Author: communications

Sean Garrett:
This program is working and this is exactly what we designed it to be. Full-time firefighter EMTs for Unified Fire Authority that come from this program. All home grown.

Dalton Hendricks:
If you want to do this job, it's a really good opportunity to come here and further yourself and put yourself ahead of other people that also want that same job. Place just has so many of the aspects of the real job that we got to practice for two years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They were high school students already getting up close and personal hands-on experience at the Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers in their quest to become firefighters. On this episode of the Supercast, meet some recent Jordan School District graduates who spent this past summer on the front line, fighting wildland fires in Utah. Hear how they got a jump start on their careers in high school, enrolled in the JATC Fire Science Program. Find out what advice they have for current students eager to don their turnout gear and start their own careers as firefighters after graduation.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are here at the Jordan Academy for Careers and Technology at the South Campus, talking with the Fire Science and EMT Program Coordinator. Go ahead and introduce yourself.

Sean Garrett:
Yeah, my name is Sean Garrett, and I am the Coordinator for the Fire Science and EMT Program at JATC out here at the South Campus. I'm a full-time firefighter with the Unified Fire Authority and with just under 19 years full-time experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
You were here previously and now you're back. Tell us about that. You were part of the original program.

Sean Garrett:
That's correct. So I actually graduated high school in 2002 at Riverton High myself and took this class there. It was just called South Jordan Fire Science. It was taught at the South Jordan Fire Department Station 61 at that time. Then with all the changes to districts and everything else, the Jordan School District didn't have a program for a number of years. It was 2012-13, and the principal at the time, Jason Skidmore, reached out to us because we had an internship program that we were running in the Valley for all the work-based learning and CTE students, and he wanted to start a Fire Science Program. So that's all she wrote. So myself and a few others built the program, put the curriculum together, and we started teaching at the North Campus and that first class was 2013.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to talk to some former students now who are firefighters. Talk to me about that.

Sean Garrett:
So I'm staring at them right now and, you know, these three buttheads, they were high school students here. I believe it was two years ago. Those kids were successful in this program. They graduated high school, moved on to our Camp Williams seasonal wildland program, worked on getting, finishing, testing, getting their EMT certification. Then once they had their two years seasonal, they ended up hiring on full time with UFA. Right before I came out here as a coordinator, I was a fire training specialist so I also got to be one of their lead instructors for their 16-week recruit school that they had when they hired on full time. So we brought them back here. They're, you know, obviously not just the story piece for sure, the recruiting piece, but just this program is working and this is exactly what we designed it to be. It was to give us these three over here that's standing over to your right. Like that's what we're supposed to have. Full time firefighter EMTs for Unified Fire Authority to come from this program, all homegrown.

Anthony Godfrey:
What a huge benefit to them and their families and to the community at large.

Sean Garrett:
And to be 20 years old and to start this career is, you know, it's not for the faint of hearts. It's hard on your body. It's hard on your mind. So, to start early on like that and to have a healthy 25-year career and get out of it with a pension and enjoy your life, like there's so many, so many takeaways from starting early and getting after it while you can, especially programs like this just taking advantage of the opportunities that are given.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it all comes down to the instructors. So thank you for making this opportunity possible.

Sean Garrett:
They're the ones that do the work, but 100%.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with three former students who are now firefighter EMTs. It's very exciting to have you here today. Just introduce yourselves and tell us about your current situation, where you are.

Dalton Timothy:
My name is Dalton Timothy. I graduated in 2023 from Mountain Ridge High School and attended JTech here for two years. I currently work with Unified Fire Authority and I'm all over the valley working on all the stations.

Carson Russell:
I'm Carson Russell, a firefighter EMT with Unified Fire Authority. I've been doing that for about a year. Currently right now I am all over the valley. I don't quite have a station to call my home yet. I graduated from Mountain Ridge High School in 2023 and did JTech for two years.

