Author: communications

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Students and history teachers alike are excited to celebrate, after Governor Cox declared September “American Founders and Constitution Month” in Utah. It is a month where students are encouraged to read directly from the founding document each September 17th, which is the anniversary of the creation of the Constitution in 1787.

On this episode of the Supercast, we head into West Jordan Middle School, where they have a passion for learning about the Constitution and celebrate it by participating in a “We the People: competition every year.

We're here at West Jordan Middle School to celebrate Constitution Day and the fact that Governor Cox declared September as “American Founders and Constitution Month” here in Utah. So we have two adult Constitution experts and several student constitution experts. Go ahead and introduce yourselves before we start talking constitution.

Kaye Rizzuto:
I am Kaye Rizzuto and I am the Jordan District Social Studies Consultant.

William Shields:
My name is William Shields. I am an eighth-grade US History teacher and a ninth-grade American Institutions and Issues teacher here at West Jordan Middle School.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me about those last classes that you mentioned there because those aren't offered at every one of our middle schools.

William Shields:
No, and it's actually a really cool story. After “We the People” happened a lot of students recognize that there is a large gap in the history classes from when they learned about US History from 8th grade to 11th grade, and they were really eager about wanting to keep sharp in terms of the founding documents. Keep up on connecting the past to the present and looking at those important things that make up our nation in much more depth. And it was actually driven by students. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the counselors here, people at the district, to actually write the curriculum for it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. In other words, students were craving more American history at a deeper level, and you're providing that between 8th grade and 11th grade. That's fantastic.

And Kaye, tell us a little bit about your position so that those listening understand a little bit more about it.

Kaye Rizzuto:
So I am in the district office. I'm the administrator over all of social studies from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you provide great support to teachers and help us all kind of get on the same page and move forward and create a lot of space for creativity on the part of teachers and it's really exciting.

Kaye Rizzuto:
Thanks. And, I'm helping to get them supports and professional development. I actually have a team of elementary teachers working on creating curriculum for the entire state on the new elementary social studies standards.

Anthony Godfrey:
The state is wise. "Hey, we need some help. Let's go to Jordan District and grab some great teachers."

Kaye Rizzuto:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you mentioned “We The People”, and that's the competition that we've covered on the podcast previously, but can you describe that a little bit for those who may not be familiar with it?

William Shields:
It’s a wonderful nationwide program that was actually written between, I believe it was in the late 70s, with a combination of a Supreme Court Justice and some congresspeople, to really encourage schools to take a deeper dive into analyzing the Constitution and founding period principles and topics. And encouraging it in both an individual and a collaborative way so that the students can then work together, prepare a speech, and then respond to questions that would mimic a congressional hearing. So that's really the rundown, is it encourages students to do a deeper analysis of constitutional issues, and then prepare a defense.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, so these students are going to know the Constitution at a deep level because they've had to question it and defend it.

William Shields:
Correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, well, let's talk with them and see what they have to share with us about the Constitution. These are 9th-grade students who are now in Mr. Shields's classes to extend their American history knowledge. But last year you were all competitors in the “We the People” project. So why don't you introduce yourself and let's talk about the Constitution a little bit.

Gerardo:
I'm Gerardo. I'm in 9th grade.

Savannah:
I'm Savannah. I'm in 9th grade.

Ava:
I'm Ava and I'm in 9th grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Why don't you tell me first of all what is your favorite amendment? It doesn't have to be the most important. They're very important, but what's your favorite? Either because it's interesting or because of the impact it had or because of the way it fit into the “We the People” competition?

Gerardo:
My favorite amendment would be the First Amendment because it talks about the rights all of us have as people living in the US.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you think the US might look like if we didn't have a First Amendment?

Gerardo:
It would look way worse than if like some things look nowadays. Because it's never gonna be perfect, but it will look a bit less better than it is right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how about for you? What's your favorite amendment?

Savannah:
I agree. I think the First Amendment is one of my favorites.

Anthony Godfrey:
And why is that one your favorite?

Savannah:
I think it's important to all of the things that it covers. Talking about freedom of speech and stuff like that and how we get to express ourselves.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you like expressing yourself as a middle school student in America?

Savannah:
I do. I think it's nice to have an opinion in certain matters.

Anthony Godfrey:
I agree. I agree. Makes our country a lot better to be able to express those opinions. And how about you?

Ava:
Mine is actually also the first.

Anthony Godfrey:
How did learning more about the Constitution for the “We the People” competition change you and the way that you view just your day-to-day life or the country or your family or school? How did it change you to learn more about the Constitution?

Gerardo:
Since I already liked history it kind of motivated me to like become a lawyer when I grow up which is one of my main interests because of this class.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is there a particular aspect of the law that you're interested in?

Gerardo::
Civil rights.

Anthony Godfrey:
Civil rights, okay great. So this may set you on a path toward a career this this class and this experience.

Gerardo:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I wish you well I'm sure you'll do great. How about for you? How has learning more about the Constitution changed you?

Savannah:
It's been interesting to learn about parts of the Constitution that you don't necessarily think about on a daily basis. And in “We the People” we got to talk about court cases. It was cool to see how the Constitution gets to defend the people in this country and how we use it in our daily lives and for things like court cases.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. And how about you?

Ava:
It helped because I never actually liked history growing up. I thought it was really boring because I never realized that in history you also learn about the Constitution and stuff like that. So when I took the class it just kind of helped me learn about other things and it actually made me want to be a lawyer too to protect certain amendments.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what's it like being in Mr. Shields' class?

Gerardo:
It's a fun class and he's an interesting teacher. He's really funny and he actually helps us learn a lot from his teachings.

Anthony Godfrey:
I've seen him out and about, he's a cool cat. I expect his class would be very fun, very funny.

Savannah:
I agree. I think it's cool to see him teach. You can tell that he loves what he teaches and he puts it in phrases that makes it easy to understand for us.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great.

Ava:
It just makes school a lot more fun. It's what I look forward to every day. He teaches us really important stuff but still makes it in a way that it's enjoyable to learn about.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if there needed to be an amendment to the Constitution to allow you to be in his class, you'd fight pretty hard for that to get put into place and ratified.

Ava:
Yes, sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
Alright. I know as part of the ‘We the People’ competition, you focus on a particular topic from the Constitution. What topic did you focus on and what can you tell me about it?

Gerardo:
My group focused on freedom of speech and we were talking about this court case versus some students who were wearing black armbands to school and we were talking about how the government was like invading their rights as humans.

Anthony Godfrey:
And did you side with the students?

Gerardo:
Yeah

Anthony Godfrey:
I thought you might have as did the Supreme Court, right?

Gerardo:
Yeah.

Savannah:
My group also talked about freedom of speech. One of the cases we got to talk about revolved around a speaker that talked to a small gathering group of members of the KKK and they were putting together a riot. And by speaking he was becoming an accessory to the crimes that they were going to commit and the things that they were going to do. We got to talk about whether his speech would be limited based on the things that he was saying and the things that he was trying to get people to do, and we got to talk a lot about criminal syndicalism laws.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, and should his speech have been limited?

