Supercast

Ashley:
Hadley is going for the world record of the youngest female DJ to perform at a festival.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what grade are you in?

Hadley:
I'm in kindergarten.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about you, Carter? What grade are you in?

Carter:
Second.

Anthony Godfrey:
You guys learned to be DJs? That's really fun. A smile comes on your face as soon as I even say the word "DJ."

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She's got the beat, and now a Guinness Book of World Records title to go with it. On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Monte Vista Elementary School to meet a kindergarten student named Hadley, also known in some circles as DJ Lele. Find out how the five-year-old began her disc jockey journey, and how playing a 51-minute unaided set at a Utah music festival this summer has DJ Lele well on her way to the record books. She is doing it all alongside her brother Carter, a DJ in second grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Monte Vista Elementary talking with Ashley, the mother of two very young DJs. Tell us a little bit about yourself and about the DJing that's happening in your family.

Ashley:
Yeah, so a few months back, my husband decided to go down the rabbit hole of a new hobby, and whenever he does a hobby, he really does it. So he bought some DJ gear, and then as a kid saw him mixing, they thought, "This looks so fun. Let's jump in." And very quickly, they surpassed him in skill.

Anthony Godfrey:
As happens with children.

Ashley:
Yes. Yeah, they really took to it quickly, and it's been kind of a fun family experience to get to make music together and be creating. When we're in the car, we'll listen to songs, and, "Oh, this one would go good with this one. We could put them together." So it's kind of been, it's become like a whole family thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about the journey to a world record. I know it's under review with Guinness, but it's already been reviewed by another entity. Talk to us about your daughter and her situation.

Ashley:
Yeah, so Hadley is going for the world record of the youngest female DJ to perform at a festival. And, you know, there's a lot of paperwork and boring stuff that's kind of behind the scenes to do that. As far as getting Hadley ready, she originally learned on our little tiny Pioneer table, and that's how she had kind of been making videos and figuring things out. And then eventually, when we got in touch with this festival, she …. by the time that we had decided she was going to play to the festival, there was two weeks, and she had to learn an entirely new system. And one of the things that was kind of an interesting challenge is she's so short that it was like hard to reach all the buttons on the table.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, she doesn't have that reach for the knob at just the right moment.

Ashley:
Yeah, yeah. So it was a lot of, you know, troubleshooting things. Like how do we get her to be tall enough that people can actually see her? And how do we make sure that she can reach the buttons she needs to be reaching?

Anthony Godfrey:
So how did you solve those problems?

Ashley:
Just trial and error. We bought multiple different size stools for her to stand on. We got a headband because the headphones are too big to stay on her head.

Anthony Godfrey:
You went to the DJ aisle of Target and picked up some stools.

Ashley:
Yeah, we just found the little, you know, the little DJ section that every random grocery store has.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, as they should.

Ashley:
Yeah, we had to get a headband to keep her headphones on because they were too big.

Anthony Godfrey:
A lot of modifications.

Ashley:
Yes, platform shoes to make her a little bit taller.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you're a trailblazer. You need, you know, equipment that others might not need.

Ashley:
Yeah, they don't make stuff like this.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's like climbing Everest with rope and a bad pair of shoes, you know, you've got to be scrappy.

Ashley:
Yeah, she will. And that she is so scrappy. When we …  so we had these two weeks of really, really intense. I shouldn't say really, really intense, but just these two weeks of OK, we're going to learn this new system. We're going to get ready for this festival.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fun, intense.

Ashley:
Yes, yes. I mean, our practicing is a party. We threw, we threw a party for our neighborhood and like we went out on the driveway, had our neighbors come so she could get just a practice with a crowd.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome.

Ashley:
So it was good fun, good practice.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what was the festival that she was signed up for?

Ashley:
So it's a little festival that's just local to Utah. It's called Awaken. And Hadley's dad had actually reached out to the person that put that on. And he was the one, he could probably comment a little more on how we got set up with them. But yeah, just a little local festival they do around Utah, and they had seen our videos. They thought it was a really cool idea. They're really focused on like mental health and mindfulness and music as not just an escape, but a way of like healing. And that's right up my alley. I work as a therapist. That's right up my husband's alley. So we're like, OK, this is an awesome place, like mental wellness and fun all rolled into one. So it seemed like a good place for her to try.