Dalton Hendricks:
My name is Dalton Hendricks. I am a firefighter EMT with Unified Fire Authority as well. I'm currently just roaming around all of the stations. I graduated in 2022 at Riverton High School and I attended JATC for my junior and senior year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me what it means when you are part of Unified Fire but you are not assigned to a specific station. How does all of that work?

Dalton Hendricks:
So how it works is you bid for stations and right now we don't currently have a bid. So that just means they fill you in at wherever they need a firefighter EMT, which is our rank right now. So, wherever somebody needs help then they will just fill us in. That's how that really goes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you've worked on some wildfires. Talk to me about what you've been doing out there.

Dalton Hendricks:
So currently this year I was just on the Forsyth Fire down in Pine Valley. We were down there for 14 days. The work that we put in down there was pretty labor-intensive. We did a little bit of everything in the wildland world. We dug some hand line in the dirt. We put some water on some fire. And on top of that we also did some structure protection. So just wrapping structures, spraying them with water, making sure the fire didn't impact them at all.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you wrap them in? Aluminum foil normally.

Dalton Hendricks:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll do aluminum foil. We'll set up sprinklers on the roofs and stuff. So yeah, just stuff like that just to protect them.

Carson Russell:
You do a lot of mitigating around properties too as well in wildland. And we do that a lot here throughout the valleys. Just cutting down trees around, brushing, and getting rid of those things that could cause the house to spark up. Just to protect it a little more for those harsh conditions.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you talked about the digging that you do. What does that look like?

Carson Russell:
It's depending on the fuel type. So it could be from 8 to 6 inches and you're just getting down to mineral soil. So you're just getting all the duff and the grass kind of out of that way so that the fire has a place that it will kind of stop if there's nothing else to burn basically.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what it has been like to be assigned to your first fire after completing all of your training here and being hired as a firefighter.

Carson Russell:
It's pretty cool. Your body kind of goes into this, “I know what to do, and I know my role.” And then your kind of mind shuts off a little bit and you just go back to your training and kind of do what you remember. And then the wow factor just comes after. I just went into a house that was on fire and did exactly what I was supposed to and everything I needed to do, and got the fire out.

Anthony Godfrey:
You say that pretty casually. “I went into a house that was on fire.” That is the sentence I've never said. So you really do get into a mode where your body is just saying, "Alright, here we go. This is what we do."

Carson Russell:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're not really evaluating. You're just doing what you know to do.

Carson Russell:
And there's always the little voice in your head that says, "Oh, make sure you're checking for this. Make sure you're doing this." And so you're still kind of with it, but your body just feels like it just knows what to do.

Dalton Hendricks:
Yeah, the first fire, once you kind of get out, there's a part of you that you have that moment where you're like, "Oh, this is happening." And then once you get there, it just becomes a task and you're just going at it step by step on what we're doing now to then what the next project is to what we're doing here. And eventually the fire's on. You're like, "That just happened." That's kind of crazy.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then you process all that for a long time after that.

Dalton Hendricks:
And you tell stories.

Carson Russell:
It's definitely for the first time because we go throughout training and we have props out at the fire training in Magna where we practice fires all day long. And you get used to—

Anthony Godfrey:
Out of the tower.

Carson Russell:
Out of the tower. You get used to those props. You're still doing the training and everything, but you go into these houses you've never been into before and it's completely blacked out inside. And you can't really see. You just have to rely on your instincts and your training that you went through to locate the fire and put it out. Yeah, it's definitely a whole other world.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you look back at your first fire and you think about your time here at JATC, did it give you the foundation you needed to be successful?

Carson Russell:
Yeah, it definitely was a start on the basics and when you get in those high stress moments when you're in that house fire where you can't see, you just got to go back to your basics. And it just becomes just like a habit. You don't really think about putting your jacket on in the morning. So when you do all these repetitions here at J-TEC and you keep doing that throughout your career, it really just becomes second nature.

