Elementary schools in Jordan School District are giving each other a run for their money in the second annual “Pony Races.”
On this episode of the Supercast, hear how two incredible science specialists came up with the idea of “pony races” to track RISE standardized testing progress and make science exciting and fun for students and staff. It’s turning out to be a win-win for everyone.
Audio Transcription
Specialist:
We kind of hatched a plan. We called it the Pony Races and we would track how our students were doing in Jordan District.
Anthony Godfrey:
This is on the science standardized task the RISE.
Specialist:
Yes, yes. And teachers responded really well probably more excited about it than we even thought.
Specialist:
Teachers in tears of joy and teams who came together, principals came out of their offices.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Elementary schools in Jordan School District are giving each other a run for their money in the second annual Pony Races. On this episode of the Supercast, hear how two incredible science specialists came up with the idea of Pony Races to track RISE standardized testing progress and make science exciting and fun for students and staff. It's turning out to be a win-win for everyone.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at the Auxiliary Services Building talking with two of our District science specialists. Introduce yourselves and talk a little bit about the work that you do.
Rachel Coleman:
My name is Rachel Coleman.
Lynn Gutswiller:
And I'm Lynn Gutswiller. And our goal is to support elementary teachers in teaching great science.
Anthony Godfrey:
That is a task that you are very, very excited about, very enthusiastic, and very creative about. And that's why we're here today. Tell us about your day-to-day. What is it like a day in the life or a year in the life of a District Science Specialist? What type of work do you do during the day?
Specialist:
So every day looks really different for us. But speaking about averages, we probably spend about a third of our time in classrooms supporting teachers, model lessons, and a third of our time building resources for teachers that teachers have asked for or creating new resources, and then a third of our time either managing some grants or coming up with our next scathingly brilliant ideas.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, and we're here to experience that brilliant idea, which I've heard about now for a year and I'm very excited that we have finally come together and I get to experience this. But before we talk more about that, elementary teachers have to be an expert in everything. And so you are a great support to make sure that the science instruction, that they have great resources to help them with that. What was your path to taking this position? What did you do previously?
Specialist:
So both of us really, or I should say, each of us really had a different kind of path to get here. I have some ELA background and so that really helps in terms of putting together curriculum, along with some technology background and training, and then moved kind of into the STEM world, which has been a fantastic part of my educational journey. I love being able to build resources that help support teachers and allow students to be better at learning science.
Specialist:
I was in the classroom for about 20 years teaching science, and then the last few years before taking this position, I was actually at Rose Creek in sixth grade teaching all the subjects.
Anthony Godfrey:
And you just decided we need to be a part of making science instruction even better districtwide.
Specialist:
Oh, absolutely. And feeling like we had a lot to offer, not just students in the classroom, but also teachers.
Anthony Godfrey:
And how long have the two of you been in this position?
Specialist:
I've been in this position since 2019.
Specialist:
And for me just a year less, 2020. We have had the luxury of working together in multiple different settings over our careers, so it makes us a great team.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now are you the two that drove cross-country through the night to pick up science kits for elementary teachers? That is a tale that must be told. So please talk about what happened there. Any liability is long gone now. So let's just, you know.
Specialist:
Yeah, so there were a number of FOSS supplies that were sitting in a California auxiliary building.
Anthony Godfrey:
So talk about what FOSS supplies are.
Specialist:
Okay, so FOSS is our District science curriculum and it's great, but it requires a lot of supplies and teachers were having to share one set of supplies among an entire team of teachers, which we knew was a lift for them. And so we were trying to see what we could do to get more science supplies in their hands to make that an easier lift.
Specialist:
We happened to be at a conference in California and our rep for the curriculum FOSS took us to her warehouse there where they had a parking lot full of supplies on pallets that were just sitting unused and they were going to put them in the dumpster.
Anthony Godfrey:
That would not stand.
Specialist:
That would not stand. That was a tragedy that we could not see happen. So we just decided and navigated and kind of worked with Jane Harward at the time who was our boss and said, “Hey, we've got to get those to Jordan.” So two semi trucks later, we spent a couple of months, the better part of a few months, organizing, going through them all. We had multiple volunteer groups come in, but it made for a great opportunity for teachers to have more supplies in their hands.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now two semi trucks. Did you get your CDL? How exactly did those trucks get filled with those kits, and how did they get here?