Anthony Godfrey:
When did she perform?

Ashley:
It was this August and she we just said first thing in the morning. So we drove down. It was kind of outside Cedar City and our family got a little Airbnb and drove out there first thing in the morning. So when we showed up, everyone's doing yoga and, you know, just having like this very peaceful morning and then eleven o'clock rolls around. And we started playing some music and turning on the volume.

Anthony Godfrey:
So she was the first. She started out the day, from yoga to Hadley.

Ashley:
So everybody was like milling about either doing yoga or getting their breakfast. You know, we're walking around and ….

Anthony Godfrey:
With a tee shirt that says, “I'm with the DJ.”

Ashley:
Oh, everyone knew she had a full sequined outfit. They knew, they knew who we were.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK, they're like, “she may be five years old, but she's the DJ.”

Ashley:
She. Yep. Yep. Yep. She, she definitely stood out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how was the experience for you as a parent? Did you get to be behind the board or were you out front?

Ashley:
Yeah. So I told her I was like, “I will be in the very front row the whole time, cheering you on, dancing. Like if you ever get nervous, just look for me and your brother and we're going to be right there.” Dad got to go behind to help with like the cameras and things like that. And it was honestly one of the most uniting moments as a family, I think that we were all there. You know, to support each other and to hype each other up at some point during her set. So there were specific time requirements and just so many little like boxes that you have to check to get the record. Right. And so one of the requirements was that it'd be like a 30-minute set. Can't have any interference from anyone else. So right around mark minute mark, like 17, there was some kind of issue because the sun was so bright shining on her deck. So usually, you know, she's looking at different lights to kind of cue into what she's supposed to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure.

Ashley:
But the sun was so bright that she couldn't see anything. Something got pushed and she couldn't read well enough to be able to fix it on her own. So music stopped and we had to go in and help her. And at that point we were like, “OK, if we can either stop here or we restart the time because we can't interfere at all.” So she was like, “Let's do it. I'm going to do it.” And so we threw her back up there and then we didn't have, you know, material for an hour show. So she was really just like on the cuff, mixing stuff together and throwing it and …. world record, whatever. But seeing her like mental toughness and her just being like, “It's OK. I can pick myself up, and I can start again.” And also like the crowd just gathering around her and like cheering her on. Oh, my gosh, I have goosebumps talking about it. It was …. I was just so proud of her for all the work that she put in. And if she would have had to stop, we would have been just as proud. But that was, that was a thing that was like, “OK, this is cooler than just she threw a party and played some music. It's like, OK, she's learning lessons here.” And, and also having her brother there in the crowd and supporting her and just, you know, being her champion, like it was a very …. it was a very cool moment.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. The way she pushed through, like you said, that's the most important part of the day. And it's great to hear about the crowd's reaction and how they supported. What was the crowd like at the end of the two sets?

Ashley:
Yeah. So at some point we had a guy break dancing in the front row and …

Anthony Godfrey:
If they're break dancing, you know, you've hit your mark.

Ashley:
Yeah. Yeah. We have had such a good experience in kind of like the music scene, just people being so kind. One of the like common things you'll see at festivals like this is PLUR, which is like peace, love….

Anthony Godfrey:
Unity and respect.

Ashley:
Yes. Yes. And that was just on full display that day. Everyone was so kind. It was like a beautiful human moment. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. That's wonderful.

Ashley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so what's next?

Ashley:
Well, we’re going to teach . . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to hear about the world record. I know, I know that was not the whole point.

Ashley:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
The point was the resilience and the performance and a live performance like that is difficult for anybody, especially, but especially at her age, especially when there's an issue partway through, and the stakes are high. So what's next?

Ashley:
Well, I think we're going to teach you a little bit of DJing today.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Let's do that. Let's do that.

{music]

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, we'll hear Hadley and Carter DJ live for us here on the Supercast.

Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Lots of DJs look for a big social media presence. How's that going for Hadley?