Dalton Hendricks:
You're doing a lot of the stuff that you're doing out at the training tower, which we did for three months. You're putting on gear. You're getting on air. You're doing search drills. So you're following the hose. When you can't see inside of a house, you have one thing you can follow, and that's the hose. So if you don't know your way out, you can follow the hose.

Anthony Godfrey:
Follow the hose. Okay.

Dalton Hendricks:
We did a lot of that stuff here. We did search drills. We had a fire engine that we could practice on and do training. We pulled the hose off the engine, flowed the water out of it, just like the real thing. And we have a forceful entry door here. We have to force our way into houses. This place just has so many of the aspects of the real job that we got to practice for two years. When we went into fire training, we already knew how to put on our gear. We already knew how to do it in time. We knew a bunch of aspects. If you want to do this job, it's a really good opportunity to come here and further yourself and put yourself ahead of other people that also want that same job.

Anthony Godfrey:
A really strong head start. Fantastic. I'm so grateful for what all of you are doing. And I'm really glad that you came through this program and that you're out there keeping our community safe. So I am excited to continue to watch your careers grow. And thank you very much for taking time today. Thank you.

Dalton Hendricks:
Thank you.

Carson Russell:
Thank you for having us.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with one of the current students in our Fire Science Program. Tell me your name, introduce yourself, and tell me what interested you in being part of this program.

Jaden:
I'm Jaden. I've been interested in this for like a while. I've been wanting to be a firefighter since I was a kid. And my dad, he works in the military, and they have to like do fire operations there. And I just thought it was super cool. And I just thought I should be a part of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you were interested in this from an early age. And has your dad, as part of his military service, been a part of fire operations?

Jaden:
Yeah. He like really like lately, he's been sending me videos of him putting out fires on a truck. I just think it's super cool. Because he mainly did like the military stuff back then. He like showed me. And now he's like being more a part of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does it feel to him that you're in this Fire Science Program?

Jaden:
He thinks that I'm working a lot harder than he did back in high school. He thinks it's way better.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I like the sound of that. That you're working hard. There's a lot of discipline involved in this program. Talk to me about what that feels like.

Jaden:
So like in the mornings, we have to go in and they have to check our whole uniforms. We have to stand perfectly. There can't be any hairs, and they can dock us points for that. And like you can't be slacking like when we're pulling hose or doing anything. Because that can also dock you points and they will deal with you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about some of the lessons that you're already taking from this, about yourself, and just about life in general.

Jaden:
It's having me look like more forward. And not like kind of just like go by. You know and try to like make up my future instead of just let it happen.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're a little more intentional about things and more thoughtful about what you want to do next. And what is that?

Jaden:
I think wildland. I plan on applying for this summer. It seems really fun. I hope I can deal with these guys. Whatever works.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that's some specialized training for wildfires.

Jaden:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that takes place in the summer following this program. Do you think you want to be a firefighter perhaps?

Jaden:
Yeah. I think, I mean especially like I was saying with my dad. It goes from that and it just moves on up to Hazmat and all that. And I think I just want to keep going up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Well congratulations and I'm eager to see what happens next for you.

Jaden:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with the firefighters trained at the Jordan Academy for Technology and Career.

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

Female Voice:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian, commercial pilot, programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education, CTE, in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or for a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the kids' marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District, visit cte.jordandistrict.org today, and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of students who've continued with the career and even those who haven't, they learn skills that are going to help them through the rest of their lives.

