and they have awesome quality. We've really done some awesome things with that, but those 16 kids work so hard to make it happen.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
And I can't explain to you how hard it would be if those students weren't as invested as they are.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Tell me about your journey to become a teacher here. You said it's your fourth year here at Riverton. Talk to me about becoming a video teacher.

Mr. Luchs:
Yeah. So I actually have a unique story with video teaching because a lot of the time when you talk to a video teacher or even the CTE in general, they come from the industry where they've been working and they want to change things and they find out that teaching is a good path. I actually decided to start teaching video back when I was high school because I did my own video projects. I was a YouTuber. I was one of the first people to do really silly dumb videos with like gaming YouTube channel back before it was normal.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
And so you got a lot of backlash, but my dad supported me and I found out that I loved doing it not because I loved gaming or anything like that, but I love the art of editing and I loved being an entertainer and that led me to try out more types of video. And eventually I decided that I wanted to switch career paths and do something with video, but I also wanted to be a family man and the freelance lifestyle didn't suit me personally. So, I had the thought one day to teach and I would talk to people and outside of Utah and outside of states like Utah, California, Florida, probably there's not as much CTE as we have here. So nobody had ever seen video classes in high school, maybe just the morning announcements that are, you know, sure. But I would talk to people and I'd say, “Hey, I want to be a teacher.” And they're like, “Oh, that's awesome. What do you want to teach?” I'd say, “Oh, I want to teach video.” And they would stare at me like, “Oh, good luck with that.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
And here we are, you know, full-time film schedule. I teach so many cool things. I love it. Being a teacher is such a good, good life. It really is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what's next for this program. Obviously, I can tell that you've been modifying and adapting and making other options available. What do you hope to see in the future?

Mr. Luchs:
Yeah. So we've been so fortunate to be supported in all the growth that we've been doing from reconstructing the room to building new classes. We're at a point that everything's settling down. We've built up the program to what you wanted to be. And the future is really making student experiences shine. These students that have done the Horror Film Fest, they have two more years and can't be more excited about it because their possibilities, there are so many different directions they can take even just in the one program. For example, during Video 2 Film, we teach them a lot of hands-on advanced skills for filmmaking, commercial making podcasts, special effects. But a really cool direction that we do uniquely at this school is we study the industry and career paths. And we do that by first, we give them clients from the real world. My video to students are actually in a couple weeks about to start filming for companies outside of Riverton High School to make commercials for them. That starts a real-world portfolio that they can use to start making money if they want to.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mr. Luchs:
Because nobody hires you until they see what you have to offer.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Mr. Luchs:
So we're going to teach them that. We're going to teach them how to work with people outside of a teacher in terms of client. Then beyond that, we're going to start doing Zoom video calls with a variety of video professionals in Utah. And we're going to talk to them about their career path, what their job looks like. That way, students can start seeing what video actually means in the real world and whether it's for them or which path that is because there's so many paths of video.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love the way that you build those experiences. Let's teach you some skills. Let's get you in some competition. Let's have you work as a team. And then I'm going to create a pathway. If you want to make money doing this on the side or as a career, that's something you can absolutely do. And you just lay out the path for them. I think that's really exciting. And we've talked about the passion that these kids have shown. But it's really exciting to see your passion for this program and to really help bring out the best in students. So thank you for being here and for everything you're doing. I'm excited to watch where this goes.

Mr. Luchs:
Thank you. I'm living that dream like we talked.

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.

Lisa Blodgett:
I was invited to participate with the Saluting America Band Directors Marching Band for the Rose Parade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Lisa's skills go well beyond her abilities as a musician.

Marianne Johansen:
Expectations without a doubt. That's what makes you such a great band teacher. That's what makes you such a great teacher overall. She expects greatness out of the kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. 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 Blodgett, who just returned from marching in the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade. Find out why Blodgett was one of the 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. We're talking today with Lisa Blodgett, a teacher at Majestic Elementary Arts Academy. Lisa, thanks for talking with us.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Anthony Godfrey:
You had a pretty exciting week. Tell us about what happened last week.

Lisa Blodgett:
I was invited to participate with the Saluting America Band Directors Marching Band for the Rose Parade on New Year's Day and was one of 360 band directors from across the nation. Actually, every single state had a representative plus there were some people there from Canada and Mexico also. So it was kind of a North America thing. We were all invited to come march in the parade, but it wasn't just we just showed up and march, we actually had a lot of preparations that we had to do beforehand to get ready for this event.