Ashley:
Yeah, that has really taken off. So a lot of the videos that the kids make, it's just them being their feral selves in our basement with our cats, of course. And so people, I mean, they love cat internet videos. And so throw in some cute kids and crazy music and these really chill cats. Yeah, people have really loved it. And again, it's fun to see comments that people make because we've had people say like, “Oh, I used to not be able to listen to this song because it made me so sad about people who've passed. But the remix you guys did just made me laugh out loud. Like, thank you for healing.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Really? Do you remember which song that is?

Ashley:
It was. It was a Celine Dion and what had transitioned into?

Ashley:
Yes, I think it was “My Heart Will Go On” into 50 Cent. And yeah, the person is like, “Oh, yeah, this song was always like . . . "

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah. Who hasn't thought of that combination? I mean, really.

Ashley:
I know.

Anthony Godfrey:
If they'd like to hear some great music, get to know some fun kids and see some cats that are pretty chill, how would they follow your family online?

Ashley:
Yeah. Yeah. So on Instagram, it's Faculty Lounge DJ. So we've got a whole bunch of videos up there. And then we also have some music that they've released on Spotify. If you visit our Instagram, we have a link to our Spotify and we have a couple of original songs on there. They're just, again, kind of us fun playing around with the idea of, you know, children's songs, music that's for kids, but also making it fun enough that the adults will enjoy it, too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, the social media attention is one thing. Tell me about how many followers your kids have on Instagram.

Ashley:
Yeah. So right now they're sitting at around 175,000 followers. And then they've gotten to do a couple, a couple cool things in different publications. DJing Magazine like caters to, you know, women DJs. So that was really cool for her to be featured there. She got to do an interview with ABC News. And so their dad is like their biggest supporter ever. I'm kind of the hype woman in the crowd and he's kind of the guy behind the scenes that, you know, is getting the word out and taking the videos and doing the editing. So it really is like a whole family effort. But . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Like you said, very unifying for your family.

Ashley:
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. It's, we all have our kind of part that we play, very intentional about as well is that it is always fun for these guys that this is what they want to be doing. I don't think they really even understand the following that they have or, you know, what a world record is. Or I don't think they understand how cool some of this stuff is. But some of that is intentional because we're like, we just want you to have fun playing music. Like if we get to have these cool opportunities of going on a family trip to, you know, play the festival or doing a podcast or whatever, like so cool. But also we want them to just like enjoy it. Like it doesn't have to be anything that like defines them or that they have to be too concerned about what the numbers are.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like that you lumped in doing a podcast with taking a family trip. I mean, they're equally fun. I know.

Ashley:
Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you're right. The attention provides opportunities.

Ashley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that, and opens doors and I think that's really exciting.

Ashley:
We’re trying to keep them just anchored in the opportunities that they're having. And yeah, when they get older, they'll maybe understand some of the social media side of things. But for now, we're like, we're just having fun and they don't need to worry about any of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, let's talk with the DJs and let's listen to some music.

Ashley:
Yeah, let's do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi, guys. How are you?

Hadley:
Good.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's good to talk to you today. Tell me your name and what do you love most about being a DJ?

Hadley:
Hadley. When I get to dance.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, do you get to dance to your own music?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what's your favorite song? Do you have a favorite song right now?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is it?

Hadley:
Levels.

Anthony Godfrey:
Who sings that song?

Hadley:
Avicii.

Anthony Godfrey:
Avicii. That's a really good song. And how about you? What's your name?

Carter:
Carter. I like just mixing the songs because it sounds cool. And also of my favorite songs, it's also Levels.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Are we going to listen to Levels today?

Children:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that sounds awesome. And what grade are you in?

Hadley:
I'm in kindergarten.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how do you like kindergarten?

Hadley:
It's good.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are you learning that you really like?

Hadley:
Well, I mean, I'm kind of learning math.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you like math?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Math is fun. How about you, Carter? What grade are you in?

Carter:
Second.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what do you like most about school?

Carter:
You get to do fun stuff. You get to play with your friends, learn math, learn new stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Speaking of learning new stuff, you guys learned to be DJs. That's really fun.

Both:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Smile comes on your face as soon as I even say the word DJ.

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you like most about being a DJ?

Hadley:
I like dancing to the songs.

Anthony Godfrey:
You like dancing to the songs?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you like making the songs go together? Putting them together?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Can you show me some dancing? Okay. When we do. Oh, wow. Yeah. I cannot just start dancing all of a sudden, but you definitely can. Carter, how about you? What do you like most about being a DJ?