Sean Garrett:
Yeah, for sure. Being an instructor here, for the number of years that I was and then now being the lead coordinator here, we're definitely, with the Unified Fire Authority, we're trying to home grow our future firefighters for sure. But the program itself, just the structure, the discipline, the teamwork, the social interaction with your classmates and everything else, we're teaching these kids skills that they can use in anything that they do. That's what we're really looking to do, just change a person's attitude towards something that they want. But definitely the goal is to yield people that come through our part-time programs and then eventually get hired full-time. And there are, I wish I knew, even that class we talked about, 2013, the OG back to back to Jordan School District Fire Science class. Sterling Smith was a student in that class and now he, not only is he a full-time firefighter and a promoted engineer, he finished this class, went to work at Camp Williams as a wildland firefighter. And now full circle, he's one of the instructors that I use out here to teach these kids. And the reason we have a complement of instructors is just when we do hands-on skills, we want to keep a ratio of instructors to students just because of the stuff that they do that's physical, just for the safety aspect of stuff. Same thing with the EMT, it's run through the State Bureau of EMS and you have to have a six to one ratio when you have skills. So we have a complement of, I think, 24 instructors throughout the three platoons from UFA. We typically have anywhere from one to three of them here with me every day, depending on what we're teaching that day. So, yeah, Sterling was from class one. Right behind us as we're talking, you can't see it, obviously, with those are part tags from students of the past.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah, I see that.

Sean Garrett:
That was something that was kept up every year. And then probably say about four years ago, I think it just kind of, something kind of fell off the table. Now, being back to this, I think that we'll kickstart those traditions.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a great representation of just a part of the impact that you're able to have. As you've worked with students over the years, and I know you experienced this yourself, do you find that they discover abilities and a disposition within themselves that they didn't know was there?

Sean Garrett:
100%. And that's one of the coolest things about this, regardless of if these kids end up being firefighters or not. Being able to see the nerves on day one and just the unsure. And there's also that intimidation factor, too. Like you get, you know, it's a kid that thinks that this is something that they want to do so they're here or they were unsure and they found their name on a registration piece of paper. And they're talking about, you know, we're doing PT assessments and pushups and sit ups and we do physical activity with these guys every morning. But you're looking, you know, the person on your right or left and it's some big kid that plays for the football team for their high school and there's that intimidation factor. But the way we go about stuff is there's not one way to do any of these skills and we work with them and we really don't, we don't care how many, you know, pushups you can do day one. You know, if you can't do them, we just, we just care that at the end of the day we got better. So you watch these kids progress through the quarters and through the semesters and at the end of the year, just the brother and sisterhood that they have with their classmates and just the confidence that they build themselves.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's worth it for sure. That kid's it's pretty rad to see. How does it feel when you see students become firefighters and instructors and become, like you said, become a homegrown addition to the profession?

Sean Garrett:
There's a lot of emotions. I mean, for sure it's like this. It's this it's this proud feeling because that was a lot of us came from programs like this. And we knew how much it meant to us when we were 17, 18, 19 years old and what it did for us now having a career in the fire service and how it's provided for me and my family and how it's given me a whole other family. So to see these guys go through and get hired, it's a sense of pride for sure. Like it was what it was designed to do, you know, bringing this program back in 2013. You know, this is this is what it's supposed to do. Yeah, this is what we're supposed to happen. You know, this is it's homegrown. It feels good. A lot of hard work goes into it. You know that they worked hard to get it. And a lot of emotions, but proud would be the word that I would use for sure. And a senior, the year that this started back up, would now be 30 years old. I mean, it's pretty it's pretty crazy to think about how fast time goes by and how quickly that that positive impact spreads. It, you know, we were just we use this building, our department, just the other night for a promotional ceremony. And there were a few people that had some speeches and you blink and it goes by. And like even now, you know, I'm hanging out every day with with my group of instructors that some of which I've hired on with some of some of them came from this class. Like you were saying, Sterling. And, you know, he's not only was I as high school teacher, but now, you know, he's he's a co-worker of mine and he's married, has three kids. Like it's wild. And it does. It just goes by so fast. It feels like it takes eons when you're in the middle of it. But then when it's all done and you look back, it just seemed like it wasn't that long ago at all.

Anthony Godfrey:
The time just disappears. What sparked your interest in this initiative?