Savannah:
Yes, by encouraging them to join in on the riot he was becoming an accessory to their crime.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, very good.

Ava:
My group talked about political parties and how they started. It went all the way back into the arguments between people who were running - well, I guess they weren't running for an office. But the cabinets and the vice and about what the disagreements were and why they ended up making the Republican and the Democrat parties and basically what their values are.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you think it's good that we have those two parties?

Ava:
Yes, 100%. It helps people be able to express themselves in a way that not everybody gets to learn because it's private so not everyone has to know your opinion.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm super impressed with everything you know about the Constitution. And it's a great way for me to celebrate Constitution Day by having a chance to talk with you so thank you very much and keep up the great work.

Students:
Thanks.

Stay with us. When we come back more about what we're doing in schools to educate students about the Constitution.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's talk a little bit about how we've commemorated the Constitution as a state and as a country over the years.

Kaye Rizzuto:
So September 17, 1787 is the day that the Constitution went into place, that it was signed, and that's why Constitution Day is on the 17th of September. Throughout the years many different states were recognizing it but eventually by 1956 President Eisenhower made September 17th and the week of September 17th, Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, to recognize the Constitution and being citizens of the United States.

Then this past spring, the Utah State Legislature wanted to increase that awareness, and they passed a bill making the month of September Founders Month so that we can honor the Constitution and our founding fathers during the month of September.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you said 1787, Schoolhouse Rock automatically starts playing in my head. Hopefully, some other listeners that's happening to you as well.

So tell me, what is it that you think people may be -- what are some misunderstandings about the Constitution that are common out there when you're teaching students or when you're talking with other folks who know that this is what you do day in and day out?

Kaye Rizzuto:
I would say that there's often some misconceptions between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Like you'll hear people say the phrase, it's in the Constitution that we have the ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’, but that's actually not correct. That's in the Declaration of Independence. And so you'll see some misunderstanding about the two documents.

William Shields:
And to kind of add upon that, I think that there's a misunderstanding that the Declaration created the government that we have today. The Declaration was one of the world in history's best breakup letters with Great Britain. And so they had the early Articles of Confederation but from 1776 to 1783, excuse me 1787, it was a really weak constitution through the Articles of Confederation and in 1787 that's when the government that we have today was formally ratified. And so I think that that's one one of the big kind of learning points is the United States actually had an early constitution that wasn't the same one as we had today.

Kind of to echo what Ms. Rizzuto said, also that the Constitution is a living document. That it is something that as we see through the 27 amendments, changes can be made. But also through the impact of Marbury vs. Madison and judicial review, that we have court analysis that really does impact and reassure and reevaluate those items that are discussed within the Constitution and the amendments to make it more applicable to modern day life and situations that we face today that they didn't face in 1787.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk about some of the most important amendments that you cover with students and the changes that they brought to our country.

William Shields:
Well in 8th grade we really, we have the wonderful opportunity to really take the founding period and so we start with the First Amendment and we get through what are known as the Reconstruction Amendments, so 13, 14 and 15. And every single one of them are incredibly important.

I mean first and foremost the importance, and this is towards the latter part, of the the importance of the 13th Amendment and the formal abolition of slavery. The 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment, both the Due Process Clause, but the 14th Amendment's protection against discrimination. And so my core really kind of stops at the 15th Amendment. We take a lot of time at talking not just about what the amendments say but why.

And so currently in my class were looking at the comparative systems of those European countries that were settling in North America. And looking at, well, what did the United States later use within their constitution from these different ideas? We'll look at the philosophers. The importance, I mean, there are some historical amendments like the Third Amendment with no quartering of soldiers, which we don't really see today. But in terms of property rights, we see the Fourth Amendment all the time. And so even today in my elective class, we were talking about property rights and when is a person liable versus not liable in criminal versus civil situations.

And so within my US class, it's really an amazing analysis of those items that were important to the colonists at that time from 1 to 15. And then it's important for me to continue the story and say, listen, when you get back in 11th grade, it's gonna continue. Like the US is not done finishing the amendments with women's suffrage rights and voting granted. With things like voting term limits for the president that we'll see in the 22nd Amendment, kind of to prime the pump so they're excited to learn more about it when they get to high school.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's the ultimate cliffhanger.

William Shields:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, 8th grade, we're gonna leave you hanging at the 15th Amendment and then we'll pick up where we left off.

William Shields:
Oh yeah, and that's really one of those things that the students wanted. They wanted to-- they were mad. They were upset. They were like, why are we stopping here? And it was one of those things that it was– as a teacher, it was one of the biggest compliments to say–- for a student to approach me and say, I want to learn more. And I mean, I do stick to my core. But I had the opportunity to then kind of get together with this curriculum and say, OK, let's look at all 27. And not just the 27, but what were the impacting factors? You know, when have, I mean, when have there been, you know, to drop a legal term, stare decisis, when it has been continued on through judicial precedent, when has there been big changes? And so the students really are the driving force to that elective class, and it's nothing that I've been more proud of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's pretty thrilling that 14-year-olds will say, I wanna learn more about the Constitution. I'm going to use one of my elective classes to do that, to create that opportunity. So that's a great tribute to you and to our students who are so interested in our country. So tell me, what impact do you see when students learn more about the Constitution? What are some of the light bulbs that come on for them?

William Shields:
I think, I mean, I could sit here and quote the founding fathers about the importance of an educated citizenry. But to see the light in their eyes when they realize that they themselves at 8th or 9th grade, they are active citizens. That they can communicate with their local, state, and national, and federal officials if they really wanted to. To know that while they don't have the voting responsibilities and rights yet, it's important to know about the system, to know what their rights, freedoms, but also what the limitations of government are.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure.

William Shields:
And so to really see them, to see their eyes go, this applies to me, this is important, and also to see them be able to identify how it benefits them individually, but also as a community.

Kaye Rizzuto:
One of the purposes of public education is to create good citizens, and that is done by doing these social studies courses throughout elementary school and high school and middle school. That learning about these founding fathers and the documents and all of the things that they learn in these classes is so important in helping them to learn about their role as being a good citizen. And so it's our job as educators to help prepare them to be citizens and to be active in their communities and to do their part to help the country be better.

William Shields:
I had a wonderful opportunity in previous years to talk with the Reagan Institute about the, with State Superintendent Dixon, about the importance of civil dialogue and to build that skill that is so pivotal within our constitutional republic to communicate and to know that there are gonna be different perspective and how we should build those skills to be able to process, view perspectives and have a civil conversation.

Anthony Godfrey:
The author John Meacham has talked about the fact that disagreeing is just part of who we are as Americans. And it's an important element of the strength and health of our country, I think.