Anthony Godfrey:
So who was the director of the directors?

Lisa Blodgett:
So that's crazy because when they walked up and said, “Who's the director of those standing the line, everybody raises their hands.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Everybody raises their hands. Like, I'm the director.

Lisa Blodgett:
A gentleman that teaches at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. So this whole project started with a lady named Karen Suelle. And her husband was a band teacher and he passed away. He had taught for many, many years and he had passed away and she wanted to keep a memory of him going. So she created this foundation and they had this band march back in 2022. It was going to be a one-and-done deal. But it became such a thing and people across the nation started asking for it. They went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and then it came back and the Rose Parade wanted it again. So they put the band back together again.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. We're getting the band back together.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah. They said getting the band back together and I had been it in 2022. I'm like, oh, that's pretty cool. And so I kind of had reached out a couple of years ago and said, hey, there's another event. You know, I'd be interested in being part of it if possible. And so I received notification a little over a year ago, “Hey, we've been invited to the Rose Parade” and there was an application process. So it wasn't just like, oh, yeah, I want to go do it. I actually had to submit an application. And so I put that in and sat and waited and waited and waited and waited. And a few months later, I got a “you've been accepted to come march.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's exciting. So what sort of preparation did you do? How did you guys get together and practice when you're from far and wide?

Lisa Blodgett:
Yes. I never played with any of these people before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Lisa Blodgett:
And so they sent us out the music back in August, actually, and they let us choose a part or assigned us a part. And so we all pulled up our music and we had five songs and so we had five songs that we rotated through. And so we had to memorize each one of those because we were going and we're just playing no music in front of us. So it is a process of listening to the music, getting familiar with the music and then starting to memorize it. It's not something you can sit down and do overnight or in a week or two. So it's a matter of . . . And then not only it's a five-and-a-half-mile parade. And so there's the endurance of walking also. So they they encourage us to get out, start walking, get out, start walking 120 beats a minute. That's two steps every second. You don't understand.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's not a stroll and it's not a run. It's walking at a particular pace for a long time.

Lisa Blodgett::

And breathing and playing an instrument. So they're like, get out and start conditioning yourself, get the music memorized so that we show up that we're ready to rock and roll. So everybody shows up ready and prepared. So it's like when I'm teaching school too, you know, talking to my kids about, you know, we need to be prepared. If you're not prepared and you don't know your music, you know, your stuff, you know, we're not going to be as good of a group. So everybody that expectation is there is everybody showed up prepared. And so day one rehearsal, we're ready to rock and roll and just put everybody together into one piece.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did your neighbors say anything when they saw you walking down the street playing the trombone as a, you know, preparation for the parade or did they just figure, “oh, that's Lisa. There she goes.”

Lisa Blodgett:
I actually didn't take my trombone out in the neighborhood.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. OK.

Lisa Blodgett:
I walked and I actually walked around the band room a couple of times in between classes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Was it more of a workout or less of a workout than you were expecting when you actually did it?

Lisa Blodgett:
Actually, the walking part wasn't too bad because I like to get out and I like to walk a lot. The part that was the hardest for me was the holding the horn and the horn angle up. You get a lot of kind of . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah. You've got the upper body strength. That's a whole body workout.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah. So, holding the instrument up and then the first part of the parade, we continually played for the first mile and a half without stopping just because of all the TV cameras. You don't want to cut away. So as we went through camp, the first day we were rehearsing in California, I was like, oh, man, what did I get myself into? And day two was better day three. By the time we did the parade day four, it was great.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did everyone seem well prepared? I'm assuming so.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah. People came very well prepared. The first night we got together, they actually opened up three big ballrooms in the hotel and they set the block in chairs. So the block is as long as a football field. Essentially, that's how long because there's 360 people in the band, 12 people in a row. So they just set us in the hotel room and we all sat in chairs and watched the conductor and just sat down and started playing. And it just came. It came right together right away.

Anthony Godfrey:
So how many beats per minute, did you say?

Lisa Blodgett:
One hundred twenty beats.

Anthony Godfrey:
One hundred and twenty. Do you now walk at one hundred and twenty beats per minute just automatically?