Sean Garrett:
So I'm actually fourth generation firefighter. So my great-grandfather was a captain for Salt Lake City Fire. His two boys were both firefighters and has met specialists for Salt Lake City Fire. My grandfather is my mom's dad worked for the department that I work for, which was then Salt Lake County, now Unified Fire. He retired in 1999. My uncle was he's retired now, but worked with me at Midvalle Fire and Unified Fire.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Sean Garrett:
And here I am. I still have a cousin that's a battalion chief for Salt Lake City. And his boy also works as a firefighter for Salt Lake City. And then my son is a senior in this Fire Science and the class.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that is a really exciting family tradition and I'm grateful that Jordan District is a small part of that. So thank you for everything you're doing to keep our community safe and to help bring out the best in our students.

Sean Garrett:
I appreciate the opportunity and I'm here to work. And I have a huge passion for what it is that I do, which is all about people and helping people and solving problems. And if people, as long as people are showing up, I'll show up and continue to show them how to do it.

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

Sean Garrett:
Thank you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music)

Graham:
Today is the fourth annual Dia de los Muertos activity at Valley High School.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is experiential learning at its best and I would suggest that these are some of the most memorable experiences that students will have. Who are some of the people that you're honoring and remembering today personally?

Sylvia:
Celebrating my grandparents, two aunts, one uncle, and a student who passed in April.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a long time tradition at Valley High School, thanks to the hard work and dedication of two incredible staff members. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Valley High's Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos celebration, a touching and colorful commemoration, remembering lost loved ones through family photos, favorite foods, and much more. At Valley, it's also an opportunity for students who participate to benefit academically through the school's credit recovery program.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at Valley High today. It's a Friday and we're talking with Graham about what happens on Fridays at Valley. Graham is a friend of the Supercast. Graham, talk us through why we're here and what's going on.

Graham:
Well, Valley High School is a very special place that we are actually celebrating our 50th anniversary, kind of, sort of. Fifty years of graduations, 50 years of serving students and ensuring that we are helping as many kids get across that finish line as possible. I do not know the exact year that Friday activities started, but Friday activities kind of serve this purpose of bringing students into our building, giving them an opportunity to recover credits that they have previously not earned for a variety of reasons, engaging them in some sort of creative, fun, good activity, giving them some nuggets of knowledge, bringing them together, and helping them get that step closer towards graduation. It is one of the most important things that we do here at the school. Because of our schedule four days a week, teachers will volunteer their time, sell packets, create these experiences that are only as limited as our imagination and willingness as teachers.

Anthony Godfrey:
And experience is the right word for it. This is experiential learning at its best. I would suggest that these are some of the most memorable experiences that students will have as part of their secondary education. Just being able to delve deeply into some very meaningful opportunities.

Graham:
It is the most important part of everything that we do. Some of these students have not had experiences that have been very positive with schools, and they haven't had as much fun as they should have been having. So being able to really center everything that we do around bringing them in, having fun, giving them something that is going to serve them, and then pushing them towards where they need to get to. It's the best part of the job.

Anthony Godfrey:
Elective credit is an important part of it, but it's an enriching experience. That's what I think of most of all.

Graham:
Exactly. And we create and we write these packets so we can do any sort of credit that the teacher is licensed for. We align it to standards and we get to do so in a way that isn't just textbooks, lecture, it's projects, it's field trips, it's fun.

Anthoy Godfrey:
And it's not just showing up. There's work expected beyond Friday of students in order to earn the credit. But this is the interactive aspect of it that really makes it stick. Makes it sticky and makes it something that students will retain for a long time.

Graham:
And beyond even just retaining, it makes them want to be a part of school more.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. It's motivating.

Graham:
Exactly. Because they can't do Friday activities if they're not passing. They can't have these opportunities if they're not doing what they need to do to be getting towards their goals. This is a privilege for them, but it is the most fun part of the job.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's rocket fuel. That's what it is.

Graham:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us what today's activities focused on.