Specialist:
Okay, so we did actually pitch out renting Uhauls, but liability declined that offer. So we end up paying . . .
Anthony Godfrey:
I remember that discussion.
Specialist:
You probably saw that come through in your desk. And so we end up paying a semi, contracting with a semi-truck company and having them hauled here to reduce our liability.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's best.
Specialist:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
The laws of physics would have prevented you from getting it here any other way. Right.
Specialist:
Right.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. So, in other words, you will stop at nothing to make sure that teachers have the best support for science instruction in all the land.
Specialist:
Absolutely. We know teachers are working hard, and so we want to work equally as hard for teachers.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I love that. And like I said, legendary stories have been told about you two for a long time. So I'm glad to finally meet you and get to see this creative project. Now this project that we're going to talk about is about supporting teachers, but it's also about motivating students. So tell, just tell us about this project. Describe what we're looking at here. We're upstairs in the ASB kind of tucked away and these are the Pony Races. The RISE Pony Race tracks or talk with, talk with us about what we're looking at and what it's all about.
Specialist:
So this came out of some things that we heard from teachers was one, of the one of the things we got feedback from with teachers was they had some concerns just about general overall student motivation when taking the RISE. And so we kind of hatched a plan, and for years at here at the ASB, we called it the Pony Races, and we would track how our students were doing in Jordan District versus the State and we would …...
Anthony Godfrey:
This is on the science standardized test, the RISE.
Specialist:
Yes. Yes, on the on the RISE science test. And so we would track it and we called it the Pony Races and we would have stuff up in our cubes and we would change the numbers every day. And so, at some point two years ago we were like we got to take this to the teachers, and as maybe an easy way for students to be able to get involved and to provide a little more motivation if they chose to participate.
Specialist:
It was it was Rachel's great idea honestly and we put it into action and teachers responded really well, probably more excited about it than we even thought. So it has been great.
Specialist:
And last year when we brought the trophies around to the people who, the classes and the teams who had won it was turned out to be a roaring success. We had teachers in tears of joy, and teams who came together, principals came out of their offices, and we had, sometimes we had the coaches coming with us into the classroom, the students cheered for themselves they cheered for the teachers. It was great. And now when we go to schools we often see the trophies sitting in their in their rooms or in the in the window of their workroom. It's awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
And here and let's take a look at the trophies over here. How did you find trophies with horse trophies and what is this? This is a goat leap. How do you find goat trophies? Did you have to get semis from, sent to California to pick these up?
Specialist:
Well, you know go Amazon. You can get almost anything, including a goat trophy.
Anthony Godfrey:
Goat trophy.
Specialist:
Yeah. And what you're holding there is the Greatest Of All Times on the goat trophy. So it goes to a particular winner.
Anthony Godfrey:
The Greatest Of All Time and Better Than The Rest Science RISE. And that is for any class who for the first time beats the State average.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so very nice and Best In Class, Best Top Performance. You've got all kinds of great awards. I'm going to hold one of these in the picture that we take to go along with this because it feels good even just picking these up. I don't think I've ever held a horse trophy before, having not won the Kentucky Derby. So let's see Gaining Ground Herd Award. Tell me about that one.
Specialist:
Yeah, that's the one we're introducing today when we're making our quick video. It is for the largest median growth percentile per feeder system. So they'll be going to six different schools, and we have class awards and a team award, which we call a Herd Award.
Anthony Godfrey:
The Herd Award. Yeah, that is really, really cool.
Specialist:
So while not only do we want to celebrate students who you know, students and teams and teachers and so forth who perform well, but we really want to encourage growth. Right? So that is something that is really what we want to celebrate significantly is how did you grow from one year to the next and that that is worth the Growth Award or the . . .
Anthony Godfrey:
And yeah exactly, wherever kids start, we want them to have a year's growth. Yeah, we want we want them to be making progress.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Stay with us when we come back. We'll hit the track with our two science specialists.
