It was a huge celebration with cheerleaders, a drumline, mascots, administrators, and more gathered to welcome 450 new teachers to Jordan School District.
On this episode of the Supercast, we hear from some of those teachers about their journey to Jordan and what they are most excited about as they head into classrooms for the upcoming school year.
Audio Transcription
[Music]Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It was a huge celebration with cheerleaders, a drum line, mascots, administrators, and more gathered to welcome 450 new teachers to Jordan School District.
On this episode of the Supercast, we hear from some of those teachers about their journey to Jordan and what they are most excited about as they head into classrooms for the upcoming school year. We start by listening in as the crowd goes wild when the new teachers arrive for their first day in Jordan School District.
Announcer:
Hello guys, welcome to Jordan District! We're so excited you are here. Come on through!
Anthony Godfrey:
We're at West Jordan Middle School this morning. We have four different media outlets covering our new teacher induction. This is a return to in-person new teacher inductions after a long desert of COVID years where we were online and doing virtual inductions. So we're going to talk to the human resources department now to talk a little bit about today's event. Introduce yourself and tell us about what's going on today.
Jane Olsen:
Hi, I'm Jane Olsen. I'm the HR specialist over hiring, recruiting, and licensing for elementary schools and today we're gonna be welcoming about 450 educators.
Anthony Godfrey:
450! When I tell people that they are amazed at the number of new teachers we have every year. It's really exciting though.
Jane Olsen:
Yes, it is. Very very exciting. Ten percent of those are gonna be new graduates so we've got young ones coming in.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. Now these are teachers who are teaching everything from preschool all the way to post high school.
Jane Olsen:
Yeah, and we also have our school psychologists, our SLPs, all of those education support staff are welcome to be joining us today.
Anthony Godfrey:
And we have teachers and licensed educators from all over. Tell me about that.
Jane Olsen:
Yeah, so we ran the numbers a few days ago and it looks like we're covering about 20 states and eight different countries that are going to be represented today.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic and we've cast a wide net over the past few years to bring in as many great teachers as we can and this year we've had some really great candidates. As I've talked with elementary principals they've reported that they've had 40 or even 50 qualified candidates for every position.
Jane Olsen:
Yeah, the depth of the pools even up through last week was wonderful. We were hiring special education teachers with professional licenses even up through last week.
Anthony Godfrey:
And it's exciting to see that we're hiring at greater numbers than ever before, but we're filling those positions faster than ever before, and we're drawing from a deeper, deeper pool, as you said. So we've got some fantastic teachers here. Tell me a little bit about what we're doing for teachers today.
Jane Olsen:
So today we are welcoming them with a big clap in. There's quite a scene out here with cheerleaders and mascots and even some of our principals are dressed up today. And we're going to be providing them with a backpack from the community that is full of supplies and gifts and certificates for all different things. We could not do today without the community support that we've had and the amount of donations and generosity of their time and resources.
Anthony Godfrey:
We've had a bunch of donations from local businesses that have been eager to help and I was there when they were putting together the backpacks. It was a whole assembly line getting all of these great prizes put together for our teachers.
Jane Olsen:
It was a whirlwind of a day, five hours stuffing 450 backpacks.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is some of the information that will be shared with teachers throughout the day to help them get a great start to the year?
Jane Olsen:
Well, the first thing we'll start off with is kind of a classroom management with what we call our JBAT team, Melanie Dawson and Brian King, who are going to really help them with the classroom management aspect. Which is one of the pieces of feedback that we received last year that they really felt like they needed going into the school year. And based off of the feedback and some research that was done in-house, we targeted in on a few things that they felt were really important, which is understanding how to utilize technology in their classroom, and what student services supports that they have, APPEL, and JPAS. You can hear it getting loud out here. So licensing, anything related to licensing and evaluations, and as well as teacher resiliency. We felt like that was a really important thing to kind of end on a high note.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I love that. I think all of those topics will prepare teachers well. And you talked about the fact that this was based on survey responses.
Jane Olsen:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you really have done your research, I know, in preparing for this. You've asked new teachers that have been new to Jordan in the past, what do you wish we'd covered. What do you wish we had provided at the beginning of the year? So this is really calibrated to the needs that were expressed by new teachers in the past.