Graham:
Today is the fourth annual Dia de los Muertos activity at Valley High School. It started a couple years ago with a different teacher. People have kind of come and gone and we just keep on building this activity on top of itself every year. It started with a small group of students, and now we have the ability to offer this to over 100 students, which is about 30 percent of our entire student population at the school. Every year during the week, we set up the "ofrenda" and we place photographs of our loved ones that have passed, of animals that have passed, or the people that matter to us. We come together. It is the most emotional part of this activity, seeing the people that we care about and the people that we honor in our buildings. Students, grandparents, spouses, children, and we dedicate a large amount of our space to this, and we keep this up because this is the important thing. It is not inherently just about what we want to do, what we're thinking about. It is honoring everyone in the building, everyone that has helped and supported this place, everyone that has brought everyone in this building to where we are at, and provided us the ability to serve or to learn or to have the opportunities that we have in life. So this is a very meaningful day for a lot of people in this building. And being able to offer credits to students who need those opportunities is just the cherry on top. But this is a day that is about so many things that are bigger than just us, and being able to serve the students is far and beyond the most important thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there someone you're honoring and remembering today?

Graham:
I have grandparents, friends, and students.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you, Graham. Thank you for making this possible for all of these students, and it will be memorable for everyone involved.

Graham:
It always is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you.

Eva:
Welcome to our "Dia de los Muertos ." For those of you who don't know me, my name is Eva. I've been teaching here at Valley for a while, six or seven years. We are going to, in this activity, explore the deep roots of this particular holiday with the symbols and the food and the music, and we are thrilled that you are here to participate in it. We have an amazing crew that has been here nights. We've been cooking for two days. Sylvia Wilkerson. Erica Hernandez, who is our nursery manager, is an artist who put together all of our ofrenda, your photo booth, the backdrop for our speakers and musicians that's in the lecture hall. We're going to start with the pan de morto. They're going to explain what that's about, why it's important, and we're going to share breaking bread together. Breaking bread together is an extremely ancient way of being a part of a community and acknowledging our common human needs and our communal understanding of each other.

Owner, Cakes by the Bakery:
Thank you guys so much, Valley High School, Eva and Sylvia and Erica, for continuing this relationship with Cakes by Edith. My sister and I, we are owners of a bakery called Cakes by the Bakery, and we're a Mexican family-owned bakery. So we focus on a lot of pastries and traditional breads that we make throughout the year, this being one of the most popular ones. This one is called "Pan de Muerto," which translates to "Bread of the Dead," in celebration of Dia de los Muertos. I don't know how much you guys know about Dia de los Muertos, but it's a really big, . . .  I think one of the biggest holidays that Mexican culture celebrates, and it's a day or a couple of days to celebrate and honor your loved ones. So once again, thank you guys.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Angelica, a student at Valley High School. Angelica, who are you honoring today?

Angelica
I have family members and I have friends that passed away. They were all very sweet, and they were always just a good person in your life.

Anthony Godfrey:
So when you think about these people that we've lost, what does that make you think about your own life?

Angelica:
That you really have to value every moment because you never know what can happen the next day, because you’re never promised if you're going to wake up in the morning.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have to make the most of the time you have.

Angelica:
Yep, makes every moment count.

Anthony Godfrey:
The impact they had in your life is the same type of impact you can have in the lives of others.

Angelica:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Jose, who is a former student of Valley. Nice to meet you, Jose.

Jose:
Nice to meet you. I'm coming here to help teach about Dia de los Muertos, about some of the historical significance and the significance behind the different kinds of symbolism from the bread of the dead, for example.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about some of the people that you are honoring and remembering on Dia de los Muertos.

Jose:
We recently lost my grandmother, so that is someone that is heavy in my heart, that we are also honoring at home within our memorial. We also have lost other members of the family in the past, like my mother's uncle. That's someone who we hold close and dear. And other than that, we thankfully have been blessed not to lose many members of our family.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for talking with me. It's nice to meet you. It's exciting to hear the positive impact Valley has had on you, and I wish you well on your continuing education journey.