Kaye Rizzuto:
And it was part of what the Founding Fathers did when they were making the Constitution. They had to have that civil dialogue, whether it was in Independence Hall or when they were off in the tavern in the evenings, they were having those dialogues and working together to form our Constitution. And it's an important skill that we need to emulate because that's how our country was built.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good thing Facebook didn't exist back then. It would’ve really gotten in the way, I think. Thank you both for everything you do to help instill a love for the Constitution and our nation in our students and for the support you give to teachers. And it's just, I'm really proud of the work that you do and the education that's provided to students around American history and the Constitution in Jordan School District. So thank you for being such an important part of that.

Kaye Rizzuto:
Thank you.

William Shields:
It's literally my pleasure and Kaye's amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
She sure is. Thank you both.

(upbeat music)

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.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. During the school day, he is determined to provide students with the best educational experience possible at Monte Vista Elementary School. But when the final bell rings, Assistant Principal Andrew Lovell trades the classroom for a pickleball court.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Mr. Lovell is sharing his love and passion for the game of pickleball with colleagues. They are colleagues of all ages and abilities who suddenly can't get enough of what has become one of the most popular, fastest-growing sports in the nation right now.

We're with Andrew Lovell, the assistant principal at Monte Vista Elementary School today. Andrew, thanks for taking some time this afternoon.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the pickleball robot is shooting balls at us now. And now do you use this to kind of hone your skills on certain shots?

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Andrew Lovell:
For sure. Yeah, it's a great way to practice, especially if you don't have anyone to play with. You know, I think nothing beats playing with a friend or people just at a pickup game, but this is a great way to work on this very specific skill and to drill it 100 plus times in a row.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are here at Pickleball Courts in South Jordan City and a little known fact is that if you come in 100° weather in the middle of the day, you get every court to yourself. People claim Pickleball Courts are full, but they're not full if you come at one.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, that's true, yeah. Typically, in the evening you can go to a place that has 20 courts and they'll be booked, yeah, middle of the day, 100°, it's a great time to come out and play.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if you could take the heat, come into the kitchen, so to speak. Now, Andrew, we were going to talk a little bit about pickleball in Jordan School District and how it's been part of our health and wellness to start off with. I'd like to learn a little bit more about your connection to pickleball. Tell us about your pickleball past and how you're connected to the sport currently.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so like a lot of people, I think, in Utah and around the nation, pickleball really picked up during COVID for whatever reason, I picked it up and I just got addicted right away. So I've been playing for about two and a half years and I do tournaments, I play with friends in the Jordan School District, I've helped with Wellness Day and created some leagues. And so it's been a really awesome opportunity to connect with other people. It's a great way to get exercise. It's a great way to stay in shape and also just keep mentally sharp, emotionally and socially healthy as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us why you think Pickleball is such a great health and wellness sort of activity. Because on our Health and Wellness Day, which we've now done for multiple years, we had a lot of employees come out for that and it was a really good chance for them to connect with each other. And I think that's a big part of it.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, one of the coolest things that I saw at the Health and Wellness Day was just people from all over the district connecting with one another. We had, you know, our custodial staff, we had substitute teachers, we had full-time teachers, we had people from the district, we had vice principals. We had just, everyone was there connecting and no one knew each other, so everyone's, you know, kind of on equal playing field, and you just gotta get out there and play. And it's a great way to just to connect with people. And so that was one of the coolest things I saw, just people making connections through something that they genuinely love to do, which was get some exercise and play pickleball.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know it may be surprising, but I haven't been involved in a lot of sports over the years. And pickleball, it's remarkable how quickly you can have fun with it even if you're not a particularly skilled athlete. Speaking to the connection part of it, my son and I were down in St. George, we’re playing, and another couple of players came up to us and said “Hey, do you guys want to play against us?” and suddenly this competitive fire built within me even though I don't have these pickleball skills to back it up. It was really fun to play with them and it was memorable. So, I'm really excited that we've had that opportunity within Jordan District because of the activities you've put together for employees to connect with each other. So,  you had about 60 or 70 people come to the health and wellness activity. We were fully booked for the day.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, we were fully booked. We actually went for almost 10 hours straight, playing drop-in, and that was just, anyone could come and play. And then we also had two tournaments, a beginner tournament and an advanced tournament, and those were full. And then we created a league after that 'cause the feedback was so great. We had too many people actually to be able to fit everyone in. So then we created a league and we had people come out to that every other Wednesday, twice a month and the response has been tremendous. And I think you can really see that people just genuinely love being outside. They love getting some extra exercise.

We know that our educators, if we can be happy, if we can be healthy mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, that we're gonna be better teachers in classroom. And so that's I think that's just one of the side effects that we don't always get to see but we know it exists. We know that happier teachers, healthier teachers make for higher success and learning in our classrooms. So it's just it's a benefit to everyone when we do things like pickleball, not just pickleball, but pickleball has to be one of the best for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
You get outside there's a little bit of a sense of competition. You connect with other people and I think you get a sense of efficacy like hey, I can learn something I didn't know how to do before. Because it takes a long time to master it but it doesn't take very long to be able to just dive in and have some fun with it.

Andrew Lovell:
For sure. That is one of the reasons, I think, why pickleball is exploding so much. Because the playing field is really level. You have male, female, it doesn't matter the age. You know, I always tell people if you haven't lost to someone who's over 60 years old or if you haven't lost to a 13-year old it's because you haven't played enough. Because there are just so many good people. And you don't have to be- unlike tennis where you really need, you need a flexible, a younger body to be honest, to be able to run those sprints and be able to compete at the highest level, in pickleball you don't. Even at the pro level you'll see people - you'll see older gentlemen, older women, who are competing at the highest levels. And you also see on the opposite end. You see kids who are as young as 13 playing at the pro level.

So it just it's a sport that everyone can do and it's really easy to learn. If you want to be more advanced there's a few techniques you got to pick up, but really anyone like you and your son, you go out there and play. And you can be just as good after a few times of practice so it's awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
A very successful Health and Wellness Day. Lots of participation in pickleball so much so that you started the league. Now I understand we're starting that back up this fall as well.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so one thing that we want everyone to look forward to is on Wellness Day we plan on having another set of tournaments and drop in. But then we for sure plan on having another league coming up either in the fall or spring. We haven't fully decided on the dates and well it's gonna work for everyone but that's something we want to continue and we will strive to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's difficult to really feel that connection sometimes when we're such a large district and this is a great way for us to try to accomplish that.

Andrew Lovell:
That's right, yeah it can be really difficult and it's like I mentioned earlier. It was really cool to see people from our district offices playing. Their doubles partner is the head custodian from another school and that's just something, you know, an opportunity that you just wouldn't see maybe anywhere else and pickleball really facilitates that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well count on me for some of those league nights because I know you're gonna get me prepped so I can really show my stuff out there on the court.

Andrew Lovell:
And we can do that. You know, I think for anyone getting the sport there's just a few simple things that we can all work on, including myself, and it's just practice and repeat of a few simple skills and then you can pretty much get to that level. So I hope this can get you the invite to the cool kids party with your wife.