Lisa Blodgett:
When I, when I go out, I would when I go walk, I'd actually sing the songs in my head. So yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK, let's go walk a hundred and twenty beats per minute. Let's walk out of the office here for a second. OK, let's just walk at one hundred twenty beats per minute. I'll follow you. And while we're while we're walking at one hundred twenty beats per minute, what were the songs that you were playing?

Lisa Blodgett:
So we played a song that was actually put together for this particular parade called “Strike Up the Saints.” So it was a little bit of mixture of “Strike Up the Band” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

{SINGING]

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. All right. I'm holding my horn up. I'm already exhausted. So this is it's not like a super-fast walk, but it feels faster as you go along. You're keeping a good steady beat here. All right. Now I'm lost in the school as we're walking. I don't know where to go. So I'm going to keep following you. So everyone was well prepared. How many times did you practice and how much time did you spend practicing?

Lisa Blodgett:
So we practiced the first evening for two hours and then the next two mornings we got together. Actually three mornings and we spent about two and a half hours . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Lisa Blodgett:
Average actually practicing through. But then we had other events we went to play to in the afternoon. So morning was rehearsal time and then afternoon is performance time.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that's a that's a lot of preparation leading up to not very much time together and a lot of opportunities to play.

Lisa Blodgett:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, here we're back at the principal's office. Poor Doug has been holding the microphone and walking backwards. We just finished our walk and that was not very long. And I actually did feel that a little bit, like just keeping that steady pace is different from any other walking even if you're walking for exercise.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah. And think about being rained on pretty good tips.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Now that's the other thing. It was raining hard on you guys. I understand that it stopped in time for the game but that wasn't your concern. The parade was soaked.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah. When we, as we are stepping up and waiting our turn to step off, the rain had slowed down and we had had some ponchos on and we pulled the ponchos off right before it was our turn to step up online. And then the rain just started coming down, and actually all the way through all the TV cameras the first probably mile and a half, it rained pretty good on us. And then it actually let up and finally stopped.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does the trombone sound in the rain?

Lisa Blodgett:
It sounds great in the rain.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good acoustics.? So the trombone seems tricky to me because you don't get to just push a button and now you know that that's going to you know your instruments going to play the right note. You have to get it to just the right spot. Is it as hard as I think it is to learn that?

Lisa Blodgett:
It's got seven positions. The trumpet has seven finger combinations and the trombone has seven trombone positions that you learn by feel. But you know there's a little bit of adjustment during . .  depending on what partially you're playing on. But there's seven general positions to find yourself on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does it throw you off to be walking at 120 beats per minute and have it angled up and have it raining and have the cameras on you?

Lisa Blodgett:
There's a little bit of thinking when you do all that stuff at the same time.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'll bet it's exhausting. But you did get some good camera time, I understand.

Lisa Blodgett:
I did. I was really surprised. So I landed a spot on the front row of all 360 people. There were 12 of us on the front row, and I was right in front of the camera.

Anthony Godfrey:
You showed me some of that before the interview, and that's pretty exciting. It's really cool for you to get that airtime. Well-deserved after all that work that you put in.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah, I shared it with the students today. I have the parade and I didn't tell them there was a big shot of me coming up and we were just watching it. And then all of a sudden, that face image comes up of me, and the kids all just went crazy. “Yes, Mrs. Blodgett!”

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sure they were really excited. So when did you get back?

Lisa Blodgett:
I got back Saturday night late.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that made for a busy winter break for you.

Lisa Blodgett:
It was, but it was a fun winter break.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah unforgettable. Have you performed in parades before?

Lisa Blodgett:
I'm in the Army Band and so we do quite a few parades here and there. So it's not something I haven't done. Obviously, when I was in college I did a lot with the marching band and stuff. But having the experience with the Army Band, I'm doing a parade or two or sometimes up to six a year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. So do you travel around doing that? Where have you done parades with the Army Band?

Lisa Blodgett:|
So mostly in-state because we're a National Guard Unit. Last year in 2024, there was an expert team of eight of us that actually went to Morocco to participate in the International Military Music Festival. Most of the bands had 30 to 60 people in it and there was eight of us. And we actually marched down the street, the eight of us playing, and we put on a little field show on to at the end where we performed for all the important people there. So that's the craziest marching thing I've ever done because it was such a small element.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well thank you very much for taking time to talk with us. Thank you for being such a great example to these students about how playing an instrument can impact your life in a positive way and create opportunities for you. Thank you for being such an important part of Majestic Elementary Arts Academy.

