Author: communications

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a process schools are required to use when they need to conduct a controlled and safe release of students to parents or guardians following an emergency or other significant disruption to the normal school schedule. On this episode of the Supercast, we dive into the most important details of Reunification. We'll explain why understanding how Reunification works can help us get students safely back home to loved ones in an emergency situation. We're talking today with Lance Everill, our Emergency Operations Manager. Lance, thanks for taking time again to be on the Supercast.

Lance Everill:
Good morning. It's my pleasure to be here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Lance does a ton of great work to keep us all safe, and students in particular, here in Jordan School District as you've heard on previous podcast episodes. If you've been listening in. We wanted to talk with him today about the Reunification process. What it is, when we might use that process, and what it will look like, first of all, from a parent's perspective. I want to remind everyone, this is just one aspect of what we do to keep kids safe and to keep our employees safe. So many different things can possibly happen when we have as many students and employees and buildings as we do, and so we have to be prepared for anything. So it's rare that we need to use this procedure, but we really want to be sure that we have it in place, and that we've trained well, and that we're prepared if we do need it. So, Lance, would you mind starting out just telling us about what Reunification is and when we might need it?

Lance Everill:
So a Reunification would be a time when we have to release students either earlier than a normal release time or later than a normal release time. And this would be because there's some type of an emergency or disruption to the normal school day schedule that would cause us to have to do that. Now, that's obviously not what we want to do is to release students at a time different than normal. And the reason is, is because at that normal release time, the whole rest of the world outside of the school district and the school, lines up to meet and greet, and receive, and pick up, and babysitters, and family members, and neighbors, and whomever might have that charge to take care of those kids. So ideally, we always release that normal end of the school day, but we do have the ability to then release early or later if it's warranted.

Anthony Godfrey:
We only need Reunification after something has happened at the school that requires us, as you said, to either keep kids in place beyond the end of the school day or to release them early. And there can be any number of reasons for that. But there's been communication to parents before Reunification happens about what's happening at the school.

Lance Everill:
Yes. Yeah, so we have multiple means to do that. The most common way that the District communicates with parents is through the Skylert Messaging System. So all parents and guardians should have an opportunity beforehand to identify the best means that they can receive those Skylert messages related to all kinds of school business. And in this circumstance, obviously related to a school specific emergency where we needed the parents to be aware and then if we needed to enact a Reunification.

Anthony Godfrey:
So let's go through a scenario. Let's say that there is construction going on around the school and workers hit a gas line, and we start to smell that in the school. So we know that we can't continue the school day. Talk me through what may happen as a result of that.

Lance Everill:
So the first response would be to do a shelter in place, which is a response to the chemical spill outside, if you will. So we would try to stay in the building as long as we could, as long as it's safe. So the first reaction the school would have would be to shut down the air handlers to prevent the outside air from coming in. So we're not bringing in noxious air into our students and staff in the occupied spaces. If for some reason it got so bad that law enforcement and the fire department determine as a public safety issue, we can't stay at the school property. Now, keep in mind, we always want to stay at the school property if and when it's safe to do so, because it's all of our tools, our controls, our food, our water, restrooms, everything that we need to sustain, plus our background checked people. But in the interest of immediate life safety, if it's determined that we have to exit the property altogether, all schools have identified a secondary evacuation location that's just for immediate life safety. Let's get to a church house, or a local business just down the street, or the school next door, where we have an understanding that we can relocate in the interim.

Anthony Godfrey:
And many times we are able to dispatch buses very quickly and get kids loaded onto buses. We have people in the office that can drive. We do have some spare buses. So in case of an emergency, I've also seen us scramble and just get kids on buses quickly.

Lance Everill:
Yes. And that is a great option because the last thing we wanna do is have our kids stuck in a parking lot somewhere or a park just down the street for an extended period of time. Naturally, there's going to be needs that everyone has with using restrooms, food and water. Also, the nice thing about what you're saying is if we can transport kids from that secondary evacuation location to another one of the Jordan School District facilities, let's say a middle school or a high school down the street that has a large auditorium or a large gymnasium, cafeteria that they can help us house the student body in. Then we all of a sudden have gotten our kids back within a Jordan School District facility again, with our controls, our food, our water, our people, our background checked people, and then that way we're not also imposing on a local business.
Anthony Godfrey:
I can think of some specific examples where we've pulled kids to say the auditorium at a high school, and what do we do? We continue instruction. We've actually been able to hold onto kids, we get the problem solved, and we bring them back to the school. But for purposes of this discussion, let's say that we aren't able to return kids to school. We determine that we need to end the day and we can't continue instruction. And let's just, for the sake of argument, assume that they're still at the school, but we, and, and they're safe for the time being, but we know that we need to reunify them with parents and guardians for the remainder of the day. So talk me through what that looks like as a parent. They've probably already received a notice that we've been alerted of a gas leak. We're working on that. Once we determine that Reunification is necessary, then what does it look like from a parent's perspective?

Lance Everill:
So I think the parents, one of the first things we'll do is just to reassure them that everybody's safe and that the emergency or the disruption has been handled, like you're saying. But now we've determined that we have to reunify them either earlier or later than the normal release time. So part of that process is, is we can notify parents in advance. The District has produced about a six to seven minute long video that's housed on the Auxiliary Services website, under the Incident Command page that's strictly for parents and guardians to view. And it gives them some information in advance of an emergency of what they could expect in this type of a circumstance. So it talks about staying home, staying informed, and being ready. When we talk about being ready, that means knowing that I will be called to come to the school or the Reunification location to pick up the child accordingly. So when they are notified that they can come to the school or wherever that Reunification center is, that they will come as directed by the school, bring their ID, and then we have a process that we help cycle them through so they can get their kid and take their kid home for the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk us through what that looks like on our end, on the school's end. What are the things we're doing to be sure that students go home with their family?

Lance Everill:
So one of the most important things about schools directing parents and guardians to watch this Reunification video in advance, is because it talks about how important it is for us to try and be as orderly as we can when coming to pick up kids. Because you have to imagine that whatever the disruption was or the potential emergency that occurred during the day, there's probably a heightened sense of emotion in all those parents and guardians as well. And they're eager to get home or eager to get to the school to pick up their child. So an important thing for them to understand is that this is a meticulous process. There's nothing more important for the school and the school district than student life safety and student accountability.

A good thing that parents and guardians can do in advance of this, is to make sure that in their student Skyward records, that they've identified multiple people that they authorize to be able to check out their child in case of an emergency or other type of need. That really helps because if we're released, if we have to reunify students before the end of the school day, a lot of parents might be at work. They might be stuck in meetings. They could even be in the next county related to their business. So that becomes extremely hard for them to then break away from that and make it all the way out to the school then to go through the Reunification process. Additionally, because of that heightened sense of excitement, they might be, ‘I can't wait half an hour. I can't wait 45 minutes. I need to know that my child is safe now.’ So it's really helpful when they keep those checkout rights in the student skyward records updated and with as many people as that they are comfortable listing.

So when the parents then come, they will be greeted at the school, and told where they can line up and what to prepare for. We have a student Reunification Checkout Card that we provide to every parent or guardian that they fill out who their student is. Then when they check in at the school, they have an opportunity to then show their ID so the school can verify who the person is and then verify within the Skyward that they have the right to pick up the child. Once we've verified that, then the parents are directed to a spot to wait for the kid, the Reunification center or the Reunification area. Then a runner takes this verified student checkout card to the applicable teacher area where the kid is, notifies the teacher that they're picking up this particular student, and then they go to the Reunification area to reunify the student with the parent or guardian. At that point, what's really important is that we take that student checkout card and we mark on there, indicating that the student was reunified with that parent or guardian. That becomes our accountability process because we have records of the student coming to school. We took accountability and attendance related to the emergency, and then we are doing this final accounting once the student is checked out and reunified with that parent or guardian.

Anthony Godfrey:
And when do they fill out this form?

Lance Everill:
There's a couple of different ways they can do that. Part of our Reunification video online advises them that if they want, they can fill out the bulk of it in advance and they can do it online. We have these forms available online for parents and guardians, both in English and Spanish. We do have a form fillable document on there. They could fill out the basics of the information in advance, and they could even keep it in an appropriate place. Their glove box, their wallet, their purse, or something like that. And then related to if we do have an emergency, they just have to update it with the current date and the current time, and maybe just a little basic information. Otherwise, the school can provide these checkout cards when the parents arrive and they're greeted by the greeters. They'll be handed a checkout card that they can fill out, and then our checkers can then verify the ID and check out rights within Student Skyward.

Anthony Godfrey:
We'll provide a link to the video so that parents can watch that, and a link to the form as well in our show notes. As you pointed out, Lance, it's a time of heightened emotion, but this can take some time. And it can take some time because it's so vital that we make sure students are connected with their family appropriately. I think it's worth the time investment to be sure we do that the right way.