Carter:
I mean, it's fun. I get to do stuff with my sister and mix the songs.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's fun. How do you involve the cats in your videos?

Carter:
We make them dance.

Anthony Godfrey:
You make them dance?

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you make them dance?

Carter:
We hold them and like move their arms or something.

Anthony Godfrey:
I look forward to seeing these videos. Do the cats like it? Are they pretty mellow about it?

Carter:
Sometimes they don't like it, but sometimes they like it. So sometimes if they don't like it, we just put them in a bowl.

Anthony Godfrey:
You put them in a bowl?

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do they know that they're kind of not being chill enough if you put them in a bowl?

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Is there anything else in the bowl? Like cereal and milk or anything?

Carter:
No. No, it's an empty bowl.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And what are your cats' names?

Carter:
Mittens and Oliver.

Anthony Godfrey:
Mittens and Oliver. Which is the best behaved of the two?

Hadley:
Oliver.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oliver is the most behaved.

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I would have guessed that from the names that he would be the most calm. Okay, Hadley. Talk to me about the board here that we have in front of us. So what do these buttons do?

Hadley:
These are like some buttons that like help you start them so you can just press one of them and it sets like a little wherever you think the song mixes together good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Hadley:
These are like the basses.

Anthony Godfrey:
These knobs?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It can turn up the bass?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you like bass?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you like treble?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Hadley:
So like and then this is like the volume. You just turn it up fast or slow to make the volume.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does that pull the other song in? Like you've got the one song playing, and then you turn up the volume on the other song?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And what do you call these? Are these sliders?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that what they are?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what is this right here?

Hadley:
This is called a jog wheel.

Anthony Godfrey:
A what wheel?

Hadley:
A jog wheel.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a jog wheel.

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so does that, what does this do? When you, this is, this is a wheel that you can move back and forth. It's pretty big like the size of a pancake maybe?

Hadley:
Yeah. So it lines up the songs together to make the mix go good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So that you know how to mix the songs.

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. What songs are you going to mix for us?

Hadley:
I'm going to mix Levels and then Die Young and then, wait . . . .

Andrew:
And then the special one that you made that we made last night?

Hadley:
Oh yeah. And then there's a special one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Let's hear it. Sounds great. Thanks for walking me through the board here. I've never known how all of this works. Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was perfect. I've never had a custom song just for me before. That's fantastic. You're very focused and having fun at the same time. That's so cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was perfect. Your timing is amazing. Oh wow. Okay. Is this a fade? What is this called?

Hadley:
Um, this is, um,

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a filter?

Hadley:
Yeah, it's a filter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. That is so cool. Wow. Hadley, this is the best thing. I can't believe it. I'm going to have a fantastic day automatically because of this. Oh wow. Good job, Hadley. Thank you.

Hadley:
And then that's called a loop.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's called a loop? What? And so does it just play the same thing over and over again?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that what that means?

Hadley:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That is so cool. Um, Dad, introduce yourself as well.

Andrew:
Yeah. So I'm Andrew Lovell and I'm the assistant principal of Monte Vista. I'm also the father of these two DJs.

Anthony Godfrey:
And, uh, agent backstage, uh, helper, just whatever is needed.

Andrew:
Everything. Uh, sandwich maker, chaos agent, controller. Yes. Everything all in one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hype man. You just, whatever it takes.

Andrew:
Whatever it takes.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're versatile. You're versatile. Tell me how you landed the gig when you reached out to the festival.

Andrew:
Yeah, it was a really cool story. Actually the, uh, the owner of the festival, the guy who puts it on is actually a local community member here. We didn't know that until, until arriving at his house and then realized that he is actually a community member here at our school. So, um, so we just talked to him and he was all for it. Once he met the kids and had them in the studio and they got the chance to mix with him. He was a hundred percent in, I think that's what it took. It took for him to meet them and to really see the magic and the energy that they bring.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. There's, there's no question about the magic and energy they bring. It's, it's something special. Carter is at the board now. Do you call it the board?

Andrew;

Okay. Okay. Carter, give it a shot. If it doesn't sound right, we'll, we'll do it again. Okay. But I think you got to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Let's see what you got.

Carter:
You press this, then . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that from Star Wars?