Lisa Blodgett:
Thank you. I love it here. There's great faculty here and great staff to be a part of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with Lisa Blodgett and her principal, Marianne Johansen.

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:
In Jordan School District, communicating and connecting with parents is really important and that's why we're very excited about ParentSquare. ParentSquare has replaced Skylert as the district's new communication platform. With ParentSquare, you'll receive all District and school communication via email, text, and/or the app based on your preference. All messages can be translated to your preferred home language indicated in Skyward and it takes less than a minute to set up your notification preferences. You can use the ParentSquare app on any device. The app is available at parentsquare.com/sign-in. We look forward to connecting with you through ParentSquare.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Lisa's principal, Marianne Johansen. Thanks for talking with us.

Marianne Johansen:
Anytime.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, Lisa's skills go well beyond her abilities as a musician. Talk to us about her impact as a teacher here at Majestic Elementary Arts Academy.

Marianne Johansen.
Oh, how long is your podcast, Dr. Godfrey? I could go on for days.

Anthony Godfrey:
Never long enough for our listeners. They always wish it was longer.

Marianne Johansen.
I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do. Lisa makes such an impact here. She impacts our behavior in positive ways. She impacts our climate and culture in positive ways. One of the most easily measurable ways that she impacts our school is her ability to not only teach music, but math. She is a phenomenal math teacher. A few years ago, I overworked her by asking her to not only teach band, but teach math. I had a fifth, sixth split. The home-room teacher was teaching the sixth graders their math, while Lisa was teaching the fifth graders their math.

Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds like that went very well.

Marianne Johansen.
It went very well. The year before Lisa took on this little endeavor, 23% of our students in fifth grade made typical or better growth in math. And the year that Lisa took over, 72% of students of students in fifth grade made typical or better growth in math.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. You nearly tripled the percentage of students who...

Marianne Johansen.
And overshot the state average as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Lisa, tell me about the relationship between math and music.

Lisa Blodgett:
Math and music really go hand in hand because you've got to be able to subdivide and break music down, and it directly correlates with how you work with math numbers and stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there ever a time signature that has an improper fraction, or is it always a smaller number on top of the larger number?

Lisa Blodgett:
No, there's not always a smaller number on top. Sometimes you're in 12/8 time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So sometimes there is an improper fraction. See, kids, we're combining math and music even as we speak on the podcast here.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah, and we can actually take a measure of... you know, you've got... music is mostly in 4/4 time, and we can actually take it and break down into fractions. And we'll teach them, you know, you've got one quarter, one quarter, one quarter, one quarter for the four beats. I've actually done with the kids in class before. I'll be like, "What's one half plus one quarter?" And, you know, "How much of the measure are we filling up?" I've actually made them figure math out that way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, that's really integrating the arts into instruction because a lot of times it's the pizza, "Okay, here's the pizza, and where's half the pizza?" But now you're saying, "Okay, let's look at this measure. Let's look at the music that you're playing and how that's divided up." That's really impressive that you're able to pull those things together.

Lisa Blodgett:
Yeah, and with the sixth graders, too, we get into breaking it in the eighths because there's more pieces there, and then we end up into the other time signatures they don't see very often. I even make them play in 5/4 time to stretch their abilities.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. What do you think makes her such a great math teacher?

Marianne Johansen:
High expectations without a doubt. That's what makes her such a great band teacher. It's what makes her such a great teacher overall. She expects greatness out of the kids, and because she cares so deeply about the kids, they rise to that occasion. That year she taught math, she had some kids who have really struggled to make typical growth or demonstrate their capacity and their knowledge.

Anthony Godfrey:
They had a history for years of not seeing the type of success that she helped them achieve.

Marianne Johansen:
Yes, sometimes I think we call them clickers. When they take the test, they're done in like 3 minutes because they just click all the things and then they submit the test. Lisa took the time. She hand-wrote a letter to every single kid in that class and told them what quality she saw in them and why she thought that they could do it. I didn't have a single kid finish that test quickly that year. I had every single kid really giving their all and really putting in the effort. Because the last thing any of our kids would ever want to do is let Miss Blodgett down. They love her and they would do anything for her.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that's it right there. That relationship and the expectations, and really creating an environment where the kids want to be at their very best. And they know that they have the help needed to do that.