Lance Everill:
Right, and I know that parents and guardians expect that of us. They expect us to have constant accountability of their kids while they're in our care. And then once we turn them over, they would expect that we would keep meticulous records. What we can't afford is to have somebody bypass the checkout process. Whether that's the parent or guardian, they bypass our process, or the student bypasses and sees them, you know, in the parking lot and then runs away. And then we're like, ‘Well, where's little Johnny or Jane’ or whomever? So it's really important and we want them to support us that there's nothing more important to us than the safety and accountability of their child.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more on what you need to know about Reunification in a crisis.

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:
So tell me, on the school end of things, what does it look like? What are some of the roles that we have in place? You talked about a runner, you talked about a checker that can check IDs. What are some of the roles that are in place in case of Reunification?

Lance Everill:
So as part of our incident command process, we have roles identified at the school in advance to deal with all those various emergencies that could occur during a school day. Such as the Incident Commander, Documentation, Safety person, and so forth. Once the emergency has been handled and that we feel like that the scene is safe and everybody's accounted for and we're ready to enact a Reunification, the school can prop up some additional roles that are specific to Reunification. Such as greeters that welcome the parents when they get there. Checkers that check the parent's or guardian's ID, and verify that against the student's Skyward records. We have runners that then go to retrieve the student once the checkout rights have been verified.

We also have a special circumstance person that might be identified that we can pull parents off to the side that maybe have unique circumstances like English as a second language, or they don't have their ID. There might be some type of other medical issue that's occurring. So we want people to be able to attend those parents and guardians specifically to try and meet their needs in an expedited process as well.

We also might have an activity coordinator identified at the school to try and engage the students productively in some type of activity if they're not able to stay in their classrooms in the building. This helps minimize stress because we're keeping people engaged in activities. We want to keep the activity at that moment while we're waiting to reunify. We want to keep things as normal as we possibly can to bring everybody's stress level down to engage students so they don't worry unnecessarily. And then we also need to potentially have crisis counselors from the District queued up and ready to go just in case there's any type of traumatic things that we need to attend to with students and staff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you for putting together such a thorough plan. And as you go through the roles, I'm reminded that every time there's an emergency, we are in great contact with fire and police. You work really hard at those relationships and we continue to be complimented on the work you've done to establish a close connection with all of our emergency services in all the municipalities that serve Jordan District. So thank you for making that such an essential part of, of what we do as a district, connecting with those emergency services is essential to effectively keeping everyone safe.

Lance Everill:
Yes. Just so everybody understands, we have a team of about 23-24 people just on the District Fire, Safety and Security side of this conversation. All these people. We have somebody on duty 24-7, 365. And so we are there to support schools and these types of efforts. And that's just talking about just on the district level, and we can get a lot more district employees engaged if we need to. But what you're talking about with that involvement with police and fire, we work really hard in our huge team at the Auxiliary Services in the district office to engage with them and plan appropriately. But the amount of work that the schools are doing with their School Resource Officer, and their DARE officer, and their local fire agency is tremendous. And a big part of what they do is invite them out to their drills so they have an understanding of what they're doing and also get some of their input on things like, ‘Hey, how can we improve things?  And what can we do better from your professional perspective?’

Anthony Godfrey:
Lance, I appreciate that explanation of our relationship with emergency services. I think that's, like I said, it's really important to our success and you work very hard at that. And I know that they were involved in modifying this Reunification plan to meet the needs of Jordan because we need them to be on board with the plan as well. So they were part of developing it from a best practice national model used throughout the country. So this has some really good backing this, this Reunification plan. It isn't just one person sitting in an office putting this together.

Hopefully we need to use it very rarely, but I just appreciate your continual focus on student safety. Parents out there who may be wondering, ‘Hey, what happens if this happens or that happens?’ You are always thinking about that. I really appreciate that you've had such a laser focus on all of the what ifs and we go about our daily business. We make sure that we're well trained, but you are always thinking about what could happen and what we need to be doing to be as prepared as possible.

Just to summarize, I appreciate your advice here to parents and that is to watch the video, be aware of that form, and if something does happen in that unlikely situation, just be ready to hear from the school about when to come and pick your child up. In most cases, we are able to continue the school day. We're able to keep kids safe. We keep parents informed, but mostly we can keep kids at school. But in the rare case, when we need parents to come, making it clear to them where to come and when to be there, I think can give a lot of comfort just for parents to know that we have that in place.

Lance Everill:
That's one of the biggest things we're really trying to accomplish. We're trying to inform everyone. And when we talk about responding to an emergency or enacting a Reunification from a school, it's not just about the students and the staff, it's obviously about the parents, guardians, and community members as well. So when we're all well informed, we've had an opportunity in a non chaotic moment to learn and understand the why. Why are we doing this? Now that we all buy into the why, how do we do it? When we all understand why and how we are going to make this happen, it's going to work in a much more efficient way while maintaining a safe environment, student safety and proper accountability.

Anthony Godfrey:
Like you said, we just have to stay focused on the purpose. The purpose is to keep kids safe and when necessary, reunify them with their family during the school day or after the school day. It's student safety and it's the peace of mind of parents that are at the forefront. Well, thank you again to you and your team, a large team, which if this happens, is gonna be on site, helping make sure that things go smoothly. You guys are always quick to respond and to be there for small incidents, for large incidents. And I really appreciate your responsiveness.

Lance Everill:
Well, thank you so much. And like I said, it's been a team effort. And we really rely on our professional emergency management and first responder community to give us best practice direction.

Anthony Godfrey:
As I like to say, we all have different roles, but the same goals, and that goal is student safety.

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. It is an opportunity like no other for students to grow their talents and perfect their skills, creating beautiful flower arrangements for actual weddings and other special events around town. On this episode of the Supercast, find out what the Floriculture program at Mountain Ridge High School is all about, and see how a career focused bridal bouquet and flower arranging business class is helping students see a clear path to a promising profession.

We're here with Mrs. Neil in her Floriculture class, preparing for a wedding, actually a wedding of a former student of hers.

Alisha Neil:
Former student. We're in full swing,

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. That's what we were hoping for.

Alisha Neil:
Good.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right.

Alisha Neil:
So each group, I'll give you a copy of their form, but each group has been assigned a different aspect of the wedding to work on. So last time in class we talked about the bride's colors for a general theme, the flowers we're using in particular, and today's demo day. So what that means is each kid is making a sample of one thing that we'll make for the final wedding next time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I see.

Alisha Neil:
And so they're going through, and like, if they're in charge of the groomsmen's boutonnieres, I'll get five copies of those today, and then we'll decide as a group which one we like best to make for next time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so after today, then will you work with the bride to see what she likes?

Alisha Neil:
Yes. So this bride, well actually the groom, is an older brother of a student I had last year. And this bride is pretty chill. We've made a couple things for her  in the past, and she's given me full reign and said, ‘I trust you. We'll just be there to pick it up on Wednesday.’

Anthony Godfrey:
So the demo is just to see what you're going to create? But it doesn't necessarily have to make it through her anymore?

Alisha Neil:
No, nope.

Anthony Godfrey:
She's just turned over to you.

Alisha Neil:
Yep. She's given us our creative liberty.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a lot of trust.

Alisha Neil:
It is. But the demo is because I know what I would create, but the kids are more creative than I am. And so they will take the colors and the flowers and the other things that are going on, what the grooms or groomsmen or bridesmaids are wearing, and they'll add accents that I wouldn't think of or do the flowers a little differently than I would. And then we select which one we think fits the theme best, and then make that for next time.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me everything that you're doing for the wedding right now. You're doing boutonnieres for the groomsmen.

Alisha Neil:
Yep. The bride's bouquet is done. We did that out of artificial flowers a week ago.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what does that look like? Oh, is this the one in the photo there?

Alisha Neil:
Yeah, it's the picture up there, up front.

Anthony Godfrey:
So describe that for those who are listening.

Alisha Neil:
Yes. So, her colors are burgundy, white, offwhite, forest green, and kind of a sage. So she used roses. We used some ranunculus. We use chrysanthemums, eucalyptus, and some dried pampas grass, which is a new thing. I'm not saying we actually stole from a church parking lot, but we did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Dried pampas grass? From a church parking lot.

Alisha Neil:
From a church parking lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
At a location not to be disclosed.

Alisha Neil:
Not to be disclosed. But my bishop knows where things happen, and he was like, ‘Oh, Alicia's at it again.’ So we're using a combination of silk flowers and artificial flowers for the actual wedding with more of the real flowers because of the scent. So this bride chose a lot of things. She's got some rosemary in there. She's got eucalyptus. So things that smell really nice.

Anthony Godfrey:
It’s very fragrant. I didn't realize that you would ever combine the two. I didn't think of that. So you use the artificial flowers to help it pop and last, maybe? And you use the natural flowers and what's the term for the greenery?

Alisha Neil:
Live greenery. Yeah, live greenery.

Anthony Godfrey:
Live greenery.

Alisha Neil:
So the artificial flowers have gotten so good lately that a lot of times you can't tell the artificial from the live. And so we mix them a lot of times if things are out of season. So for example, like some of the pampas grass is starting to fade right now. So if I needed to use that in the spring when it's not available, I can use artificial as the filler in between.