Jane Olsen:
Yeah, in addition, Amanda Bollinger did some research for her dissertation, and so we integrated that knowledge of knowing that they want to come and feel belonging and supported. And we knew that this in-person session, as you can see, was an essential piece to that. That we couldn't miss that opportunity to give them that sense of community and belonging.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's fantastic. Well, it's really fun to hear the enthusiasm and the background, all the excitement for our new teachers here. It felt pretty awesome for me walking up, and I've been here for a while. Thank you for all your hard work. It's going to be a great day. Jane Olsen:
Yes, it will.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking with one of our principals and her newest hire. Introduce yourself and the newest teacher at Aspen Elementary School.
Suzie Williams:
Okay, I'm Suzie Williams the principal at Aspen Elementary and we are fortunate to have Jared Kosareff with us at our school. He'll be teaching fifth grade this year. He comes to us from being a substitute teacher for a while. Prior to that he was in the business world and we are blessed to have him. He'll be a great example to our kids. He's very knowledgeable. His mom was a teacher so he knows a lot about teaching and we're just grateful to have him.
Anthony Godfrey:
What made Jared stand out in the interviews?
Suzie Williams:
He has a pretty dynamic personality.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.
Suzie Williams:
He's a lot of fun and he'll be a great role model.
Anthony Godfrey:
That'll come in very handy in fifth grade.
Suzie Williams:
Yes, it will.
Anthony Godfrey:
Jared tell me a little bit about your journey to Jordan. We're excited to have you.
Jared Kosareff:
Thank you, I'm excited to be here. I was in the construction industry prior to this. My daughter goes to Aspen Elementary. Talking a lot about leading into this, you know, who inspired you to be a teacher. As soon as I said my mom's a teacher, my dad was a teacher. A huge inspiration for me. And then the one that really got me was my daughter's first-grade teacher, Haley McCall. When we went back to school and I walked into her classroom, I was like, this is the coolest classroom ever. I want to be in this class.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome.
Jared Kosareff:
And you know, interacting with her and then just the way kind of life works out. I needed to make a change and I immediately thought about becoming a teacher. I started talking with Suzie about it. Picking my daughter up became little interviews with Suzie almost every day. And Suzie told me about the job fair that they had last year, or earlier this year I should say, and I went in and met with Suzie and she introduced me to Jane who got me introduced into the APPEL program and the rest is history. Here I am.
Anthony Godfrey:
How are you feeling on the cusp of your first school year as a teacher?
Jared Kosareff:
Beyond excited. You know, meeting the team at Aspen, working with the team that I did last year at Ridgeview, and then now you know getting sent into the school that's gonna be my new home. The support from every individual, from every aspect of being an educator has just been overwhelmingly awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
You're gonna be surrounded by some great people and some wonderful kids. So we've tried to put on a big welcome for you here today. How does that feel?
Jared Kosareff:
It feels awesome. You feel like walking the red carpet, I guess, as close as I could feel that it would be like. Just seeing the support from the community, from the other teachers, you know, they always say teachers are the ones that are going to help you the most. They have everything in their brains and their hearts that they want to give. So when you're surrounded by people like that, it's exciting to be part of that. And I get to be one of these people cheering other people on one day too, which I look forward to.
Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. Any plans for the first day of school yet?
Jared Kosareff:
You know what, I'm still running that through my head. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate Star Wars into everything because I'm a huge Star Wars nerd.
Anthony Godfrey:
The force will be with you on your first day. There's no doubt. I'm a big Star Wars nerd myself. So it's a good go-to.
Jared Kosareff:
Yes, sir.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations. We're so happy to have you.
Jared Kosareff:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Whatever paths led you here, your parents and that experience with your daughter's teacher. I'm just grateful that you're here and that you've decided to teach in Jordan. Jared Kosareff:
Thank you. I'm happy to be here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Have a great day and a great year.
Jared Kosareff:
We will. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking with another one of our new teachers. Introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about you.
Chance Clouse:
My name is Chance Clouse. I just finished my M.A.T. at Westminster. I'll be teaching at Herriman High.
Anthony Godfrey:
What will you be teaching?
Chance Clouse:
Art.
Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic.
Chance Clouse:
Painting and drawing.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what is it that made you want to be a teacher?
Chance Clouse:
I love art and I love being able to spread that love with my students and help them find that and I'm excited to just be out there with them.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is your favorite medium?
Chance Clouse:
I like oil painting is my favorite, but I do a little bit of everything.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oil painting is forgiving. You can kind of cover over right?
Chance Clouse:
You can go back over.
Anthony Godfrey:
Watercolor is a little less so.
Chance Clouse:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's about all I know about painting. So there we have it.
Chance Clouse:
You got it. That's it.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is it that you hope that your students take away from your art classes?