Anthony Godfrey:
I really want to be at the cool kids table, but it's gonna take your help Andrew. Let's get out on the court and let's see what we can we can do.

Stay with us. When we come back.

Andrew Lovell:
And that was a perfect return.

Anthony Godfrey:
Listen as we serve up some fun on a local pickleball court.

Break:
Hello, I'm Tracy Miller, President of the Jordan School District Board of Education. There are seven members on the Board of Education, one in each voting district. We are committed to listening and serving our constituents as we work together to provide the best possible learning environment for the students we serve. As members of the Jordan Board of Education, we believe it is our duty and responsibility to: increase student achievement; provide parents with the choices they deserve and desire; recognize and reward quality in educators; empower school leaders through policy governance and professional development; and communicate with the public, legislators, business leaders, cities, and parents. We invite you to get to know the Board member who represents you in your voting district and to please join us at our monthly board meeting held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Or listen from the comfort of your home, on our live stream. For more information and to find your Board member, visit jordandistrict.org. With parent and community input and support, we will continue our work to give students every opportunity to succeed in Jordan District schools and beyond. Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're out here on the court now and I'll just tell you up front I'm left-handed. I assume that's a tremendous advantage.

Andrew Lovell:
You know it actually really is. Playing left-handed I think throws off the majority of players because we're just so not used to it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I'm starting ahead of the game right now.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah. This is gonna be an easy win for you probably.

Anthony Godfrey:
Perfect. So let's start off with some basic skills?

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so I'd say the most basic when teaching new people how to play, I just start with the three most basic things which is the first three shots. So the very first shot that we're looking at in a game is your serve. At the beginning you just want to get your serve in. That's the main goal, but as you become more intermediate and advanced you're looking to get your serve deep to the baseline. So that's the back line. The reason behind that is you want to push your opponent back. You're always trying to prevent your opponent from getting to the kitchen line or the no volley zone area.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that is right up by the front by the net.

Andrew Lovell:
That's correct. So you always are wanting to push people away from that. So you want your serve to be deep to the baseline. And again, if you even want to add a little more to that, if you're playing singles it can change a little bit. I like to serve to people's offhand. So if my opponent's right handed, I like to serve their left hand. Another strategy is to serve right between the two, if you're playing doubles, to create a little bit of confusion. But the number one thing is on that serve, you want to have a good deep return.

The second skill and shot to work on is the return. So you serve it to them and they're returning it back. And that return, you also want to do kind of the same thing. You want it to be a deep return, preferably to their off hand or to the middle. And that's again, to keep the other team back and to prevent them from getting to the no volley zone.

And then the third shot is probably the most important. So this is the key. If there was one thing you're gonna go out in there and do besides, you know, dink the ball around, the number one skill that you probably wanna work on as a beginner or someone who's new to the sport is that third shot. There's different strategies and different theories on what to do, but a safe strategy is called the third shot drop. The third shot drop is essentially, when someone's returning it to you, you want to use light hands and drop the ball right into the kitchen. And what this allows you to do is it allows you to run up while that ball is softly and gently falling into that kitchen and allows you to jump up to that kitchen line or no volley zone line. And it allows you and your partner to get settled up at the front. And that shot is extremely important and it's also something that really does take time. That's something that tennis players aren't used to. A lot of tennis players who come to the sport, they really want to slam the ball a lot and that can be an effective strategy, but in pickleball, you really want to work on that third shot drop.

Anthony Godfrey:
The third shot drop. So now the rules about the kitchen are that you can't hit from the kitchen unless it has bounced in the kitchen, is that right?

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, yeah, essentially you cannot hit the ball out of the air while standing in the kitchen. So you could stand in the kitchen all day and you could just stand there, however, you're not allowed to hit the ball. So the general rule is you stand back at that no-volley zone line, that line that's close to the net, and you wait for the ball to come at you and then you decide what you're going to do. If the ball falls in the kitchen, then you can step into the kitchen and hit it, but if it's coming in the air, you need to be behind that line.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, let's see a serve. Now you serve it right out of your hand and you just hit it out of your hand. Can you bounce it? Is it legal to bounce it?

Andrew Lovell:
It is legal to bounce it, so you can bounce it. Most people don't. Most people are hitting it right out of their hand and you kind of have to come through from a downward to upwards motion.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can't hit down on it. You can't do an overhand serve.

Andrew Lovell:
Exactly. So as opposed to tennis you can't do an overhand serve. It's an underhand serve.

Anthony Godfrey:
Alright let's see an underhand serve that takes them far back. Okay. That sound is satisfying, isn't it?

Andrew Lovell:
It's kind of like a baseball in a ballpark. It has the same feeling.

Anthony Godfrey:
So how would you describe it? This is kind of like wiffle ball and ping pong and tennis all combined.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a that's a great description. It's ping pong, it's badminton, it's tennis all combined.

Anthony Godfrey:
Are you putting some spin on as you hit these? Or are you just making sure that you get the placement where it needs to be?

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so a little bit of both. There's a little bit of topspin coming on there right now. Some people will... they've actually made some serves illegal. So there's not too much… There's not too much you can do. Some people used to put a lot of a lot of different types of spin on it but for the most part there's just a little bit of topspin. Anthony Godfrey:
What's the illegal about some of the serves?

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so about a year ago the governing body of pickleball decided to kind of outlaw some of the ways that you could serve. One of those ways was you would take the ball - so if I'm right-handed I have my paddle in my right hand and I have the ball in my left hand and instead of just releasing the ball and hitting the ball over the net they would release the ball, but spin it with their left hand and so when the ball is coming off the paddle it had an additional spin to it. I can't do it. I never was able to do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you can't spin it out of your hand and then spin it.

Andrew Lovell:
That's correct it you couldn't spin it like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. I'm gonna go over and try to return some of these serves. Now you told me that the trick is to try to return deep to keep you back. So I'm gonna try that. Now remember, people listening to the podcast can't hear whether I hit it great or not so it's up to you right how you choose to describe it. Okay here I go, I’m going to the other side.

Andrew Lovell:
I'm gonna serve straight to Dr. Godfrey's - he's a left-hand player actually, so I'm actually gonna go to his right hand here and see what he does.

And that was a perfect return! I wish the people actually could see this because that was that was amazing. He's already learned, he's already mastered it. His wife needs to invite him to the next party. Here we go.

We'll do another one and this time I'm going to serve it to his left hand. So this is the hand that he would prefer to hit it with. And again, perfect. He served it deep and it was right to the center. In doubles that would have been an ideal return right there.

Anthony Godfrey:
So is there spin on this again? Are you trying to spin in a particular way?

Andrew Lovell:
I'm just trying to give it over.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, right in the corner. That would have been a tough one to return for anybody. Okay.

Andrew Lovell:
Pickleball was, I think invented somewhere, I think 1965 out in Seattle. So it's been around for a long time, but it really got popular during COVID. And I think we're somewhere around 35 million players right now in the US.