Anthony Godfrey:
Artificial pampas grass. Was that like a Kickstarter campaign?

Alisha Neil:
I’m sure it had to have been somebody's.

Anthony Godfrey:
I've got this big idea. What is it? I'm going to make artificial dried pampas grass.

Alisha Neil:
Oh yeah. And pampas grass is very popular at the moment.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Listeners, ideas are out there for the taking. If you can only wrap your mind around it. So, what are some of the concepts behind good flower arranging?

Alisha Neil:
So, the students in this class, we have already learned all the floral tools because you need to use specific tools on specific things. So you're not gonna use your wire cutters to cut fresh floral stems, because you'll crush them and destroy them. They've learned taping, they've learned principles and elements of design. So they've learned about balance, color use, unity, texture, all those kinds of things.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about taping.

Alisha Neil:
So floral tape, these kids will tell you that they hate it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is this over here? Is this the green stuff over here?

Alisha Neil:
This is the green stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's check it out.

Alisha Neil:
So, floral tape.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I just got into the fragrance zone. Like, I couldn't smell the flowers there, and now I can. Wow, that smells great.

Alisha Neil:
Yeah, there's some good stuff. And she, this bride, also chose to use Holland roses. So her roses are from Holland. They are a more natural rose, and they have the natural rose scent. So if we get our roses from South America or California, we don't get as much of that scent to them because they're hybridized for long shelf life, or a specific color. But these Holland roses have that rose scent.

Anthony Godfrey:
I am learning a lot. Now she's chill, but she wants roses from Holland. So she does know what she wants.

Alisha Neil:
She does know what she wants. We talked through it and she agreed that's what she wanted.

Anthony Godfrey:
Holland roses. Wow. That's fantastic.

Alisha Neil:
The floral tape is actually made of a paper mache like material, and then coated in paraffin wax. It comes in different colors, different shades of green.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does it stick to itself?

Alisha Neil:
It will only stick. So, Sabrina, do you wanna show him the magic of the floral tape? This is Sabrina. So stretch it, now, stick it to something.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, only when you stretch it. May I? All right. Let's see how I do now.

Alisha Neil:
So only when it's stretched, will it be activated and then it will stick to itself or to other materials.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Huh? Oh, I broke it.

Alisha Neil:
That's fine.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Oh, I broke it again. All right. Clearly I need to sit in your class before I do this.

Alisha Neil:
Yeah. So, the floral tape is a hard skill to learn because often when you're trying to get that stretch, you tear it the first time. But these guys made floral crowns about two weeks ago and did a great job with them. But we did that to teach that taping skill along with where are we placing this and how am I going to make it look natural without showing the wire or the tape.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Yeah. So you've gotta have all the backstage stuff that stays backstage. And how do you use the wire?

Alisha Neil:
So, floral wire, these guys are gonna use it in a couple different ways. If we were making a big spray bouquet.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is the floral wire right here?

Alisha Neil:
Yeah. This is the floral wire. This is 22 gauge floral wire. So it's a medium light thickness.

Anthony Godfrey:
So when you talk about 22 gauge, you're talking about something different than many other people might be. So 22 gauge floral wire. And tell me again how this is used.

Alisha Neil:
So they are gonna use this as the base in our corsages and boutonnieres. If they were doing a large spray, like a standing spray, we'd use it to wire the roses and hold them in a specific position. But where we're doing small hand tied bouquets, we're not gonna use 'em for that. But when they put the wire in the flowers, so in this case in our roses or our carnations or chrysanthemums, they're going to create an artificial bendability to those flowers so that we can adjust them slightly. So they lay on the lapel or on the wrist at just a slight angle. So we're creating kind of an artificial stem. We put the wire in tape down the stem, and like I said, kind of create an artificial angle or stem so that we can bend them and make them look the way we want.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And this looks really pretty. Even what they're working on at the table looks great. What's the white stuff there that looks like an ice queen touched it?

Alisha Neil:
That's bleached ruscus. So Italian ruscus is the dark green that's next to it. You can see her on the table, and that's the bleached version. So bleached or blanched flowers are really popular right now, and they actually put the stems in bleach and suck all the color out of them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. I'm quite overwhelmed at all of this. It's a big deal. Okay. Let me ask you this, kind of off topic, but what advice do you have for people who are buying flowers for a significant other?

Alisha Neil:
Well, there was a poster in my classroom at USU, at Utah State University that said, ‘How mad is she?’ And it had flowers, it was the same arrangement, but in different sizes. So you gotta take that into account when you're buying flowers.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's solid advice.

Alisha Neil:
There's been a big movement in the floral industry about sustainability and using local flowers. So if that's important to you there's some flower shops here in the valley that are using locally sourced items and only seasonal items. So they're not getting flowers from Holland or from South America.

Anthony Godfrey:
For a wedding you go all out. I understand that.

Alisha Neil:
For a wedding, you do what the bride wants. And we don't ask questions. Yep. We just fit her budget to what we can do and give her the best we can. But yeah, if that's important to you, you can think about that. I always like to shop local. There's some really good local florist and florist shops around, and most of them are really willing to work within your budget. If you say, ‘Hey, she's this mad and my budget is this much’, and they'll make it as best they can to that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is this just ribbon? That's part of the arrangement?

Alisha Neil:
Yep. Last time in class we were practicing the floral bows, which are actually quite challenging. So this is Ivy's floral bow from last time.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't have to convince me that they're challenging. I believe you. I believe you.

Alisha Neil:
Yeah. They are challenging. And I give them this fabric ribbon to start with, because it is very forgiving, but it's also hard to do unless you get the technique just right.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. So show me. Loop, you loop, and then you twist?

Alisha Neil:
Start with the tail, however long you want the tail to be. You loop it around your thumb and pinch between two fingers, and then you twist it. And that is to give it that crease, but also on some ribbon we have a shiny side and a dull side. This one we don't. But to keep the shiny side up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, more fun with students in the Floriculture program at Mountain Ridge High.

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:
So tell me about employment. Are there some of your students who go out and look for employment in floral shops?

Alisha Neil:
Yeah. So one of my students from two years ago is doing flowers on her own. It's her second job. But she does flowers for all the high school dances and she's come and helped me on a couple weddings during the summer. And then I have a student currently who is on the Floriculture team. So we have a team in FFA that competes with floral design.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's a floriculture competition?

Alisha Neil:
There's a floriculture competition, there’s a floriculture team. So she's on the team and she's working at Harmon's right now and is a floral assistant. So she's not the head designer, but she goes through and helps when they have dances and proms and big things. Big funeral arrangements or things to do, or for holidays, Mother's Day, stuff like that. She's there helping the florist there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you have floriculture emergencies from time to time?

Alisha Neil:
Occasionally. Now, when we prep a wedding like this, I will send an extra pair of wires, extra pins, extra tape, a little bit of ribbon, and some extra flowers with the family.

Anthony Godfrey:
Because they, well, I forgot Uncle Ned. Uncle Ned needs a flower.

Alisha Neil:
Yes, yes. We always do that. So we always send a couple extras. And the nice thing is most of the weddings we've done has been for family members or former students. And so they know a little bit and they can fill those gaps or patch things. I had a crash. We had this big spray over this chevron wood board and the line snapped and it crashed in the middle. Not in the ceremony, thank heavens, but during the reception. So I sprinted over there with some more fishing line and got it hooked back up and it was fine. But that's been the only major crash so far.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I ask about the emergencies because these are high stakes events that you're making these flowers for.

Alisha Neil:
They are.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's not a margin for error.

Alisha Neil:
Well, I've been really lucky. None of the brides I've worked with have been bridezillas for a long time. And so most of them have been very happy. And they understand there's a little bit of a risk in having students do your wedding, and having students do your wedding work. But the cost is lower because we do it at cost for them because I have free labor here, and the kids are learning. So there's that little bit of a trade off. They're gonna get a little cheaper than they would if they did it at a florist shop, but there is that risk involved.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think a couple of students in the background just realized that they're free labor.

Alisha Neil:
Oh yes, they did. They were like, ‘What?’

Anthony Godfrey:
Sorry. Are we in the way of you making progress?

Student:
No, you’re totally fine.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about these scissors, like huge handled, tiny blades. What do you use these scissors for?

Student:
Those are like floral cutters.. So you use them to cut like plants off of their stem or like cut off leaves just so that you're not like twisting them off.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I tend to twist them off.

Student:
It’s just much easier and faster.

Anthony Godfrey:
I use regular scissors that probably crush the stem. Is that what you're trying to avoid?

Student:
Yeah, this keeps it all nice and clean.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. Very nice. Is it gonna be harder for someone to buy flowers for any of you? Because you're gonna be very discriminating and you're going to look at the bouquet and say, ‘Well, that was a very nice effort, but I really don't like the fill flowers that they chose.’

Students:
Oh, 100%.

For sure, no.

Definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're tougher to please now I understand that.

Students:
Oh, yeah.

We’re the experts.

Alisha Neil:
My husband knows not to buy me flowers. That’s just a no.

Anthony Godfrey:
He just knows that's not gonna fly.