Chance Clouse:
I hope that they just learn how to be able to learn new things and be okay with making mistakes in that process of learning.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's sometimes a very difficult thing to help students understand. The creative process involves mistakes. It involves kind of letting go and allowing yourself to experiment.
Chance Clouse:
To learn something new you have to be willing to fail and get up again.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's got to be one of the fun things about being an art teacher is that you're having students try things and do things that maybe they never have done before, never thought they could do.
Chance Clouse:
Yes, sir, and then they also get the benefit of like quick feedback and responses.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's true. As a student, I took art classes of course and I remember some of the very specific projects that I was involved in. I remember pots that I made and a painting that I did because it's meaningful when you put yourself into that project.
Chance Clouse:
Yes sir.
Anthony Godfrey:
What do you think of all this hoopla?
Chance Clouse:
It's pretty amazing. I was a little shocked walking in.
Anthony Godfrey:
And have you been teaching elsewhere? Did you just finish?
Chance Clouse:
This will be my first teaching in public schools. I've done a lot of community stuff for various outreach programs in Youth City and things like that.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you've been involved in teaching but this is your first all day I’m a teacher.
Chance Clouse:
All day, I'm in a school, teacher.
Anthony Godfrey:
What are your thoughts about the first day and your first week of school?
Chance Clouse:
I'm really excited I've got a lot planned already. I’m happy to get in there and get to know my students and build those relationships.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's gonna be a great year we're excited to have you thank you very much.
Chance Clouse:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with some of our amazing new teachers.
Break:
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
(upbeat music)
Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with the new JROTC teacher from Herriman High School. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sergeant Wilson:
I'm Sergeant Wilson. I've been teaching Junior ROTC for 10 years. I'm transferring over to Herriman to get this program going.
Anthony Godfrey;
We're really excited to have the JROTC program here in Herriman. We've been hoping to have that for a long time. Tell me about the value of that JROTC program for any student who signs up.
Sergeant Wilson:
Well, from the parents' point of view, it's a life lessons class. It's a bunch of life skills as the parents see it. For the students, it's a new beginning for them. It's a chance for some to fit in. It's a chance for some to excel. It's a chance where– it's an opportunity for students to actually be a part of what happens because the students run the program.
Anthony Godfrey:
What is it that made you want to be a teacher?
Sergeant Wilson:
I think it goes back to the 20 years I served in the military I always taught. From the very beginning of my career, I was teaching other soldiers and leaders and it just became natural. I loved the ability to see that light come on when they grabbed that concept and it's just something that I've always wanted to do.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we're really excited to have you here and have you bring your experience in the program to the new program in Herriman High and this is available for any student in Jordan School District.
Sergeant Wilson:
Any student from 8th grade to 12th grade.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're excited to see what happens and thank you very much for being part of Jordan School District.
Sergeant Wilson:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kathryn Berry:
So my name is Kathryn Berry and I will be working at West Hills Middle School and I come from residential treatment. I taught eighth grade through twelfth grade in the residential treatment and I'm looking forward to working in the Jordan School District because the people are awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the work that you did previously.
Kathryn Berry:
So I was teaching eighth grade through twelfth grade all subjects except English and Social Studies. I was also doing the administration duties and some of the registrar duties as well. So it was a heavier load and I'm happy to be–
Anthony Godfrey:
You get to focus a little bit more. You have a long list of a wide range of different responsibilities. Tell me what you're looking forward to most about this school year.
Kathryn Berry:
I think I'm looking forward most to being able to focus on helping the kids know something about science. I think for me science is a, I've been doing science stuff for 25 years. So to me getting the kids able to focus on and maybe decide a kind of science that they would like to be more interested in so that when they do make that transition to ninth grade and through high school they can actually focus on their you know the things that they like rather than the things that are maybe required.
Anthony Godfrey:
Give them a chance to try out lots of different aspects of science study and see what interests them the most.
Kathryn Berry:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
What do you love about teaching?
Kathryn Berry:
I think the opportunity to spread the love, spread knowledge, and the power that knowledge can give to students. Knowing that they have that knowledge and that they can then share it as well or increase their knowledge or expand their knowledge to other aspects and how they can grow and learn.
Anthony Godfrey:
You're going to be starting out at West Hills, you said, that they've told you that it's the best hills.
Kathryn Berry:
Yes, absolutely.
Anthony Godfrey:
I taught there the first year it was open myself. So congratulations on coming to Jordan School District and we're thrilled to have you.
Kathryn Berry:
Yes, I'm so excited. Thank you so much.
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.