Anthony Godfrey:
The people who invested in it in 1965 are finally saying, my ship's come in. Now Andrew, you're new to Jordan School District. Tell us about your career to this point and what brought you here.

Andrew Lovell:
Yeah, so I was teaching prior to this in a neighboring school district down south. I taught for seven, eight years in elementary school. And I just had the opportunity to come up here, Jordan School District, after graduating from BYU. And the opportunity was there, took it, and it's been the best decision that I ever have made, hands down. And that is not just because you're here, I'm on this podcast, but literally, it's been life-changing. I’ve met amazing people and done amazing things already.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we are thrilled to have you here and I can't thank you enough for choosing Jordan and for helping us out today.

Andrew Lovell:
Absolutely, anytime.

(gentle music)

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

(upbeat music)

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is traveling the world on a quest to collaborate and connect with educators and students in countries thousands of miles away.

On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with Fort Herriman Middle School Assistant Principal Lisa Jackson to learn about Global Education Allies. It is a group of educators participating in international education travel, hoping to develop global awareness and foster innovative learning in classrooms. They even develop lifelong friendships in their travels with teachers and students from all over the world.

We're talking today with Lisa Jackson, an assistant principal in Jordan School District, about her experiences traveling around the world learning about schools in other countries. Lisa, thanks for taking the time.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about how you got involved in this. What's the organization? How does all of this work?

Lisa Jackson:
So in 2016, my daughter was graduating from high school. She wanted to do something different for her senior trip. Another educator told me they had been to Africa with this group. So I checked into Global Education Allies, interviewed with them, and she and I went on a three-week adventure to Africa where we visited lots of schools, we did a lot of service, we raised money, and that just kind of started my love for seeing what school is like in other countries and around the world.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, so what is the stated purpose for this organization to exist? What is their mission?

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, so they're bringing together educators from around the world to collaborate, to discuss cultural issues, to just have shared experiences so we can collaborate with each other and learn about each other's education system.

Anthony Godfrey:
So this is fascinating to me because we always hear about, well, in this country or that country they do something that really solves everything and makes everything work. Just any of the countries that you visited, tell me some of the things that have really stood out to you. Like, “Hey I wonder what would happen if we tried this?” or “There's no way we could ever do this, but it works here.” What are some of the things that have just been the most memorable as you've as you visited these countries?

Lisa Jackson:
I would say there's something really memorable about every single country. So one thing I want to just state though is my experiences in these different countries is probably not indicative of the entire country. It's the areas that I went to, the schools that I was taken to, for example in Africa, I was taken to the poorest villages. Only one school in that area did I go to that was anywhere near what we have here.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it is that's a really good distinction. It's important to say that the schools that you visited in these countries, not what are schools like throughout the country. I visited schools in China, visited schools in other in other states, visited schools in France, in various countries as well, not in the in-depth as you have, but every time I visit a school, I do have to remind myself of exactly that. One school is not emblematic of what's happening in education throughout an entire country or even an entire district or state or wherever else. So tell me some of the take-aways, some of the things that you've learned. Let's start with Africa. What countries were you in in Africa and tell me about the village and what you learned there.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, so the country I spent the most time in was Uganda. We also went over to Kumbala. In Uganda, I was shocked at the conditions. Many of the schools we went to, dirt floors, doors didn't go all the way to the ground, so they're sharing the classroom with bugs, with animals. Everything is handmade. There's no books in the classroom. We actually brought suitcases full of books. We helped to build a library over there.

But the one thing that really stood out to me was the kids are the happiest kids I've ever seen. We would go out onto the playground with them and there's nothing, there's maybe an old metal swing set, but you've never seen such big smiles. And they're doing cartwheels and they're pushing a old tire with a stick. And it made me realize we don't need all the things we think we need to make kids happy. We just need to love them. That's really all they need.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's pretty amazing. So you were there in the summer?

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, so all these trips have been summer. However, I just got back from the South Pacific and it was their winter. So in both, in Africa, China, and the South Pacific school was in. In Finland, school was out. So we met with lots of educators, didn't actually see many students. In all the other countries, we were watching class. In some of those countries, we were teaching class with them, teaching English, just working with kids. And I absolutely, it kind of combines both my passions, traveling and education together. So it's the best of both worlds for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's fantastic. So tell me about, let's talk about Finland.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What did you learn in Finland? Where did you go? What did you find out about education there?

Lisa Jackson:
So you know, Finland is known for having one of the best education systems in the world.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, teachers are valued, people are happy, scores are high.

Lisa Jackson:
Lots of teacher trust, no like extended recesses, shorter school days, no homework. So many things that in theory sound phenomenal. What I did learn is they're really not that different than us, they really aren't. Their pay is very comparable to ours when you consider cost of living in both countries. Teachers have their issues there as well, we all do.

The one thing I took away from there that has kind of stuck with me is we do special education in the United States really well. When looking at their special education system, I really think that we take the individual student into account. And I was kind of proud of us for that, even though they have some great things and they're scoring phenomenally.

One thing I absolutely loved about their country is in high school, students are able to pick a path so they have a no-dead-ends policy. So if students, maybe traditional college is not going to work for them, they go to a vocational high school. So one of the vocational high schools we visited was a farming school. So the kids spend a good part of their day learning how to farm, how to work the land had to take care of the animals and when they graduate they have a career path. We do something similar. We have our JATC South, we have extended and college into a high school, but this was a career path as soon as they exit school and I was really impressed with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's interesting to hear that a lot of what they do is very similar to what we do and that you know the no dead end. I love the idea of that that there's a path for everyone. We just need to find the right match up. Now you've also visited China. Tell me about what you learned there.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, China was a different experience. China was with many educators. There was lots of Jordan School District administrators as well. In that situation we went to their finest schools. We went to their top schools, saw their top performing students. I felt like their education system is very different that ours. They're very proud of it. There was a lot of good, like I remember distinctly one student walking us around saying, "Don't you think our school is beautiful?" And it was, and I would love for our students to feel that kind of pride in our schools.

But I also noticed the teaching is very teacher-centered. Teachers are on a raised platform. Students have a specific way that they sit, a specific way that they answer questions. There's a lot of sit and get. So, while they have some great things going, I also took away that we have some great things going from that experience.

But I loved being immersed in their cultural experiences. The one thing I learned is even though our countries might be a bit divided, that doesn't mean the people have to be. We had some great relationships with some of the Chinese educators and the people that took us on our tours and they're wonderful people.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about other countries that you visited as well.

Lisa Jackson:
So I just got back Sunday from the South Pacific. So I went to Australia and to New Zealand. I spent a lot of time in New Zealand schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
Bali High School?

Lisa Jackson:
No, no, I'm sorry, I did not go there. (laughs)

Anthony Godfrey:
South Pacific Musical Reference, yes.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the schools there.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, you know what? Gorgeous country, gorgeous country. Lots of collaboration, and like I said earlier, not to categorize every single school into one idea, because the different schools we went to were all so different. The very first school we went to was a primary school. It was a two-room school. There was two teachers and one principal. The one teacher taught K through three all together. Four through six was the other teacher, and the principal did all the pullouts.