Alisha Neil:
Yeah. He's like, ‘Nope, I'm not gonna do that.’

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, fair enough. Fair enough. So these are pixie carnations?

Alisha Neil:
Pixie carnations.

Anthony Godfrey:
And have these just opened up more than these?

Alisha Neil:
Right. So this one is a little bit more open than this. Carnations are lovely because we can cheat. So see how tight this one is?

Anthony Godfrey:
See how tight this one is?

Alisha Neil:
Yeah. This one's all still buddy. You can just take your thumb.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you can open it up. You don't have to wait for it.

Alisha Neil:

Yeah, you can cheat carnations.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, I wanna ask each of you, after being in this class, what is your favorite flower?

Student #1:

Oh, purple daisies.

Anthony Godfrey:

Purple daisies. Now are daisies dyed purple or are they?

Student #1:
No, just like natural.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, there are natural purple daisies?

Student #1:
Yeah. Natural purple daisies.

Anthony Gedfrey:
And was that your favorite before you took this class? Or has it always been your favorite?

Student #1:
It's always been my favorite.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right.

Student #2:
I like Siberian Irises.

Anthony Godfrey:
Siberian Irises. And what do Siberian Irises look like?

Student #2:
A mess. No, they're, I don't know how to describe them. They've got, I don't know how to describe them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, listeners will Google the Siberian Iris.

Student #2:
They're like a purpley color most of the time. Darker colors is usually what they are..

Anthony Godfrey:
And they're a mess. What do you mean? Does it kinda look like they're falling apart or?

Student #2:
A little bit, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And did you know about Siberian Irises before this class? So you were a, what do you call a flower junkie? A flower-y? Before this?

Student #2:
A little bit.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. How about you?

Student #3:
I like baby's breath. I think it's just really pretty.

Anthony Godfrey:
Baby's breath. Okay.

Student #3:
It’s that one right there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. This one? Yeah. Okay. Very nice. Very delicate lacy looking. Yeah. Okay. How about you?

Student #4:
I like the zebra plant.

Anthony Godfrey:
The zebra plant?
Student #4:
It's like a big plant and the leaves have like stripes on them. Like white stripes, so it looks like a zebra.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you ever use that in an arrangement sometimes?

Student #4:
Not yet, but we've learned about it.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you can, they are used for that?

Student #4:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Very good. I did not know about any of these except baby's breath, so I'm learning. All right. What made you want to take a floriculture class?

Student #5:
I've always loved flowers and it's my senior year, so I had some room in my schedule. I go to a whole lot of dances and so I wanted to learn how to make my own boutonnieres.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you do that now?

Student #5:
I can. We learned last time how to make boutonnieres.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, great. So you're ready to go.

Student #5:
I guess so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, would you ever do your own flowers for your wedding? Or is that kind of like being an attorney representing yourself? You never want to do that.

Student #6:
You could, right? I would love to. I've also thought about doing my own cake for my wedding, because I went through like a baking phase. It would depend how stressed I am though. I feel like I wouldn't have very much time if I was getting married.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you might need to back up.

Student #6:
I might need a back up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Like, if the stress overwhelms me, then I'm gonna have to get somebody to bake and to flower for me.

Student #6:
Yeah. I might have to pay somebody, but I would love to if I had time.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you like most about Floriculture?

Student #6:
Working with the flowers. When we do arrangements like this,

Anthony Godfrey:
Are there some flowers you learned about that you didn't know about before?

Student #6:
Oh yeah. So we're learning a hundred or so, 140 flowers throughout this class. She gave us a list of flowers to look at and when I first looked at it, I didn't know any of them. I recognized a couple names.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think I need to develop a favorite flower. I think I need to look at the 140 and decide for myself. What's your favorite?

Student #7:
I like daisies and chrysanthemums a lot. My favorite since this class, Mrs. Neil's gonna hate me. Baby's breath, just because I see it all the time and I didn't know what it was called. I never really recognized it until I took this class. And so now I see it like all the time.

Anthony Godfrey:
But that's the beauty of a good class is where you learn about something that you've always seen, but never known quite what it was. And what are you doing right now? What is this called?

Student #7:
Stripping.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stripping.

Student #7:
Stripping. So this is gonna be a part of the handle of the bouquet. You can't really hold this part because it has like leaves on it. So I'm just making it so there's just a stem.

Anthony Godfrey:
Perfect.

We talked about all the work that these kids have been doing. It sounds like there's art, there's math, there's all kinds of stuff layered into floriculture.

Alisha Neil:
There is a lot. We first start with plant science. So they need to understand the science of plants. So if we're gonna care for live flowers, they need to understand a little bit about them. We get into different types and families of plants, genus and species because they need to know the genus and species for scientific names. So we talk about things like mosses, ferns, liverworts, things of that nature. Pines, gymnosperms, and then into the flowering plants, which are called angiosperms, which is most of the plant life that we see. Then we get into elements of design, which is the same thing they're teaching in the art classes. We're talking about color theory, we're talking about balance and unity and harmony and those kinds of elements. Scale, proportion, that kind of stuff. So they get a little science, they get a little art. And then the technical hands on skills is a big deal too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, this is awesome. Thank you very much for spending time with us and letting us drop in on a high stakes job.

Alisha Neil:
You're welcome. Thanks for coming out.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are hair and nail designs custom-made for a horrifying Halloween competition. On this episode of the Supercast we take you inside the Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers in Riverton, where hair design and nail tech students get creative in a costume contest like no other. Find out how they put their talents to the test in a timed competition that resulted in some scary hairdos and outrageous nail designs.

We're here with Shannon Mechling at JATC South to learn more about the Hair and Nails Halloween Competition. Tell me about how the competition works and about the theme for this year.

Shannon Mechling:
So the students are all assigned a theme we choose as a group, and the theme this year was legends and fables before 1900.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh ok.

Shannon Mechling:
So they had to pick a fable or a legend and plan their theme, and then the team had to execute the hair, the nails, the makeup, the costume as a team. They had to do a little bit of preparation work with diagrams and research, and then go ahead and put the design. And it gives them a chance to be really creative.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now the student who has chosen to be decorated and to be in the costume, is that a place of honor or would people rather be applying rather than be applied to?

Shannon Mechling:
That probably is a team question. You know, it's probably a 50/50. It is as much fun doing the application of the hair, the nails or the skin as it is being chosen to be the model, but they kind of work that out as a team. It's kind of fun when we get to put two classes together, well actually three, hair, barbering, and nails, and let them work together as a team. It introduces team working skills and then the soft skills communicating what they're trying to execute as far as their design and theme, and then just watching the follow through is just a riot. I think it's great. And I am so proud of all these kids and their talent and abilities.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's obviously a lot of talent and a ton of hard work that's gone into this. Tell me what are some of the prizes or titles available?

Shannon Mechling:
So we do a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for the AM class and the PM class. And then we have a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize for hair and nails. And it's usually stuff that pertains to the class, nail products, hair products, different things. They get a little bit of bragging rights for being able to be in the top three. I would hate to have to pick because every team, every student is working really hard to perform and do what the competition requires. So we're just grateful and thankful that they all step up to the plate and do their thing. And it is really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
They've done a fabulous job. It's really overwhelming to see the finished product here. So there are no, like most terrifying prize or?

Shannon Mechling:
Well, we do different things. We try to keep it a little g-rated because sometimes we have preschoolers and different kids, so they can't bring weapons or anything like that along. So it pretty much is their creative idea of whatever goes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's true.

Shannon Mechling:
We don't put too many limits, just a few of them.

Anthony Godfrey:
And by combining people from various classes. Yep. I mean, these teams could go on to open their own salon together and be a full service salon.

Shannon Mechling:
A lot of them do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do they?

Shannon Mechling:
Yeah. I have a couple students right now that are looking to team up in a salon to work. So yes, it is great to watch where they go and what they do when they finish up school and get their licensing. And we have a pretty high percentage of students that do that, so we're proud of that fact too.

Anthony Godfrey:
That does not surprise me. Now tell me who judges the competition today?

Shannon Mechling:
So we usually have manufacturer reps come in to judge the competitions. People in the industry that kind of have a little bit more detail as far as what's involved with hair, skin, and nails. And then sometimes we include the staff to come in and help us be impartial in their judging. So it works a little both ways. So it's just great for the school and great for the other students and faculty and we just try to make it pretty inclusive with all of them. We've had like greenhouse in with us that have done the competition before. We're gonna do welding in the spring because we're doing a flower fairy contest and we're gonna invite them with the hair and nails. So you gotta come back, look at that one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Get welding guys out there. Yeah. I like it. I like it. And I'm with you. I don't wanna be any part of any judging. That would be too hard walking through here. They've all done an amazing job.

Shannon Mechling:
I could judge, but I like to watch what everybody else sees and what the students are doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you describe this aroma? Is it lacker and aerosol altogether? What's that combination? What's that fragrance?

Shannon Mechling:
I think you're smelling nail product. And you're smelling a lot of aerosols from hairspray.

Anthony Godfrey:
I guess I'll call it manmade.