Carter:
Then you push this and move this a little bit. Then you push that back.

Anthony Godfrey:
Messing with the levels. I like that.

Carter:
Then look for the light . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. You're watching for the red spot. So it's the visual of the music you're following.

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was perfect.

Carter:
Then you’re gonna bring this up and then this down. That’s all you’re gonna do.

Anthony Godfrey:
That is so cool. Amazing. This is a great combination of music. The voices sound kind of dark and serious, like big things are happening. And then you've got this really fun beat with it. I love that combination. Carter, I hear that you're going to be performing for students later this week. Are you excited about that?

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do your friends know that you're going to be DJing for them?

Carter:
I don't think so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, that's going to be a big surprise. That's going to be super fun. They will not forget that. That's so fun that you get to do that. And it's kind of a gift that you're giving your friends that they get to have a great time, thanks to you.

Carter:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm looking forward to that. That's going to be really fun. Thank you very much, you two.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's about the coolest thing that's happened to me in a long time. Thank you so much for making that mix for me.

Children:
You’re welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was really fun. And I have a new hobby. Do you know what it is?

Hadley:
No.

Carter:
What? DJing?

Anthony Godfrey:
No. It's watching you two DJ. I'm going to start following you guys. And I want to get to know Oliver and Mittens too. So you guys are the best. My favorite DJs. Thank you so much for talking with me today.

Children:
You're welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Will you guys play something for me just to finish off the podcast?

Children:
Yeah.

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.

Liz Mumford:
Utah is the only state that has a Community Council program where trust funds go directly to a local community to make the decision.

Bree Ervin:
So it is really nice to see that this is not just words on paper, it is action.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're already seeing an impact with your children.

Julianne Best:
And the way that we're doing things, he's getting it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that.

Julianne Best:
Showing a big difference.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Did you know the Utah Trust Lands Administration manages millions of acres of land? And through the leasing and sales of that land, they raise hundreds of millions of dollars that go directly into K-12 schools in Utah? On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Hidden Valley Middle School to show you how School Community Councils, which include parents, teachers, and the principal, decide how to use the money. Find out why Hidden Valley Middle School's Land Trust Plan stands out among others in the state, and how, in the end, students in the classroom are the clear winners.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with the director of the advocacy office for the Trust Lands system. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what that means and what your job entails.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, thanks, Dr. Godfrey. It's great to be with you today and talk to the Jordan community. I am Liz Mumford. I represent all of the beneficiaries across the Trust system. That means public education and other state institutions that get distributions that come off of the revenue from Trust Lands.

Anthony Godfrey:
And talk to people about what Trust Lands are.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, Trust Lands is a great story. It goes clear back to the history of our country and the origin of states. And when states came into the union, there was a recognition that they needed some kind of revenue to be able to fund important functions like public education and hospitals and higher education. And so the federal government granted lands to each state at statehood. And if you were to look at a map of Utah and see little sections of our state, you'd see this checkerboard pattern where, in every single township, four parcels were granted to public education to help fund public schools. And eventually, that was formalized into a trust and an endowment system. And that's where the money comes from each year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Parcels in every township, I didn't realize that the distribution looked like that.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, it's really interesting. Some states, when they came into statehood, just received one section. But there was this understanding that we were an arid state, that land might not have as many natural resources. And so the federal government granted four sections in every township for public education.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how does that system work now? Explain to folks what that means for us in schools right now.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, let's kind of talk about how Trust Lands, the administration makes money with those lands in this time. So there's a lot of different activity happening on those lands. Everything from oil and gas drilling, there are some coal mines, there are sheep and cattle grazing permits, there's geothermal production, there's real estate development. Critical minerals are an emerging opportunity for revenue on Trust Lands. And they are constantly looking for the highest and best use of activity in those areas. It's an important part of county economic development, and that supports taxes in schools as well once those businesses become functional and they become part of the tax base. But all across Utah, there's economic activity happening on Trust Lands. Each year, the Trust Lands Administration takes that total revenue that they earn on the Lands and transfers it over to an investment office. And that's known as SITFO, and it becomes part of a permanent fund for public education.