Marianne Johansen:
Yes, they know that she will do whatever it takes. She's tutored kids after school. She's met with them during her lunch breaks. They know where to go if they need support, and they know where to go to get the help. They know that she believes in them and that she expects them to get there because she will help them get there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds like a great candidate for Educator of the Year. Oh, wait! She has been Educator of the Year. No surprise that she has achieved that honor.

Marianne Johansen:
No surprise.

Anthony Godfrey:
Because really that's incredible what you've been able to do with those students. So thank you for that.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Zaidi Aleman:
Learning English is really a bridge that you can cross over and you can realize your dreams, your biggest dreams, you can do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how you describe that. Learning English is a bridge to your dreams.

Zaidi Aleman:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And really at that point then knowing two languages at that deep level becomes a huge asset.

Zaidi Aleman:
Absolutely it is a huge asset.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They have worked hard learning the English language trying to be the best they can be, making changes 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 with graduates about the great pride they take in their achievement, becoming proficient in the English language, listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Find out what this milestone means to the multilingual students and their families now and well into the future.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are here at West Jordan Middle School to talk with Michelle Love-Day, the Director of Language and Culture Services, about the event that's scheduled for tonight. Michelle, introduce yourself and talk to us about what's happening.

Michelle Love-Day:
I'm Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language and Culture Services, and tonight we're hosting our second annual Multilingual Family Night. However, this is more than just a family night. It's a celebration of our students who have passed the WIDA, which is showing linguistic aptitude and a celebration of their English learning skills.

Anthony Godfrey:
What level do students need to achieve to graduate? Because a lot of people might see language skills in different ways. This is a deep level of language acquisition.

Michelle Love-Day:
Exactly. So language skills are not by grade level that we would think they are. So in the WIDA it is scored levels one through five. And so in order to reach aptitude and language acquisition you have to have a 4.2 composite score and a 3.5 on their written and speaking. So some of these students can pass the scores and be qualified and linguistically proficient by sixth grade. However, some students, if they've arrived and come to our country new in seventh grade, they may not be proficient till 10th and 11th grade. So everyone is different.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's not about the grade level. It's about the WIDA level, one through five.

Michelle Love-Day:|
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what does a one represent and what does a five represent?

Michelle Love-Day:
A one means that students can communicate with simple vocabulary words and words that will help them go to the bathroom or go to the lunchroom and play with friends on the playground. A level five means they're proficient and they have the content area vocabulary that will allow them to be successful in science, math, social studies classes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So someone who's able to carry on conversations, who to the casual observer might seem like they have a good grasp of the English language, would be but may not have the academic knowledge yet. What number would they be?

Michelle Love-Day:
They could be at a level one, two, or three. And it depends because they're tested in their listening, reading, speaking, and writing. So they might be able to understand you and have a great conversation but then when it comes to writing an email or a letter they would probably struggle a little bit depending on their practice and their skill level.

Anthony Godfrey:
There may be those listening in who speak a second language who are saying to themselves, "I wonder where I fall? I wonder where I used to fall when I spoke that language more frequently and I wonder where I fall along the scale now?" Now you're going to introduce us to a teacher who has been instrumental in helping move students along, but you've known this teacher for some time now, is that right?

Michelle Love-Day:
That is correct. I think every educator has a pivotal time in their life when their former students become their colleague and so I didn't realize I was at that age of life but I am and so Zaidi Aleman was a former student when I was a literacy coach in Jordan School District and now she's teaching here in our school district again as an educator.

Anthony Godfrey:
So Zaidi, introduce yourself and tell me about what it's like to be a teacher now in front of your literacy coach.

Zaidi Aleman:
Well, I'm Zaidi Aleman. I am a third-grade teacher at Oakcrest Elementary School and it's amazing actually. I never thought that I would come and be colleagues with the people who helped me the most become who I am today. So, it's really inspirational and I really am wanting to be a inspiration to others as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about teaching third grade and helping students with their language acquisition and getting that academic vocabulary.

Zaidi Aleman:
Well, so in third grade we also focus on WIDA Prep and we focus on, like Michelle had said, contextual and tier one instruction. So I was there as a language learner. I came to this country when I was three. I had zero language skills. I had zero English skills and it was hard and I can see that in them. I can see that it is really tough to learn a different language. I was lost and I can see that they were lost as well and so having that contextual like background and being where they are right now gives me so much empathy for them because I was there in their shoes, because I was lost, because I didn't feel enough, because I didn't feel smart enough. But like something I want us to like say to them is that you can do it. It may feel like a wall right now but learning English is really a bridge that you can cross over and you can realize your dreams, your biggest dreams, you can do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how you describe that learning English is a bridge to your dreams.