Shannon Mechling:
It is all manmade. It is that. But look what they do with it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know it's miraculous.

Shannon Mechling:
Hey, thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you.
Time's winding down. Tell me what you guys are working on right now.

Student #1:
I'm doing the top buns on the hair. I don't know what.

Student #2:
I'm adding curls into the hairline cuz I'm almost done with the makeup.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're just sitting still.

Student #3:
And I'm just sitting here looking pretty.

Student #2:
She puts her head up and down when I tell her to.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. You move your head the way you're supposed to.

Student #3:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And nothing else?

Student #3:
Nope.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Designed it.

Student #4:
Well, I picked it out. It's the candy witch from Hansel and Gretel. The one that tries to eat them and lures them to her candy house. But I guess this is the case where it goes wrong.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what drew you to wanting to be a witch that eats children?

Student #4:
Well, it's more so the candy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. Very good.

Student #4:
I love candy, more than children sometimes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fair enough.

Student #4:
I just thought the candy would be a cute look.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now for those who can't see, you're in a pink dress. What is this material around the outside of that?

Student #4:
This is like tulle.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tulle. Okay. And you've got Starlight mints and taffy and suckers taped to you.

Student #4:
We've got it all.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. It's everywhere.

Student #4:
Sprinkles. blood even.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. Then there is blood involved.

Student #4:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is this the blood of the children you've consumed?

Student #4:
Yes. This is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Fair enough. And you have sprinkles on your face?

Student #4:
Yes I do.

Anthony Godfrey:
It actually frames your face very nicely.

Student #4:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
How did you get the pink on your face? Because it almost looks like kind of highlighting and giving contour to your face.

Student #5:
Airbrushing and lots of pink eyeshadow and pink blush.

Anthony Godfrey:
Pink eyeshadow. Pink blush.

Student #4:
Mostly airbrushing it.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is the exact tone? Do you know the name of the tone? Is it like salmon or you know, is it named Paradise Dreams or?

Student #4
Peony

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, Peony. Well, that's not very poetic.

Student #5:
Yeah. And Like and Rad.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is it?

Student #5:
Like and Rad.

Anthony Godfrey:
Like and Rad. Okay. The color is in fact rad.

Student #4:
Yes it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, pink hair is being added to your actual hair and those are maybe the tightest curls I've seen in a long time. Those are ramen like curls right there.

Student #4:
We wanted, you know, the Shirley Temple look to go with it. And that's what we did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good inspiration. So do you have to prioritize what you're going to do?

Student #4:
Pretty much. Do the basics first, then out all the fun stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us for more on the spectacular Halloween Hair and Nail Design Competition.

Break:
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Anthony Godfrey:
Are you guys close? Can I ask you what you're working on here? So tell me about the concept here.

Student #6:
So our character that we picked was Persephone and we're basically doing like a half goddess type of look because like, she's like the goddess of nature and whatever, and spring. So the other side is like if humans stay too long, like where Hades is at, then slowly turn to death. So then we just executed that and made her like half turning because like she's down there for so long.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're cutting it close in other words, in this costume?

Student #6:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Student #6:
Then for the nails we did like the nature, then like dark while she's still in the underworld.

Anthony Godfrey:
Those are long sharp nails, each with its own design. So can you describe the design on each nail for me?

Student #6:
So this first one has like gold foils and glitter underneath. And on top of it I have like 3D leaves that I sculpted myself. But basically that's just because she's like the goddess of nature again. And because it's like, I don't know, it just represents her a lot. Then this one is just like nature again, how it's like a thunderstorm while it's like on earth, how she controls it. Then this would be like her love for Hades. Like, it's like she was forced to love him. It's not actual, she just has to do it cuz she's forced to.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. You're very torn I see.

Student #6:

But this one is just like representing her while she's staying underneath, the underlayer basically.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that's it. So this is kind of from earth to Hades all the way down?

Student #6
Yes. Mm-Hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And what about the thumb then?

Student #6:
The thumb is just like, adds a little darkness, like you can't really

Anthony Godfrey:
Seems very ominous.

Student #6:
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's clear at the tip. Very mysterious. And are you okay with being only half goddess?

Student #7:
Yeah. Because I'm kind of forced into it. So it's like there's good in it but also bad because it's like a forced thing I guess.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And did all of you design this together or which one of you was responsible for the design?

Student #6:
For the nails?

Anthony Godfrey:
Just the overall.

Student #6:
Oh, we all decided to do Persephone.

Anthony Godfrey:
And why Persephone?

Student #6:
Cause? It just seems like her story isn't really told. Like yeah, we talk about Hades and whatever, but there's no real representation with her story.

Anthony Godfrey:
Looks fabulous. Great job.

Student #6:
Thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
You guys only have five minutes left, but can you tell me about your design?

Student #8:
So we did the tooth fairy, but pink edition.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, the pink edition. I've never run into her.

Student #8:
It's our own twist.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like it. Tell me about that. Why the tooth fairy? Did any of you have a particularly good or particularly bad tooth fairy experience?

Student #8:
No, only good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Only good. Okay. That's very on brand for the tooth fairy. So the pink tooth fairy. Tell me about this design.

Student #8:
I don't know, I feel like it's just more of a fancier look and we just wanted to do a tooth fairy, I guess.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the nails. This is 3D all the way.

Student #8:
Bailey's the one that did that. This one's a mouse cuz it all started off with a mouse. This is a wand. This is wings. This is money. And this is a shoe.

Student #9:
Don't ask me how that's a shoe.

Anthony Godfrey:
No, I can see the shoe. I see it.

Student #8:
There's money in this one. Like a piece of money.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's actually a piece of money in that. Wow. Oh yeah, I can see it. That's something. And is it both hands or just one?

Student #8:
Just one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just one. Okay. That's part of the competition. And tell me about the hair design here. What are the elements of the design?

Student #9:
We have some braids back here. We added tinsel to the hair., just make it more sparkly and stand out. And then we added a bunch of pearls and glitter spray.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, and you have pearls lining the edge of your hair. Very nice. And how do you apply pearls to the forehead, cheek and ear? Asking for a friend.

Student #8:
So we just use that eyelash glue.

Anthony Godfrey:
Eyelash glue. Oh, well. Well done. Everything looks great. Good luck in the competition.

All right, we're talking to one of the judges. Introduce yourself to everybody.

Randi Beagley:
I am Randi Beagley. I'm the registrar here at JATC South.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now Randi, when you applied to be registrar, did they tell you that you were going to have to be judging really good hair and nail projects in this competition?

Randi Beagley:
I had no idea what I was up against. So it's been fun because we get to do an array of all kinds of different things here. So this has been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sure throughout the building, various programs have different things that they want you to judge.

Randi Beagley:
All the time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm not envious of you because that is going to be tough.

Randi Beagley:
It is.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you approach this because you know these kids, you know how hard they've worked. How do you choose a winner?

Randi Beagley:
You know, I just kind of look at the overall time and effort they've put into this and the detail that they do. You can tell, some kids maybe just kind of threw it together at the last minute. Others have practiced this over and over and have really taken the time to put into it. So that's what I judge on specifically.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well good luck out there.

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 Supecast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are in our schools and classrooms making a big difference every single day. On this episode of the Supercast, what it means to participate in PTA and why our schools simply wouldn't be the same without these incredible parent volunteers.

We're here at the Utah PTA offices talking with two members of the Executive Committee. I'm gonna let them introduce themselves, and then we're gonna talk about PTA.

Stacey Mollinet:
Hi, I'm Stacey Mollinet. I'm the President of Utah PTA, and I live in Layton.

LeAnn Wood:
I'm LeAnn Wood, I'm the Advocacy Vice President, and I live in Kaysville.

Anthony Godfrey:
I am also on the Executive Committee. I've served as the Administrator Representative, and I love being a part of it. And I have to say I'm blown away at the time that you put in the dedication and the knowledge. You guys know so much about what's going on in the state, and it's been really exciting for me to be part of it. Stacey, start off just talking about what got you involved in PTA, kind of your PTA journey.

Stacey Mollinet:
I just wanted to be involved with my kids at their school. I just wanted to volunteer in the classroom, help out, help enhance their education, and along the way I got to know their teachers. I found out that I was helping more than just my own child, and I got to know the administration, and I just really liked being in the schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about you, LeAnn?

LeAnn Wood:
Well, I'm a little bit more selfish than that. I had a son on the autism spectrum and didn't know it at the time. He started school and we had a lot of issues, and I found that through PTA I could get some parent training if I was to volunteer, and I needed all the help I could get. And so I volunteered in order to get some parent training. And along the way, I just found a community of people who really wanted to reach out and help others and cared about children. And so it helped my child, and then it turned into hoping to help thousands of children over the last 25 years.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're right, you really do get to know a ton of great people when you become involved with PTA at the school level, at the region level, and at the state level. And the state level is why I'm here talking with you. First of all, most people don't even realize that there is a state office, like there's an actual building. I didn't realize that until I was on the committee and came by. Tell us a little bit about the office, where it is and, and how long it's been here.