Then we went to another school that was brand new, just opened in 2022. Gorgeous facility. But that one had, so when they're finished, they'll have about 900 students. What I loved about them was they're very collaborative. It was built with all glass doors and you can slide all the doors open so all the classrooms combine. So a very collaborative approach. Yeah, which I loved. Loved that.

I will say the one thing I took away from this trip that I just came back on, I kept marveling at the scenery and how beautiful New Zealand is. We were sitting at one school and I was sitting in their faculty room looking out the window thinking I would love this view. And then I started thinking, hold on. I am at Fort Herriman Middle School. If I sit in our library and look out, I have a very similar view of the Oquirrh Mountains. But I'm so used to it that I've never given it the same consideration and had the same admiration for mountains that I live by. So I walked away thinking, oh, I need to value, I live in a beautiful state. And I don't think about that. I travel all over looking for beauty and it's right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a great thought. And I do this to my kids and probably others listening do the same thing. I stop and say, look at the mountains, look. And they look up from their screen and go “Oh yeah, Dad”, they know what to say. “Yeah, that's beautiful, that's amazing.” And then they go back to their screen. But you're right, we need to pause, we need to stop. I even had an art teacher in high school who was also the wrestling coach and I can remember exactly where I was in class 'cause this seemed like, it was a surprising quote from him. He just said, "You know, you guys need to stop and look at the sky. It's gorgeous and too frequently we don't stop and look up." And I've always remembered that. You have to look around yourself and be really intentional about noticing the beauty around here because people come and they marvel at how close we are to the mountains.

Lisa Jackson:
Right, right.

Anthony Godfrey:
There were some other things that when you came back from these trips you really valued about the United States and Utah and Jordan School District education. Because you go and you learn new things from them, but you also come to appreciate some things that are in place here.

Lisa Jackson:
Absolutely. Yeah, I mean we have a lot of good things going and I'm always excited to share with them. I'm proud to be part of Jordan School District. I'm proud to live in Utah. I'm proud to be American. So I love to share all of those things with people in other countries to learn from theirs. I think we do a lot of things right. I think we're really good at building relationships with kids. I think that we are really good at looking at a student as an individual rather than a whole group or a cohort of kids. I think we are really good at professional development. I think that's something I didn't see in other countries is quite as much bringing our teachers and our administrators together and learning from each other and learning from other people in our field. So there's a lot we're doing right. There's a lot we have to be proud of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back more from Lisa Jackson on her love for world education travel.

(upbeat music)

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:
Now you went to Finland, did you go to other countries in Europe as well?

Lisa Jackson:
I did, I went to Sweden and I went to Estonia.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about Sweden and Estonia. I've never been to any of those countries.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, so Estonia is by far my favorite. Gorgeous, gorgeous country, all cobblestone, old, old architecture, lots of castle-looking type buildings. The people were incredibly friendly. The cost of living there is really low. I just really enjoyed Estonia.

We went to several schools in Estonia and I enjoyed talking to their educators. In several of these countries, we've been able to meet with their Ministry of Education and see what they're doing and what they're bringing into their schools. I just really enjoyed those conversations and those collaborations.

Anthony Godfrey:
What sense did you get for education in Estonia? The general focus or what would it be like to be an educator in Estonia from what you can tell?

Lisa Jackson:
They're very focused on digital literacy. In fact, we went to E-Estonia and talked all about how they're bringing technology into just changing their whole education system. So they're focused on technology there. They're much like Finland in their education system but they have a very technology-centered focus. And both countries, both Estonia and Finland, you know they were under Soviet rule for so long and they've brought themselves out of poverty and really they've done a lot of that through their education system so they have a lot to be proud of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that's fantastic. How about Sweden? What was Sweden like?

Lisa Jackson:
So in Sweden I didn't get into schools, but we did have educators with us on all of our cultural experiences so those were a lot more of just casual, real conversations with teachers and one principal that was with us. Just conversations about what education is like.

Anthony Godfrey:
You brought books with pictures from your travels, and on the front of these books, there's a picture of the group that you traveled with. Have you made some great connections with the people you've traveled with, in addition to the people that you visited?

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, that's been one of my favorite parts of this. I have made lasting friendships with people from all over the country, and I would say that we're genuinely good friends now. When I first went to Africa, my very first trip doing this, I had my daughter with me. And on this last trip, so that was in 2016, we're now 2023, and I went on this trip, and I took a picture with a lady who my daughter had kind of bonded with. They both played college softball. I sent that to my daughter and she immediately sent a picture of her and that lady on top of a safari van in Africa. And it's just sweet how people I met in 2016, I'm still talking to. I've met some great friends from Philadelphia, from New York, from Florida. I've actually tried to recruit a couple of them to come to our district.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good, good. Recruit worldwide for Jordan School District.

Lisa Jackson:
I've tried, I've tried.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome, it's amazing as I look through this, the remote areas that you were able to see, and monkeys out in the wild, and rapids in Africa that you're traveling through, and that's remarkable.

Something that's exciting about what I see of your travels as I look through the book here is that you're really embedding yourself. You're really getting to know the locals and the local area because of the nature of the trip, but also just because of your spirit of adventure here as you go through. I love that. So this is not a tourist trip. This is a trip where you get to know people, where you help people and you learn from people.

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, absolutely. Which is what has drawn me to Global Education Allies, that they do get you in with local people. We get into people's homes, we get into schools, colleges, libraries, museums, places I may not go if I was just traveling there for vacation.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, if someone wanted to be involved in Global Education Allies, how would they go about doing that?

Lisa Jackson:
Yeah, they have a great website that tells you all the information, and there's other companies as well that do these kinds of trips. This is just one I've connected with early and I've stuck with. But you can look them up on the web. I'm happy to tell anyone about my experiences with them. I think they're a great organization. I've loved every minute of my trips with them. So I encourage people to just get out.

And my thing is how much I've changed, how much my view of the world has changed by seeing more than just my little world here. And so it's one thing I highly encourage my own kids to do is just get out and travel and see what the world is really like.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's a good message overall. Learn from the people around you as much as you can, like you said about appreciating the scenery that we have here and what we have here.

Well, you're a great example of putting yourself out there, making sure you maintain a sense of adventure, and more than anything, curiosity about how things work elsewhere and what we can learn from the people around us. So thank you for spending time talking with us. This is really exciting, and I can't wait to hear about your future trips.

Lisa Jackson:
Thank you so much for having me. It was great.

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.

(upbeat 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.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a way to enhance the student learning experience and to help support teachers in their work. We're talking about using artificial intelligence in the classroom.

On this episode of the Supercast, learn about a pilot program which has Jordan School District partnering with a local company to support the responsible use of artificial intelligence in our schools. And hear from teachers who say AI will help them become better at their craft and more connected with students in the classroom.