Anthony Godfrey:
And those funds have grown dramatically in the last 20 years, I would say. Even in the last 10, there's been a huge uptick in the amount of funding that's available.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, that's a great point to make. So part of that is just the sophistication of their investment policy over at SITFO. So they manage that permanent fund, and they're managing it with experts in their industry. It also is the power of compounding. And so what we're seeing is the fund itself is creating increasing opportunities every year. It's up to almost $4.8 billion.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And the distribution is a per-student distribution throughout the state that goes directly to schools to be administered through the School Community Council. And for the benefit, for academic benefit for students. So talk to us about that process.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah. So in state code, there's a formula that they use each year to determine that distribution. And some of your listeners may remember a few years ago, they voted on Amendment B. And that was an increased percentage that went out to public schools each year. So there's a formula based on student enrollment, the balance in the account, and on that statutory formula with 5%. And each year, SITFO calculates the total amount that would go out to public schools. And then there's a formula that dictates how much goes out to students. So this year, it's about $200 per student that's going out to Community Councils. And you hit it right on the head. It's the greatest academic need. That's their priority is crafting a plan, setting goals within your school community, and figuring out what are places where you can amplify funding that's coming from the legislature and other avenues, and meeting the needs within your school.

Anthony Godfrey:
And within these agencies that you've described, or working with these agencies, you're our advocate to be sure that schools are receiving what they should be, and that we're really focused on making sure that revenue is handled well and goes where it should.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, that's a great point. It's a complex system here within the Trust. And so Trust Lands Agents Administration really focuses on the land management. SITFO really focuses on the fund investment. The School Children's Trust Program at the State Board of Education, they train councils, monitor the spending, and track compliance, and support good plan development. And our office serves as the independent advocate. There have been times in the history of the Trust system where lands were sold for less than fair market value, or there were risks in the system that compromised the value. And really, as the Trust system has become more formalized, and all these structures are in place, part of our role is just to protect the system, to make sure there's good governance, to make sure there's good policy. We work a lot with legislators on an annual basis looking at the Trust system and the statutes, and ways that we can just make sure the revenue continues to increase, and public schools get the money that they're guaranteed through this program.

Anthony Godfrey:
And with all these processes, and with your advocacy, and with good coordination among these offices, we have a trustworthy Trust.

Liz Mumford:
We do. It's amazing. When you look across the United States of America, Utah is the only state that has a Community Council program where Trust funds go directly to a local community to make the decisions. And that's really powerful. I think it helps strengthen our school culture. It builds parent engagement, and really lets us address things in a case-by-case basis.

Anthony Godfrey:
If I may insert this here, cue the old-timey music. But in the 1990s, back in the 1900s, Jordan School District actually pioneered the School Community Council. And that then was put into law later. But they were called School Community Groups. So you used to be able to know who'd been working in Jordan for a very long time if they called it a School Community Group. And then when it was put in law, it was a School Community Council.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, that's so great. So many people in our state were part of that important transition. PTA was a huge element of fighting for Community Councils and for also just creating the modern Trust system in the 1990s. And it's just evolved over time and become more and more effective at getting the money down to the school level. I know when I started serving on School Community Councils 20 years ago, we were just receiving a small amount of money each year. And you might be able to buy some books or a software program or do a parent night with science or something more programmatic. And the money is to a level now where schools are able to invest in full-time equivalents. They're able to hire a teacher, pay for productivity . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
Lower class sizes.

Liz Mumford:
Lower class sizes, hire interventionists to help with reading. It's really powerful money that they can count on from year to year. And that's changed how impactful their plans can become.

Anthony Godfrey:
And over the years, as the amount of money coming to schools has grown, we've talked with principals about this is money you can rely on. The exact amount per student is going to vary. But you can feel confident hiring staff. Initially when we were switching from books and supplies to staff, it was a bit of an adjustment because it's a different source of funding. But there's a huge impact, a huge positive impact in our schools because of this funding. And as you said, it's a really important point. Jordan had a role. PTA had a huge role. The legislature putting it into law so that everybody has access to a School Community Council and can access these funds in a meaningful way. It was a lot of groups coming together to help public education. And that's really inspiring. And it's been very successful. And I appreciate the role that you play in making it such a success.