Zaidi Aleman:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And really at that point then knowing two languages at that deep level becomes a huge asset.

Zaidi Aleman:
Absolutely, it is a huge asset. You can connect with so many more people, have so much empathy for other people and you can be that person who inspires other people to also become who they want to be. So you can be that person to become or you can help that person become who they want to be later in life.

Anthony Godfrey:
I would imagine that this creates also just a personal connection with students when they know that you have experienced the same things that they're going through and they can see that they have someone on their side right away.

Zaidi Aleman:
Yes, absolutely. I just want them to feel like it's not impossible. Like when they look at me or they look at other people like me, they know that it is possible to reach your dreams no matter where you start. Even if you start at zero, that's starting somewhere. You know you can reach your goals, just celebrate the small wins like the first joke that you understand, the first word you pronounce right, the first paragraph that you write, all of that is they're wins and that you're gonna, it's progress. It's progress over perfection.

Anthony Godfrey:
Having a sense of humor in another language is really a big step forward. Dreaming in another language is another big step.

Zaidi Aleman:
Absolutely, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I said dreaming not nightmare. Nightmare in another language is a whole other thing altogether. Thank you for everything that you're doing and we are very very fortunate to have you in Jordan School District.

Zaidi Aleman:
Thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more about the WIDA graduation.

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:
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.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome back. In a few moments, we'll talk with some students who are graduating from the WIDA program today. But before we do, let's talk with one of our language teacher specialists. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the work you do.

Letitia Vigil:
Hi, I'm Letitia Vigil, and I'm one of the language teacher specialists for Language and Culture Services. I work with all of the high schools in our district, supporting the multilingual learners and the ELD teachers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Letitia, what are some of the things that you do when you work with students to help support their learning?

Letitia Vigil:
We provide professional development for our teachers. We work with administrators on looking at data for their multilingual learners and how we can set goals with them to help their students reach the next level of proficiency each year.

Anthony Godfrey:
So really, you're meeting lots of students where they are and helping them just take those next steps to progress.

Letitia Vigil:
Yes, absolutely. So we provide the teachers with tools to see what the students can do at each level where they're at, and how we can support them to get them through their language journey.

Anthony Godfrey:
Part of language acquisition is not just everyday language, but it's academic language. That's really sometimes the barrier to success, and what we're really trying to help students be more proficient in. Is that correct?

Letitia Vigil:
Absolutely. I think one of the things that teachers don't realize when they see students that seem to be fluent as they're talking with their friends or on the playground, etcetera, is they're fluent in their social language, but not the academic language, like you mentioned. And WIDA really tests the academic language, so we have to be teaching that in the content areas at school.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the trends you see out there as you're supporting students? It's really hard for, I think, anyone to put themselves in that situation if you haven't experienced it before. Just coming into a school, not knowing the language socially or academically in some cases, and just needing to make some rapid progress. Tell me about the trends right now and how that's going.

Letitia Vigil:
As far as trends, I'm just thinking like students that, I guess, feel more supported at school and feel more welcome by their teachers and by the school in general, tend to thrive more quickly because they can feel safe and feel like it's a place that they can learn and a place that they want to be. And so also teachers that are getting their students speaking more in activities in class tend to excel quicker.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's not just about supporting students, it's also about supporting teachers and educators to help them feel prepared to help students who are learning another language really be at their best.

Letitia Vigil:
Yes, so teachers, if they haven't had a multilingual learner in their class or they haven't had to experience that, it can be a real challenge if they get a set of newcomers that don't speak any English. So we have been teaching teachers in our ESL endorsement for years and that's something that we do for free now and so it really is a great asset for teachers to have that endorsement so that they can be prepared for when they get those students. But it is still a challenge and we're there to support them. We can go out to PLCs and we can again host PDs at their school or do whatever the school needs us to do to help the teachers feel supported.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for all the hard work you're doing and for helping our teachers help our students be at their very best and I know even better things are ahead that progress is just going to continue so thanks for everything you're doing. Thank you for your support and thank you for being here. Let's talk with a couple of students now about their experiences. We're talking now with two WIDA graduates who will be among those who are honored tonight. Introduce yourselves and tell us the grade that you're in and where you go to school.