We're here with Jared Covili from our Teaching and Learning department. He's an administrator that works with digital learning. Jared, thanks for joining us.

Jared Covili:
It's great to be here, thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us a little bit about School AI. I've been really excited about this.

Jared Covili:
School AI is a program that we piloted over the summer to help our students and teachers use artificial intelligence in a way that works for us, kind of in a guarded system so that they don't get out on the internet with everything. It helps the kids and the teachers prepare lessons, it helps them prepare, potentially, assignments for kids to work on with a peer tutor that's kind of a chatbot.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the chatbot is an interactive way to help coach students through learning activities and actually offer learning activities that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

Jared Covili:
Right, the way I like to describe it is for a teacher, it's like having a teaching assistant. So it'll give you ideas about things you can do with lesson plans or activities. For a student, it's kind of like a peer tutor. So it can give you ideas of how to write something or how to think about maybe something that's going on in class. It can give you some, just some guidance as you move through that process.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what school AI has been able to do is first of all, kind of create a fenced-in area, a safe playground within which we're able to work and learn and experiment and be creative without worrying about being out on the broader web and using maybe versions of AI that aren't exactly tailored to teachers. And the other thing is these prompts that teachers can use to really get the most out of artificial intelligence, getting accurate information, and getting helpful information.

Jared Covili:
That's been a big deal with our pilot this summer because a lot of times our pilot group was really instrumental in helping School AI to think about what prompts, what things do teachers need to do most often, most regularly, so they don't have to hunt and peck or learn how to prompt engineer those things. They provide a lot of those on their website now - like the, "If I only have three minutes and I need to do something, what's one of those prompts?"Our group provided a lot of that information to the company and it kind of customized the interface to help us get more out of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So in a lot of ways, school AI is customized to Jordan School District because the hundred teachers that were so eager to be part of things over the summer have really helped shape the way that it operates.

Jared Covili:
There's no question about that and I would say, you know, whenever you're an engineer you think you know the way a teacher wants to use it or you poll the parents or teachers that you know and ask them. But when you get a group of practicing teachers who are in the trenches, they'll give you the real information about what would be most beneficial to them and to their classrooms.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell us a little bit more about the pilot this summer. We had 100 teachers that were involved, very eager teachers that I think surprised School AI with their level of enthusiasm.

Jared Covili:
Well, you can imagine that when we pitched the idea of this pilot we were telling people this is going to be during your summer we don't have stipends for you. We're looking for people who are interested in really developing this kind of technology and using it as a classroom teacher. So the group that came were pretty invested, right? And not only invested for– they like the technology but invested in what it could do for their classrooms. And so they just took it and ran with it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And we have a couple of those teachers here with us. Introduce yourselves and then let's talk a little bit about what this experience has been for you.

Jill Firkins:
I'm Jill Firkins. I teach at Jordan Hills Elementary in sixth grade.

Andrew Holmes:
I'm Andrew Holmes. I'm a ninth-grade science teacher at West Jordan Middle School.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what has this done for you and what have you been surprised that it's able to do, maybe better than you thought it would be able to.

Jill Firkins:
I've really liked the lesson plan aspect of it, just in the amount of time that it saves me. I was pretty new to AI when this started and excited to kind of see, so it's really exceeded my expectations.

Andrew Holmes:
I've been able to enhance a lot of my pre-existing lessons. I had it the other day- I teach a lot of different organisms for one of my high school science classes, like about 80 of them, and they're all based on different categories, and I have trouble eliminating my own bias on which organisms I prefer to teach versus the ones that I probably should teach, but forget about. And I had it help me completely balance out all of the different topics that I have to teach and create a timetable for me to be able to teach those topics.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I love that it's saving you time and that it's also maybe expanding the options that you're considering for students to learn, because I remember as a teacher I kind of went to my favorites as well, and maybe it helps you break out a little bit of the things that you're used to presenting to students. What would you say to teachers who are considering trying this out but maybe aren't sure about whether this is a direction they want to go?

Jill Firkins:
I really like that it's a good rough draft of things and so to recognize that you can pick and choose what you want to take from it. That it's just giving you ideas and that it's not, well I have to do it like it says or you know. You can work with it instead of just having it replace what you were doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Having a starting point I would think is very helpful whenever I'm writing an email or writing a letter many times I like to read what someone else has started and worked from there instead of stare at a blank screen for a long time.

Jill Firkins:
Exactly. Yeah, that's what I've done with it a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about for you?

Andrew Holmes:
I started treating it like I'm talking to a person. I have my conversations, I write my sentences to it as if I'm talking and having a conversation, and I found that I can bounce ideas off of it. I'll tell it I don't like this idea and this is why maybe we can try something else and so I'm able to have instant feedback with myself about topics that I can use to enhance in my classroom.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is this something that you're eager to use with your students as well? Not just for preparing for class but also giving them an opportunity to be part of it?

Jill Firkins:
Yeah, we didn't get a lot of chance to do it with students since it was all in the summer. But the stuff that they have is like that the students can talk to AI and it can give the teachers an idea of where a student sits with a particular subject. You know, these are students that understand. These are students that are still struggling and kind of do some of that groundwork as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it gives you the chance or it will give you the chance to really do a quick assessment of where students are with their learning, how they're feeling about their learning, and I think that's the exciting part of it.  It really multiplies what a teacher is able to do and I can't wait to come to your classrooms and see how this is working. Tell us, Andrew, about how you plan to use it with students.

Andrew Holmes:
One of the big things I'm looking forward to is using it with student feedback. I mean, I've got, my class sizes are average. Some are larger than others, it's just what happens. But giving meaningful feedback to those students in a timely manner, that can be really challenging. Especially as I'm trying to find ways to make sure the students have met a standard. And what do they truly know? Sometimes the best and highest quality assessments make more time for the teachers. It takes more time to gauge the true quality. And using AI is starting to, I've been able to kind of test around with it over the summer and give it prompts and say, "Hey, if I've got these students responding to this prompt or doing this type of skill that they're testing, can you help me grade that?" And so students are able in my class, theoretically with this new program, to be able to drop in their work and get real-time feedback based off of the parameters I've set. So that when I go and do my true grading, they've already had feedback before I get to them. And so I'm really looking forward to how this can expand the students' skill sets and their knowledge because by the time I've graded, I'm not the first set of eyes that have laid eyes on their work.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really exciting and I love how you've both described that I think what students will be able to do is have a better sense for their own learning, have some interactive experiences that prepare them to get the most out of their interactions with you. You know, we've talked about what School AI can do and I'm really excited at the idea that it can be a coach for students, not a replacement for learning because there's this worry, well, they just say, "Hey, write an essay for me," and now they aren't writing the essay anymore. But it can be a coach alongside a student who's trying to get past their own writer's block or not knowing where to start or not knowing what to do next. So I just commend both of you for diving in over your summer no less to make the most of this opportunity for your students and I know they're going to benefit and your colleagues will benefit from your examples. So thank you very much for being willing to do this.