Liz Mumford:
Thank you. Well, we just believe that advocacy and understanding of the trust is so important. So when teachers in Jordan and parents in Jordan understand the Trust system and become champions for this program, it helps all of us protect the Trust and the school children's interest in it. So we're excited about the future of the Trust as the fund continues to grow. And we just believe that parent engagement and teacher participation in developing these plans collaboratively with principals is a huge part of that success.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, you talked about being on a School Community Council 20 years ago. Is that what started you along this path to this position?

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, it really is. My background was being a parent. I had four boys that were all students in public education. And I got involved initially with PTA. And then I added that Community Council to that service. And they really complement each other well as PTA's work together in conjunction with Community Councils to support schools. But Community Councils really have this great role of greatest academic need. And I loved being able to influence decisions at my school. And it also becomes a place to talk about school issues, whether those are traffic drop-off issues or different things within a school community. And so I loved that opportunity. Eventually, I worked in a school and became a part of the plan as an educator, and then had an opportunity to review plans as a local school board member. And so I really watched the process from all different levels. And I think that's what makes the plan so cohesive and impactful is because every person along the way influences those plans and has a common goal to support the greatest academic need of our kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's fair to say no one has seen every angle of this program like you have. A school board member has to approve those plans. So you've seen it from parent, educator, board member, and now at the state level.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, I hope that brings a unique perspective. I think principals play a really critical role in plans. And I've never had that perspective, but I've sat side by side with lots of principals. And they take on a big burden because they have to manage the website and all the deadlines and the processes. And really, principals have such an influence on the culture of the Council and how they engage with parents. So I really value what they do.

Anthony Godfrey:
That’s a good point.

Liz Mumford:
But yeah, this whole process takes a lot of people working together.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the principal does balance out not taking over, but making sure things move forward and everyone has a voice and that everyone's connected to the genuine needs of the school.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, that's a great way to describe it because in the big picture, the principal understands a lot of the dynamics at the school and the Council has an influence on this portion. And so when they bring parents and educators to the table and you're sitting down in a library talking about what are the needs in your school, what's the data in your school, did the plan last year work, what do we need to tweak, the principal becomes a great facilitator in that discussion.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much. And we're actually at Hidden Valley Middle School right now to talk about their plan because this is one of the plans that you've highlighted.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, each year we like to look at districts across the state and charters across the state and kind of look for examples of great plans. There's so much great work happening in lots of different schools. There's over 1,000 schools across the state and they each have a unique plan. But it's fun to highlight Hidden Valley today. You'll know, Superintendent, that Jordan District received $10.4 million. That's what's going out to Councils in this school year for the plans that they crafted and approved together as Councils. And so we really were impressed at Hidden Valley. They really were strategic in how they used data in their plan. And we love the way that they approached personalized academic tracking. And they're working on ways to direct their core subjects. And so using interventions and ways to target students, we felt like that's just a really powerful way to augment the other work that's happening in the school.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to talk with some of the folks who put that plan together. Thank you very much for highlighting Hidden Valley and for spending time with us today to help us better understand this program.

Liz Mumford:
Yeah, it's a pleasure to be here. We just really appreciate the great work that happens at the Trust Lands Administration, with SITFO, at the State Board of Education, and then here at the local level in schools. Amazing work across the state.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks to everyone behind the acronyms that she just mentioned and all the people out there who are working so hard for our students to make sure they have the resources they need.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, we'll talk with some of the people involved in creating Hidden Valley Middle School's Land Trust Plan.

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:
We're here at Hidden Valley Middle School talking with three members of the School Community Council. Introduce yourself, talk about your role on the Council, and your relationship to the school.

Julianne Best:
OK, I'm Julianne Best. I'm the Community Council Chair, or I was when we wrote this plan. I'm now a full-time math teacher here at the school, and I love Hidden Valley.

Bree Ervin:
I'm Bree Ervin. I am co-chair of the School Community Council here at Hidden Valley Middle School. I am also president-elect for our PTSA.

Sterling Hunt:
Sterling Hunt, principal at Hidden Valley Middle. And I was moved here just after winter break on January 2. And so I had the great privilege of really walking into a fantastic School Community Council team.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you've been highlighted at the state level just for the great work on your plan, focused on the highest academic need here at Hidden Valley. So tell us a little bit about what that entails and about your plan and what your focus is as a school with those Land Trust funds.