Student:
Hello, my name is Alina Gunas and I come to West Jordan Middle School and I am a ninth grader.

Student 2:
Hi, my name is Danie Pumaccajia and I'm in 11th grade and I'm at Herriman High School.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your journey to becoming a WIDA graduate. When did you come to Jordan School District and what schools have you attended? What's the journey been like to get here?

Student:
So I've been, I've, I came here since kindergarten and it was for WIDA. It took a long time and it was very stressful at first because I didn't know because I have a lot of, I have Hispanic parents at home so I grew up speaking Spanish most of the time and when I got to the elementary and I started doing WIDA, it took me, it took me a very hard time. I would like to think about how hard it was like how if I would pass it or not and I almost did pass it a couple of times but it, it took a while for me to realize that it's actually, it's doing me good and last year it made me realize that even if I didn't pass it, if I don't pass it, it's still helping me with my English even though I've been here forever, you know, I was born here but it's helping me, helped me like socialize with people and that's why I just love doing it. Like I just love doing the WIDA, and I'm like never, I'm not embarrassed of saying that I, it took me like since last year to pass it.

Anthony Godfrey:
But it's very admirable that you just kept trying, that you didn't say, “This is not for me. I can't do this.” Were there people that encouraged you along the way?

Student:
Yeah, a lot of my teachers they encouraged me they're like, “Just pass it, just pass it”  and a lot of my family as well like and that's what encouraged me a lot to pass it this year, last year so yeah they really helped me a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does it feel now after all of that effort and all of that time that you have achieved your goal?

Student:
It feels great. I feel really accomplished that I accomplished something and that I just feel really great and I hope that a lot of people, a lot of other students like pass it too because it's honestly a really great program and it's just...

Anthony Godfrey:
Today was a good day.

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well I'm just you know referencing your shirt. Tell us about your journey to get here.

Student 2:
I arrived at the USA like one year and a half ago so first I started my journey learning English in middle school. I was at the end of the year and it was difficult to make me understand with teachers of the friends that I had. I passed with a last year in my high school and I think that most of my teachers and my family were there to help me.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you think was the biggest factor in your success?

Student 2:
I was really motivated to pass it with that to go and keep my grades high, to participate, to ask questions, and I think that that motivation that I had, that progress helped me a lot, but also all the teachers and all my classes helped me a lot. They were so kind, and they take care of me so well that I could understand the classes. I could do my homework and then practice and understand all the English.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I understand you're a violinist, and that was maybe an early connection that you were able to make in school?

Student 2:
Yeah, in my class of violin I had met a lot of people that were in the same situation as me. They were Spanish speakers, some of them and I created a connection with them to be together and study for their WIDA tests, and also some of them were graduated with that WIDA exam so they helped me a lot with tips and facts about that so it gave me a lot of experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. Now that you are WIDA graduates, does it give you some additional confidence in your schoolwork?

Student:
It honestly does. It gives me a lot of confidence because I know that I could help a lot of other people who need help passing WIDA. Right now, during the assembly, if they know who I am and for my school so if they ever need help with anything I will always help them. I will always be open to help them because sometimes it's pretty hard. A lot of people have different levels and it's best. I love helping so I would not mind to help with WIDA.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's awesome that you're focused on helping other people and making sure that that you're paving the way for them as well so that's fantastic. How about you? What does that do for your confidence now that you know that you're a WIDA graduate?

Student 2:
I think that now I had more confidence to take harder classes like AP classes. Now I'm trying to do my best on that and also to help other people, other students that want to graduate in WIDA that want to be better in a class like math or science so it helped me a lot to help other people and also to be better, help me to be better.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great. So what's next for both of you? What do you want to do eventually?

Student:
Eventually I want to go to college and probably right now I want to go further on with Latinos in Action because I am also in, I am the president of Latinos in Action and right now I want to probably when I get into high school I want to make up like a club or something to help people who haven't passed WIDA to like make a program so we can help them pass it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful.

Student 2:
So I'm thinking to take more opportunities in high school, like the clubs, the organizations that have in the school, and also later go to college and maybe study something good science or computer science.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've both built a great bridge to a wonderful future with all the hard work that you've done. Congratulations on everything you've achieved and I wish you the best going forward.

Student:
Thank you. Thank you.

Student 2:
Thank you so much.

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.