Stacey Mollinet:
Yeah. We're at 53rd South exit just off of I-15. We used to have a building on South Temple that was previously owned by David O. McKay, and that building got too small. The parking wasn't very good, it was a little bit leaky and whatever, so we traded it in about 20 years ago. So we've been here at 53rd South for about 20 years and, and we own the building outright, so we don't have the expenses of rent or anything like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
One of the things that has stood out to me as I've attended conventions over the years is this idea that when PTA works together, PTA can accomplish things that families may not be able to accomplish on their own, or schools may not be able to accomplish on their own. So there's a synergy when everyone works together. What are some of the positive outcomes you've seen from the work that PTA does in the schools?

LeAnn Wood:
I think that really leads to the Mission of PTA, which is to empower and engage families and communities to advocate for every child. And so when our parents understand the needs of the school, and I think it first starts with what are the needs of our children, and then it expands from there. When they work with a principal and say, ‘What are the true needs of our children here in this school?’ and then they can add on to it. So do they need to increase reading scores? Okay, how can we do that? Do we do it through a book night? Do we get books in the hands of every child? Do we have a reading night? Do we teach parents how to better connect with their children when reading to them to get them skills? And so I think it's looking at what the needs are and then how can PTA fill in those gaps through our volunteerism, through our community efforts.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. I think part of what happens is that there's a sense of community that's built through PTA and without a sense of community education doesn't really work. So I really can't imagine doing it without PTA and without the support of parents. Tell me about the organization at the state level. I think a lot of people may not understand exactly how that works.

Stacey Mollinet:
Okay. Well, we have an Executive Committee with a President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director of Membership, Director of Leadership, Director of Communications, Admin Rep, Teacher Rep. And all of these people work together. Advocacy Vice President,Region Vice President, all these people work together. We have Region Directors that represent every school district in the state. And we have commissioners. And the commissioners do tons of advocacy and bring resources to the parents. And we meet and train a lot. We do a lot of advocacy, and LeAnn can talk more about that. We bring these resources and this training to the local parents at each of the local schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think that one of the huge advantages of having PTA involved is that there's so much support. There's so much training. I've called you a couple of times, Stacey, on some issues, and every time the PTA President that we were working with had great training and knew exactly what to do. So it's a comfort to me as a Superintendent to know that there are these trainings and resources available for parents and for those who are officers in PTA. And I think that one of the great things is that there's just so much help out there for you. Now, you mentioned advocacy. We received in Utah an advocacy award on a national level. Tell me about that. LeAnn.

LeAnn Wood:
Well, one of our commissioners sent in an application and wanted people to nominate us and let them know what we were doing at the state level. And some of the things that he recognized as he shared our story was that we had helped, through a campaign, keep the nicotine levels and e-cigarettes at a very low percentage to help prevent substance abuse through our youth. And we were a big part of that in the state. Another thing he wanted to recognize through us, we actually got a resolution through the legislature last year to celebrate 125 years of PTA. This organization started in 1897, and we actually had two or three women from Salt Lake at that meeting in Washington DC that were there to start. Through the advocacy efforts at the national level, we have our juvenile justice laws, we have our hot lunch program, we have kindergarten. So for 125 years, this organization has sustained looking at what are the needs of our children. And so we just continue that work. So it was exciting to be recognized.

We put in a lot of hours. We have seven commissioners who are up at the capital throughout the entire session, and they're following bills that we advocate in terms of the whole child; safety, health, individual development, education. We have a legislative advocacy committee. We had over 40 parents sitting in a weekly meeting throughout the session last year, in the last spring session. Every week for two hours, over 40 parents listening to what bills were going to impact children and determining our positions on those bills. And so it was really this across the state effort of looking at what's happening and what are the decisions being made by our legislators or our school board members, and how can we make sure that the best things are happening for children. And so it was exciting that we got recognized for the work that we do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations. It's well deserved. I've watched you, as Advocacy Vice President, do a ton of great work at the state level. There's a lot of behind the scenes work that happens, and that's partially why I wanted to do this is so that people could see just some of the work that goes into providing that support. And I love the combination that PTA provides. There's great support at the state and national level for the work that you do. For running the finances to making sure that you're having an impact at your school. And then at the same time, the real impact is at the local school level as well. So there are all these different levels of which you can make an impact.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more on the positive impact of PTA and information about a big statewide PTA event that is expected to attract hundreds.

Break:
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Anthony Godfrey:
PTA's very positive. How does PTA help parents address concerns they may have at the school level?

LeAnn Wood:
PTA really promotes positive parent engagement. It's going through the right processes and having parents understand when I have an issue, who do I go to? You know, finding that solution closest to the problem. So we don't need a law if there's a problem in a classroom, we need a conversation with a teacher or principal.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I want to talk a little bit about the local level. Sometimes people are afraid that if they get involved in PTA, they're gonna suddenly be the president. What advice do you have for people who may be a little bit too hesitant to get involved at the local level?

Stacey Mollinet:
We need people with all time abilities, whether they can just join and not even help, or whether they can join and help just a little bit, or whether they can eventually become the president. And just because you join PTA doesn't mean you're gonna be the president of PTA. There's just a need for parents to get involved to know what's going on in their classrooms and with their students. Joining doesn't mean that you have to even volunteer, but we'd love to have volunteers. We need parents to be involved in their students' lives and in their classrooms.

Anthony Godfrey:
If you join, you don't have to volunteer. And if you volunteer, you don't have to be president. Even though the two of you started out small, as you described, nobody dragged you kicking and screaming to be the Utah State PTA President. That happens only by your own free will. So nobody's gonna force you into anything, but like you demonstrated, it does get pretty addictive when you see the impact that you can have.

Stacey Mollinet:
Yeah. It is so cool to be in there and see the aha moments of the kids as you're helping them with their times tables or you're helping them read a book. That's what's addictive, is coming back and helping again.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have had the chance throughout my life to see the impact of PTA. It's incredible. I went to a jog-a-thon just a couple of weeks ago, and it brought parents together. It brought students together. I got to have an Otter pop after the jog-a-thon. But more than anything, it raised money. It pulled people together. The way it was formatted, you were supposed to think of a hero that you're running for. I mean, it was great. There were so many great layers to the activity. And I still have the PTA award that I got when I was, I think six years old for a story that I wrote. It was printed out with a ditto machine. Many listeners won't know what that is. I'm not going to explain it to you. But it's been a positive impact for a long time. And I love the idea that you can just sign up. Anything you can do at any level is going to help. And if you do volunteer, it can just be one time or a little bit here and there. Just whatever you can do at the local level.

LeAnn Wood:
I think also just the membership gives you access to information. I remember talking to a teacher. I was at an event on a Saturday and I had been putting out some weekly updates of the session of education bills that were coming out. And this teacher commented, ‘Thank you so much for that information. You know, when I'm in the classroom, I really can't keep track of what's going on up at the capitol. So your weekly updates have just helped me understand what bills are going to impact students, what bills are going to impact teachers.’ And there's another teacher at this event, and she said, ‘Well, I haven't gotten that update. How do I get that update?’ And I said, ‘Well, what school are you at?’ It happened to be a non PTA school. And I said, ‘Oh, you know, I'm sorry. I don't have access to your teachers. I don’t have access. So I'm sending it to those people who are PTA members.’ And so I think it gives information that they are kind of being left out of just by being a member. You have access to great things that are happening across the state through our community partners. We have commissioners that I think, I counted up, were on over 35 committees statewide in areas of substance abuse, mental health protections. You know, all those things that you think, ‘oh, our kids are struggling with right now.’ We have someone that's got a seat at the table to talk about how we can help kids in that manner.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. There is a lot of great information if you're a member. So if, if someone isn't a member, what do they need to do to sign up?

Stacey Mollinet:
They can just go to utahpta.org/join, and there's a link there, and they can join their local PTA. They can contact their school, their office and ask how they can join or how they can get involved. And joining PTA is not just for moms. Some people think it's just for moms. But dads and grandparents also can join PTA and can get involved. Getting dads to come in the school, even just one day during the year, really makes a big impact on kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
Statistically, there is research that if dads show up at school, it makes a big impact for their child. I think that sometimes people maybe think too narrowly about what's happening with PTA. You mentioned it earlier, LeAnn, and you talked about it as well, Stacey. Just the breadth of things that are happening even at the school level, reading nights and books. It's not just about a fundraiser. There are so many things that are available to students because of PTA. Any number of times as a principal, I thought, ‘Okay, PTA, that's the way I can get help with this.’

LeAnn Wood:
I think another myth is sometimes I get told with my advocacy efforts, you know, stay in your lane. Meaning, you know, you're in your school only on education and our lane is children. And so whatever that means. So whether it's arts programs, whether it's, you know, substance abuse prevention, that is our lane, right? If it's going to help children, that's our lane.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, and that's what I have learned, especially since I've been involved at the state level, just how much work is done more broadly to help support children and support families. So congratulations on the award and on the great work that you've been doing behind the scenes because I know people are not thanking you enough for that. Speaking of advocacy, we have an event coming up that PTA members can be involved in that can really jumpstart advocacy efforts. So tell us about that, LeAnn.