Jill Firkins:
Thank you for letting us be a part of it.

Andrew Holmes:
Of course, we'll love to continue the pilot.

Anthony Godfrey:
So Jared, where do we go from here? Tell everyone what's going to be happening next.

Jared Covili:
So the next process is we're going to start the RFP process where we're going to let School AI and other companies who do similar things bid on being an artificial intelligence solution for our district. During that time, more teachers who want to get involved with School AI will have that opportunity. We're going to extend the pilot so teachers can apply to be part of that extension. And then hopefully within the next few weeks, we'll have a solution that will be more of a permanent solution for us throughout the year.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're really excited to continue that trial because I know teachers are eager to make the most of this. No one's required to do it, and we'll be sending home parent permission slips for students to be involved. But we want to do this in a way that provides a safe environment within which to experiment and with a lot of support. School AI is going to be providing that support to teachers along the way and I just appreciate your leadership in moving us forward in this area.

Jared Covili:
We're excited to give as many teachers as would like the opportunity to use this in their classroom. I think, like we heard from our teachers today, once you get using it, it really sparks ideas of how else you can use it and how else it can benefit you. The biggest thing teachers need is time and we hope this will give them back some time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thanks again for all your hard work. Thanks to both of you for your example and I can't wait to see where this takes us.

Stay with us. When we come back we'll hear more from the local company partnering with Jordan School District, School AI.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking with Kevin from School AI. Kevin, tell us a little bit about how School AI got started. This is a local company in Utah and about the passion that drives your interest in AI.

Kevin:
Yeah, I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me on. School AI, we're based here in American Fork and the majority of our team is made up of all former educators, either teachers, principals, or student success or school leaders. With the exception of a few areas, for example, our CTO was the founder of DevMountain here in Utah. And the CEO of our company worked at Apple on the Everyone Can Code project and worked in a lot of the education in areas of Apple. And my background has been largely in supporting the student experience and student success for adult learners in boot camps.

And so where we got started was, you know, as education and technology nerds, when the latest advancements in AI came out last year, we saw this huge opportunity to adapt that technology into some of the most challenging areas of education to truly free up teachers and administrators to be able to do more in their capacities.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're excited to be part of it and to be partners with you in all of this. Talk us through some of the capabilities that have been added to school AI based on the pilot project that you've done with Jordan School District this last summer. Kind of describe that for folks who aren't familiar with it, and then talk about some of the features that have been added as a result of the input you've received from teachers.

Kevin:
You bet. So early on working with Jordan, it ended up being one of the best opportunities that we could have ever had as a newer company, because the teachers and the administrators that we've been paired up with to work on this pilot with, they don't pull any punches. They give great feedback. They've been engaged. I mean, just over the summer for teachers to tune in and be present and involved.

So, in that process, as we would highlight, here's how you do X, Y, and Z inside of our platform. For example, using generative AI chat, you know, Chat GPT Alternative, we would have a lot of inputs on, “Hey, can it do this? Can it do that?” So we ended up adapting a lot of the pre-built prompts based on specific inputs that the teachers on those calls gave.

And then one of the areas of our product is this formative assessment check that teachers can quickly use to get a pulse on where students are at. And it was, I forget the name of the pilot user, but they planted a big seed in our head. They asked a question around, “Hey, this is such a fun experience to use for a formative assessment check. What would this look like, you know, for maybe a bell ringer or an exit ticket or something like that?” Or that it's this conversational interaction between the student and this chatbot. And then that eventually evolved into what we now call Spaces, which is this kind of adaptable environment that a student can go into to explore a subject or to do, you know, answer a few questions about how they're feeling. I won't get into all the details for the sake of time, but just a lot of the specific UI, the usability, where to go, where to click, where to do things. We had just so much input and feedback from the pilot users that it made the entire product more usable.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are some really exciting things that I know are happening. The bell ringer and the exit ticket are particularly exciting to me because this is not just answering a question, it's an interactive conversation that you have with the bot to really kind of process your own learning at the end of class or to prepare to learn at the start of class. What it essentially does is it multiplies the teacher, but it also gives the teacher input that they can use to inform their instruction and inform their engagement with students. And what I like about the way that you've described artificial intelligence of using school AI is that it really kind of clears the deck for teachers to have more meaningful interactions with students. There's no way this comes even close to replacing a teacher. It enhances what the teacher is able to do.

Kevin:
Exactly. I mean, one of the things that I'm always inspired by in working with teachers is when I see examples of a teacher meeting a student where they are. When they find out where that student's at and then they do whatever they can to support that scenario, that individual. And one of the huge upsides of using AI is that it helps you meet a student where they are. And it may be that a student in a bell ringer is just having a friendly conversational interaction, whereas the alternative is typically a multiple-choice question, or a slip. And when you have a student that is, you know, engaged and enjoying the process of something like a bell ringer, and there's the novelty of, you know, AI being involved in that, you end up getting really rich information out of that individual on how they are actually feeling and they're going to type things and do things that they wouldn't do if it was just a multiple-choice question in that scenario. So yeah, it's really exciting on how that actually can help a teacher get more teed up to know where a student's at and be able to support that scenario.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what would you say to a teacher who is maybe hesitant to delve into AI and to to start using School AI. We're gonna be expanding the trial to teachers. We've had a ton of teachers who've been really excited about it. And then teachers who know those teachers are now asking, how do I get involved? So if someone's maybe a little bit hesitant, saying, “I'm not sure how this can help me” or exactly whether this is gonna be worth investing the time and trying this out, what would you say to a teacher who's thinking about it, but not sure?

Kevin:
Great question. I think it's just absolutely fair that a teacher in, you know, it's such an involved capacity being a teacher, and you know that. And so a teacher when it comes to taking on a new technology and having some apprehension or concern, or maybe just, you know, having the time to do it, I think that's just fair. I mean, it makes sense that that happens. So one, I hear you. I hear you that that's a thing and I empathize with that.

Two, I would urge you to keep an open mind because teachers are often one of the biggest examples for students and a teacher that has an open mind towards new technology, especially a profound technology that's gonna be a big part of everyday life, an open-mindedness and a willingness to use and explore and adapt, I think sets an incredible example for students.

And third, I would say, pick one thing. I often tell teachers this, but pick one thing in your day-to-day life. You know, a question I ask is, if you could, you know, wave a magic wand right now and change one aspect of your job, what would that thing be? Is it administrative? Is it outreach to family, you know, guardians? Is it dummy questions on a quiz? Whatever it might be, pick that one thing and then see how AI can help alleviate certain aspects or that complete thing and then go from there. But just start with one thing and see where you can get with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I could talk with you about this for hours, but I want to thank you for your time and thank you for getting things kick-started for us in the world of AI. School AI has been a great partner and we're excited to be working together to help move each other forward.

Kevin:
Yeah, and I just wanna commend you all for being incredible folks to work with and for being proactive in this area of utilizing AI. That's an excellent opportunity for us to partner with folks like 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.

(upbeat music)