Julianne Best:
Well, I remember that when we were in that meeting, we wanted it to be very focused on what the kids needed, because we didn't want to be putting extra things where the money wasn't needed. And so for us, we needed a lot of growth with, especially, math and with some of our other subjects. I'm trying to remember what they were like.

Sterling Hunt:
Language arts could use some help in improving student outcomes. Our science team was really leading out building-wide. And we were happy with where they're at. So our goal there was just to continue to sustain that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what are some of the things that you focused on to help boost those math and language arts scores?

Bree Ervin:
Really want to focus on helping our teachers. Our teachers, if they have more assistance, more time, more peer-to-peer collaboration, then they can better perform to help our children. So we made sure that our teachers had academic coaches. We made sure that they had collaboration days. And over the summer, that they had PLC planning time as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what did that look like? You paid for part of that collaboration time over the summer using Land Trust?

Bree Ervin:
Yes, we paid for 15 hours of PLC planning and curriculum alignment over the summer. So whenever our teachers had time to get it done, they got it done instead of trying to squeeze it in during the school year and interrupt instruction time for our students.

Anthony Godfrey:
It really is different when you're able to take a pause over the summer and focus. And there's more work that happens over the summer than most people realize. And it's nice that the School Community Council recognized that and actually compensated teachers for time to be together. How did this feel as a parent to be part of this process and to be able to focus on academics and supporting teachers?

Bree Ervin:
It felt really good. I see what the plan has done. I see how that's playing out currently with my ninth grader and my seventh grader. So it is really nice to see that this is not just words on paper. It is action.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're already seeing an impact with your children.

Julianne Best:
Yeah, as a parent as well, I have to add to that. So my son was in seventh grade last year, and he's eighth grader this year. Elementary school, he was always getting ones on his RISE for math. It was really rough. And so now he's here. And the way that we're doing things, he's getting it. He's getting all threes now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. I love that.

Julianne Best:
Showing a big difference.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's wonderful.

Bree Ervin:
We've got great teachers here as well. So that definitely helps out of our teaching staff here.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've been here, as you indicated, less than a year, but the end of one academic year and the start of another. Talk to me about the impact of this plan and this School Community Council.

Sterling Hunt:
It's exciting to work, to come in mid-year. It's exciting to meet really engaged parents that are working with us on our School Community Council and PTSA and our other programs in the building. It's exciting to work in a building that has fewer than 3,000 kids where I came from previously at Copper Hills. And so coming here, working with this particular team, these parents were very engaged. Many of them work in the building as subs. They come in when our teachers aren't here in the building. They know our students. They have students here. And so the goal is, as our team, is we know what our challenges are. Let's work together and provide the resources to our teachers and to the students in order to close these gaps.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how intentional, just as you've described, the Council was about this is our need. What can we do very concretely to help this? And to already see impact is tremendous. Just to close out, tell me what you love most about Hidden Valley Middle School.

Julianne Best:
I love the students. I love the staff, but the kids, they're the center of it. They're wonderful. They're smart. They're funny. They're just amazing little human beings that are getting better every day and getting smarter every day.

Bree Ervin:
I love the community that we have here. My daughter did competitive cheer at a gym. So a lot of the boys and girls that were there go to school with her. So they know me. My son plays tackle football here in Riverton. And I see a lot of the boys that he's played. So I have a lot of extra children here. So it is just a lot of family-oriented love here. And that's what we're here for. We're here to love on these kids and take care of them and protect them, even though they may not like having homework. But that's what's necessary sometimes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Part of the package. Yes.

Sterling Hunt:
I just want to emphasize, we do have a fantastic community here. And there's something special coming down off the hill into this little bowl where Hidden Valley sits. And we know our students. We know our parents. And it's programs like the Land Trust that allows our parents to be involved, really intentionally involved, in what resources we're going to provide our teachers and students to improve student growth, student engagement, overall student success. And I've thoroughly enjoyed that, being here at Hidden Valley, just working with great parents and great faculty and staff members and awesome students with a common goal of, we only get them here for three years. They're going to be the best three years they're going to have.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. It's a wonderful community, an incredible school. And it's a pleasure talking with all of you today. Thank you for everything you're doing to make this such a great place to be.

All:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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.