LeAnn Wood:
All right. So on November 9th from 9:00-2:00, and it's actually being held here in Jordan School District, so we're excited. Thank you for offering your building up. They'll be at Mountain Ridge High School. We have our Annual Advocacy Conference. It's held every fall. And the thing I love about this conference is our commissioners have been attending all these meetings throughout the year, with our community partners, interim at the legislature, and they see what are the most critical needs of Utah's children right now. And then we bring in speakers and presenters to help parents understand what those needs are and maybe offer some solutions.

So our theme for this year is Strong Families Build Strong Students. And we know with research, when you have an engaged family, we have children who are in school, they're more likely to graduate, they have fewer absences, they have higher grades. Everything is better when our parents and our educators are working together. So if we can focus on Strong Families Build Strong Students, we're super excited.

We have two keynote speakers. I don't know if you're familiar with BYU TV's Relative Race. We have J.D. Barnes who was a contestant on that reality TV show. They take DNA and then they connect them to family they didn't know they had. And so here he never knew his biological family, and it was a way to connect to family members. And so he's going to talk about overcoming challenges through family connections, past and present. So talking about the family he grew up in and the new family he's met and how that has helped him in his life.

And then we have Dr. Ali Crandall from BYU coming. She's going to talk about what are ACEs, which are Adverse Childhood Experiences, and then what are Counter ACEs? So those things that we can kind of combat. We all have trauma in our life, you know, maybe it's little, maybe it's huge, but our children deal with things on a day to day basis. And so those are kind of those traumatic experiences. But what can we do? What preventions can we put in place in our families to help combat when bad things happen? And, you know, we've had the last two years, bad things happen, but how can we make them more resilient? How can we set them up for success? So I'm really excited about those two speakers.

And then we have six breakout sessions that people can choose from; Building Strong Families Through Family Engagement, Digital Wellness, Different Community Resources, Mental Health Strategies, Utah Education Standards. You know, when you're down at the kitchen table, do you know what your children are supposed to be learning? And can you talk to them about that? And then through Positive Civic Engagement. I know where we're in an election, how do we get our kids understanding the importance of voting when they become adults to becoming an educated voter. So I'm super excited and everyone's invited, it's not just for PTA members. It's $15, lunch is included, and I think it'll be a great day and you'll learn a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
$15 with lunch included is a bargain to say the least. How do people sign up?

LeAnn Wood:
Just through utahpta.org. They go on there, It's right on our front page, and they can click the register button.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the deadline for registration?

LeAnn Wood:
November 3rd.

Anthony Godfrey:
So almost right up to the event you can still sign up. So get signed up. It's gonna be a great event. PTA never does anything halfway, so it's gonna be awesome.

LeAnn Wood:
And there will be a virtual option. We're working on that. But if you can't come down to Herriman, it's a little far away for some of our outskirts, for $5 you can have access to the classes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Well, thank you very much for taking the time today and for all the hard work you do to elevate families, elevate children, and to help schools be at their best.

Stacey Mollinet:
Thanks.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are the driving force behind keeping a fleet of 276 Jordan School District school buses running safely and smoothly. It's National School Bus Safety Week, so we are going to take you to meet the mechanics. They are men and women who work behind the scenes under the hood, examining engines, testing brakes, inspecting tires, even repairing upholstery on some of the largest vehicles on the roadway. Find out how our amazing mechanics work day and night in some of the worst weather conditions to keep kids safe on the school bus.

We're here with Richard Birrell, the shop foreman here at Transportation, where maintenance is done on all of our school buses. Richard, thanks for taking some time.

Richard Birrell:
You're welcome. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is one of the jobs where people say, ‘Hey, what do you guys do all summer?’ There's a ton of work to be done in the summer to prepare for the school year and close out the previous one. Tell me what your summers look like.

Richard Birrell:
Our summers are just playing catch up, and finishing up with their services. Right now we're in the middle of doing three engines, so we're doing complete overhauls on three of the buses right now. Spring jobs, break jobs, we're going through everything. We went through every bus this year to make sure everything's ready to go again.

Anthony Godfrey:
And there are a lot of safety requirements and expectations, timing of inspections and maintenance work.

Richard Birrell:
Yeah. We make sure all the safety is up on every vehicle here, if it's due for safety emissions or whatever. We've done our emissions this summer. We don't stop. We're busy all year long,

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's a lot of work. How many buses do we have in our fleet, would you say?

Richard Birrell:
274 as of right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
And we have a few of those that are natural gas vehicles, right?

Richard Birrell:
114 of them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the maintenance of a natural gas vehicle versus a traditional engine.

Richard Birrell:
The only real difference is, they're basically the same engine, other than a natural gas has a set of spark plugs, so we have to do service on spark plugs. But other than that, turbochargers diesel is controlled by intake heat pressure and natural gas is controlled by gasoline, which would be a spark plug fire type situation. So the service on those is a little bit more, every 30,000 miles, but not bad.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how many people are there on your staff to maintain all those buses?

Richard Birrell:
We're nine right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nine of you?

Richard Birrell:
Nine of us.

Anthony Godfrey:
That is a large bus to employee ratio?

Richard Birrell:
Yes, we are one short of what we're supposed to have.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now is most of the work that you do maintenance, I assume, but there are some emergencies that happen as well?

Richard Birrell:
We do everything in this shop short of transmission work. We do body work, we do engines, we rebuild our own engines. We do frame up, we do springs, We do everything in here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Nine people.

Richard Birrell:
Nine people. I have certain people like this guy that works on this bay right here. He does suspension work. He loves doing it. It's heavy work, but he loves it, so we just let him do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Okay. Well, it's good to have some people who can specialize. Now, you've got a variety of types of buses also. Some buses that are designed to service those with special needs. And you have different different brands of buses as well, don't you?

Richard Birrell:
Correct. We have Blue Birds, Internationals, and Thomas's. We have special needs buses, which is one, like one behind you right here. Like I said, we have 114 natural gas buses. The rest are field trip diesels or pushers, which we call pushers, which is that size right there. We have three different brands. I have 18 years worth of seven different engines, 18 years worth of models on 'em. So we have a lot. We have to learn every year. Just like cars, they come out every year with new stuff on 'em. So yeah, we're constantly learning them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that sounds extremely complicated.

Richard Birrell:
We have to be able to know what we're doing so we can teach the drivers what they're doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Yeah, exactly. What is the toughest job in the shop here?

Richard Birrell:
Right now? Just maintaining the fleet.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Richard Birrell:
Just constantly keeping up on with what drivers are going on and constantly making sure things that need to come in here are getting in here and getting back out on the road.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are the hours during the school year? The hours of operation?

Richard Birrell:
We work from 5:30 in the morning till 5:30 at night. I have two crews, an early shift crew and a late shift crew. Early shift comes at 5:30 and they go home at 2:00, and my late shift comes in at 8:30 and they go home at 5:00. Then I have two lead mechanics that hang out till 5:30.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. You really cover the day.

Richard Birrell:
And I fill in all the blanks that are missing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And I know those blanks do come up. Wow. It's just really incredible the work that you have ahead of you for a small group. I am not mechanically inclined. So just looking at this engine right here seems very, very complex. And this is a unique kind of lift. This has gotta be a lift that's made specifically for school buses.

Richard Birrell:
Well, they make it for trucks and everything else. They're 18,000 pounds a piece. That's what their weight lift ability is. But because we have flat floors in here, this is the way we go with it. The new building put the inground lifts in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I see.

Richard Birrell:
They're all tied in together. So you just push one button and then they all raise at the same time and they all lower at the same time.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there's basically one tower by each of the four wheels and you push a button.

Richard Birrell:
I can take it right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Richard Birrell:
The power's on so I can raise it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it leans in and lifts that bus.

Richard Birrell:
Leans in and picks the whole thing up at the same time.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really something to see, huh?

Richard Birrell:
Well, it saves us. It saves a lot of time and effort on us.

Anthony Godfrey:
How much does a bus weigh?

Richard Birrell:
36,000 gvw’s on them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Richard Birrell:
Empty is about 24,000 a piece for 'em.

Anthony Godfrey:
Huh, interesting. How old are our oldest buses, would you say? You said that the grants are over about 17 years?

Richard Birrell:
Over 18 years. Because of the grants that we've gotten to buy natural gasses, we are at about 2008, 2009 is the oldest bus I have.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, those grants, when they come through, my understanding is you have to prove that the diesel bus is out of commission. You drill a hole through the engine.

Richard Birrell:
Yeah. We have to drill a three by three hole and we have to film it. So there's a three by three hole engine block, so it can't be resold, reused. We have to cut the frames in half, in the middle of the buses so the buses can no longer be used for frame worthy. So we have to film all that while we're doing, or after we do it, we film the whole thing and send it in. So, the bus can no longer be on the road. It has to be destroyed.

Anthony Godfrey:
So how long have you worked for Jordan School District?

Richard Birrell:
23 years now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And is this where you got started or did you work elsewhere as a mechanic?