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:
We'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 gear.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now you have all of these ponies with labels, laminated horses stuck to the wall, and the RISE Pony racetrack. So is this where you track how the scores are going during the year and are schools represented by a pony? I'm guessing. Let's walk up and take a look and talk me through this.
Specialist:
Each team has their own pony, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. And so as those teams finish up their RISE testing will put those ponies on the track and kind of track their progress over the course of the year or the course of the spring, and then we will be able to put out another video that sort of shows how they're moving along.
Anthony Godfrey:
And this is, how many years have you done this now?
Specialist:
This is only a second year. So it's our Second Annual Pony Races.
Specialist:
And teachers also get their own pony, which is being shipped out after spring break. So they get to put their pony up in their class and hopefully they can track their progress.
Anthony Godfrey:
So they so they're tracking their class with the pony in their classroom, and then for grades fourth, fifth, and sixth, for every school you're tracking their progress here throughout the spring.
Specialist:
Yeah and we try to do lots of videos and send them off as we start the RISE testing. We'll start them all at the start line, and then we go from there making a video a week, sometimes two video weeks and giving a little shout out to classes and schools who are doing great.
Anthony Godfrey:
I've heard about these videos, and I know the kids and the teachers love them and look forward to hearing them, and I just it's thrilling for me to hear how much you have not only supported teachers but made science exciting and something competitive where they really want to be at their best. I think there are long-term benefits from kids just being this engaged with science instruction.
Specialist:
Well, thank you so much. Our mandate is “go make science great in Jordan.”
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. I love it. So let's, so if I am here for a meeting, which I am on regular on a regular basis, I can wander up and just see how schools and grades are going are doing.
Specialist:
Yeah, and even last year we had a couple teachers who came up who wanted to see specifically how their pony was doing in the race.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that’s good. For those of us who haven't been in fourth, fifth, or sixth grade for a long time, rattle off some of the science subjects that kids are learning in those grades.
Specialist:
Oh, one of the great things they get to learn about in almost every grade in some way is ecology and environments, ecosystems. It's a great part of their standards.
Specialist:
They're also going to learn about physical science. So energy collisions electricity, and then they also learn about Earth and space. So often times about the stars, the celestial movements, moon phases.
Anthony Godfrey:
Very cool stuff. Now these videos I have heard about, a lot about these videos. Describe what the videos are like. They're pretty fun and motivating and just reminding the kids of how important science instruction is.
Specialist:
We've embraced our corny side for sure and we would love for you to participate in the next one.
Anthony Godfrey:
I'm in count me in let's do it.
Specialist:
Sounds great. We always try to incorporate a little dad joke in there about horse races in some way.
Anthony Godfrey:
So okay. All right, let's do it.
Specialist:
All right, are we ready?
Specialist:
Yeah.
Specialist:
Hello, Jordan School District. We're here at the racetrack. So tighten those cinches and adjust those reins. We're entering into the most prestigious academic event on the calendar, the Pony Races.
Specialist:
That's right, Rachel. The track is groomed and we're ready for the Second Annual Pony Races. The horses are finishing up their training, and we're ready to start a streak that will begin us well for assessment this season.
Anthony Godfrey:
And I am very excited to be here at the track. My name is Superintendent Godfrey and I can't wait to see what happens this year. I know that the stakes and the scores this year are higher than ever even though we saw great results last year. This year is going to be even better.
Specialist:
You're right and we've got the stable stacked with Jordan Ridge Eagles and Copper Canyon Coyotes, anxious to get out of the stables, and Black Ridge Bears and the Riverton Raccoons ready for the race.
Anthony Godfrey:
You know it. The Ochre Mountain Men and the Westville Wildcats are charging up the inside lane, and the Mountain Shadows Mountain Lions and the Bastion Broncos are pacing around ready to go.
Anthony Godfrey:
I love it. Well, thank you very much for taking time and more than anything, thank you for being so hopelessly devoted to science and making sure that our teachers have support and our kids are having a blast learning science in fourth, fifth and sixth grade.
Specialist:
Oh, thank you. It's a wonderful to be part of Jordan and be part of Teaching and Learning for sure.
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 out there.