Richard Birrell:
I worked through Thomas Lewis Transportation, selling Thomas school buses long before I came here. So I've been doing this about 33, 34 years now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Well, we're very glad to have you in Jordan District. It's a huge operation. Tell me, we're standing in the new transportation facility. It's been a couple of years now, but I've heard nothing but good things about the space that you now have to work in.

Richard Birrell:
We love this place here. We have 14 bays now total. So every mechanic has their own bay so they can get in and out by themselves. We're not in each other's way. We have plenty of room. We have a brand new welding shop in here so we can maintain and do our old welding, whatever we need to be done. We have a new paint booth, we have a body shop, we have a part-time body guy that takes care of that. And that’s a full-time job just taking care of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right? So the body shop and everything in between. Our previous facility was a lot smaller.

Richard Birrell:
We had a previous facility that was what they called the dome, or what we called the dome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it was the inflatable building.

Richard Birrell:
That’s correct. It was a lot smaller. Yes. When we worked in that, we had to coordinate moving all the buses in that we needed to work on, then moving everything out at the same time so we could concentrate back and forth. Because we only had one access door to get in and out of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Now with one door and not enough bays for everybody, I'm sure a lot of time was just taken up moving buses around.

Richard Birrell:
It was. That's why I said we coordinated. When we’re ready to move, we need to move everything, including what's in the middle, to get it out. So they can get in and out of there. And then they bring another bus in, then we can slide back in again. It took a lot of coordination to do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Well that seems like a good set up. I see with the hood of the school bus up, I see those horns.

Richard Birrell:
Those are air horns.

Anthony Godfrey:
Those are serious air horns there.

Richard Birrell:
Yes, they are. They make a good noise out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, buckle up while we take you through a really big bus wash.

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 life and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org

Anthony Godfrey:
Can we walk by one of the bays and just see what that looks like?

Richard Birrell:
Some of the bus bays? Sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
How much oil do you go through in this place?

Richard Birrell:
Quite a bit. We order every 500 gallons, probably twice a month.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Richard Birrell:
This bay here is done for my driver's ed vehicles, Suburbans, everything else. I have one mechanic dedicated strictly to this stuff. So he takes care of all driver’s ed vehicles and all the Suburbans we have.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now talk about hard miles. Those driver’s ed vehicles get some hard miles.

Richard Birrell:
They get a lot of damage to them.

Richard Birrell:
This is Kelly, one of my techs here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey Kelly, how are you doing?

Richard Birrell:
He's got a material list about a mile long on this one here. It started out with service, but he’s got a bunch of stuff going on with it too. So when they come into the shop here, when they're ready to go out the door, they're a hundred percent ready to go. Our philosophy here is, we have one more day to fix it if it takes that long because of what we haul everyday.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't send it out until it’s totally ready.

Richard Birrell:
Nothing's rushed. Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the most common problem that you see coming through on a bus?

Richard Birrell:
We haven't lost as many alternators as we used to. Alternators used to be an issue. Because of the EPA stuff that's on these buses, the DPFs and DEF systems, regen systems on them, we deal with a lot nowadays. For an over the road vehicle that does Highway 60-65, it works really well, but for everybody that does stop and go all day long, us, UPS, you name it, it's hard on the system. So we spend a lot of time working on them. Other than that it's services for most of it. Parts, radio, we go through radios and stuff like that. Like I said, he's building an engine right now. Just about ready on that one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's walk over there.

Richard Birrell:
Exhaust system. This building was built because of the natural gas. The one we're working on natural gas. If you ever develop a leak, natural gas is lighter than air. Our vent system goes on top and these, all these doors open up to vent everything out.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if natural gas is leaking, then the building vents itself and reacts to that.

Richard Birrell:
Yeah. Right. Natural gas is lighter than air, so it always dissipates above the buses. So if you see a natural gas bus, and I don't have one in here to show you, there's always a vent tube on the top. It'll go up in the air. So our exhaust fans are going up there and every one of these doors will open up to take care of that. So the building was built that way to handle that.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's important to note that we have enough buses that we can take our time on a bus and make sure that it's tiptop before it heads out of the garage. What would you say to parents and students?

Richard Birrell:
Our whole sole philosophy in this place is to make these buses as safe as possible to handle the kids that we handle every day. We know there's a lot of kids out there that we deal with. So our importance is safety on these buses.
Everybody asks us, do we take the summers off? No, we don't take the summers off.

Anthony Godfrey:
No. Summer's gotta be one of your busiest times.

Richard Birrell:
It is. Trying to get things back up.
I have my own upholster in here. She makes all our seat covers and stuff now. We just buy it in bulk and she makes everything in here.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I see those huge rolls of material. And then you've got boxes of various covers for different sized seats.

Richard Birrell:
Whatever fits your seat in here.

Anthony Godfrey:

What color is that? Like a slate gray? Is every seat the same color?

Richard Birrell:
They're all blue. Yeah, they're all blue. That's just inside of one. They all look like this on the inside.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Then blue on the outside, huh?

Richard Birrell:
We try to keep everything as conformed as possible because we have a lot of stuff to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
So as much as you can reduce the variation it increases your ability to do the job.

Richard Birrell:
We keep her pretty busy in here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I'm sure that you do.

Richard Birrell:
This is Scott. This is my parts guy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Scott.

Richard Birrell:
He spends half his life taking care of my problems.

Anthony Godfrey:
So how many different parts do we have coming through here, Scott?

Scott:
Thousands. I have thousands of parts every day. I do a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the toughest part to get these days?

Scott:
Tires.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's what Richard was saying.

Scott:
Tires are one of the most expensive items to get.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have they shot up in price?

Scott:
They have, yeah. They have. Steer tires run anywhere from $485 up to $500 each. That's why I recap 'em all of my front ones.

Anthony Godfrey:
So in addition to everything else we talked about, we have a shop that allows us to get everything we can out of every tire and every bus for as long as possible.

Richard Birrell:
We run a tire right now, we get an average of 60,000 miles on a tire, before they go bad on us. Then we'll send 'em out and get 'em recapped one time. Because usually by that time, the date on the tire's so old we can't recap 'em twice. If we recap a tire twice after that life cycle's done, the caps are sold to trucking industries or whoever would like to buy 'em. We don't run anything more than twice on these buses here.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you really make the most of everything we've got.

Scott:
Every mile. I license all the buses, I make sure they're all inspected. I do the fuel for the entire district. I see the fuel bill for the entire district, and I pay that.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's huge.

Richard Birrell:
That's extraordinary.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Scott:
That is extraordinary sometimes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Wow. Well, thank you for everything you do and for staying on top of this very complex job.
All right. So we're walking into the paint, collision and wash area.

Richard Birrell:
So I have room in here that I can put two buses in at a time for the body side. We just brought one back this afternoon that got wrecked today. We were really hoping to make it through one day, but it is what it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Day one.

Richard Birrell:
Day one. We have a complete paint booth that we do our own paint work in here.

Anthony Godfrey:
So just to clarify, it's just a little body work. Nobody's hurt.

Richard Birrell:
Nobody was hurt.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the name of school bus yellow? Is it school bus yellow?

Richard Birrell:
There's actually 11 kinds of school bus yellow.

Anthony Godfrey:
11 kinds of school bus yellow?

Richard Birrell:
So we have to do some matching. Well they call it all school bus yellow, but there's different shades of it. So I can't tell you every one of the 11 shades, he probably could, but I can't tell. But there are 11 different shades of school bus yellow.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. How about, I mean, isn't there like a fluorescent green you could order just to kind of mix things up a little bit?

Richard Birrell:
No, the federal government won't let me do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So all right. They tell you. 11 yellows is the range. That's it. That's all we got. All right. Fair enough. Richard Birrell:
This is the bus watch facility, but be careful, that'll shut off.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you start it up?

Richard Birrell:
I did, yeah. Walked past the eye. So the buses, they can come in here and pre-clean, wash the windshield, do everything they need to do. We don't let 'em clean the inside of their buses in here because we don't want to tie up. We have a lot of buses to get through here. They can come in pre-wash their windshields, backs and then go through the bus wash here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That is serious business. None of that would even touch my car as it drove through, except for the water. The brushes would be too far away.

Richard Birrell:
We've tried the cars and they don't work very well.

Anthony Godfrey:
It doesn't work in here.

Richard Birrell:
But it works great for the buses. And I got a guy in here that comes in the morning, opens this place up, makes sure everything's set up for the drivers, whatever they need. That door's unlocked during the daytime so they can come in here and get any kind of cleaning supplies they need in here to clean their buses every day. And then he'll come back in the afternoon to close it down.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have to compliment you on this, and I've walked through this place several times. It's always very clean and organized and orderly.

Richard Birrell:
Randy's a detailer. She's good at this.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Well, the whole shop looks great. Thanks very much for the tour. Thanks for taking the time. I know you're very busy. Thanks for keeping our kids safe and our buses on the road.

Richard Birrell:
Thank you. We do our best.

Anthony Godfrey:
You do great. Thank you very much.

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.