Jose:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with Valley High School's Day of the Dead.

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

Female Voice:
They're out on the job in the rain, sleet, snow, ice, and in the sunshine. As Jordan School District students navigate their way to and from school every day, we are truly grateful for our city crossing guards, always vigilant and looking out for students to ensure everyone's safety. Because they work so hard protecting our kids, let's give those crossing guards a hand. If you're driving near or around schools, slow down, pay attention, watch for students and staff, and follow instructions from the school crossing guards, and know our cities are always looking to hire crossing guards. If you like kids and need some flexible hours, contact your local city and apply to be a crossing guard today. Together, let's make this a safe and successful school year.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking with Sylvia and Erica at the heart of Dia de los Muertos today. Thank you very much for talking with us.

Sylvia:
Sure, thank you.

Erica:
Thanks for coming. Yes, thank you. This means a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think this is a really exciting activity just because of the deep personal meaning this has for every individual involved. Tell us about Dia de los Muertos for those who may not know exactly what this tradition means.

Sylvia:
So the celebration, we celebrate the lives of those that we have loved, whether they're family members or pets, friends, some of our students that have passed. And we just remember them because we believe that death is part of life, the circle of life. And as long as we don't forget those that we love, and we actually dedicate a specific date. It's focused on them and the memories we have of them.

Anthony Godfrey:
What have you seen this mean to the students of Valley as this has happened over the years?

Erica:
They have loved it. Every single time we've done it, they have always liked to, when we're getting all the decorations and everything together, they have always loved to help and just be part of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Who are some of the people that you're honoring and remembering today personally?

Erica:
My father, my grandfather.

Sylvia:
I'm celebrating my grandparents. Two aunts, one uncle, and a student that passed in April.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what the display is and how that helps us remember those who have passed on. For those who can't see this beautiful display here.

Sylvia:
First of all, it's not a religious. It has no connection to religion. But in one way or another, we need to dedicate some time just to reflect on who they were to us. And also, we like to sit around, have dinner on Dia de los Marcos, and eat the food that they loved. So that's why we dedicate one day of the year, not saying that we don't talk or remember them any other year. For example, the flowers. We believe that the aroma of the flowers guides their spirits to come see us and give us some comfort. We believe that the light, the candles and stuff, represent the light that they need to come to us and then to go back.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a beautiful way of expressing a connection to those who have passed on. And what I see is lots of marigolds. Is that what they are?

Sylvia:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Marigolds in bright orange and yellow strewn along the floor with candles lining each side and with butterflies on the floor. Tell me about the symbolism of the butterflies.

Sylvia:
The butterflies, they're the monarch butterflies. There's a town in Mexico that on Dia de los Muertos, where whatever day it is, whether it's a Monday or a Wednesday, they get to that town. And so it's always on Dia de los Muertos. You just see them. And we believe that there is a, you know, we like to associate the butterfly with the spirit of the person. And, you know, that it's free to come see us and just the sign that they love us just as much as we love them.

Anthony Godfrey:
I didn't expect to come to the podcast today and think about my own friends and relatives who have passed, but... Thank you for helping me remember them.

Sylvia:
We would love to invite you and the people that work with you to send us pictures, and we would be more than honored to add the pictures to our celebration.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you for helping me remember them, and I will do that in the future. I will send you pictures.

Sylvia:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you so much. This has been a really...

Sylvia:
No, thank you. Really, thank you for taking time out of your schedule because we know that, you know, you had other things to do, but this really does mean a lot to our community. Our students, just to know that you are here in the building.

Erica:
Yes.

Sylvia:
And I don't know if you know this, but we have a few parents that have volunteered. They volunteered to bring us food, too, because they want the younger generations to not disconnect themselves from traditions.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for providing this opportunity. It's very important, and we'll be back.

Erica:
Thank you.

Sylvia:
We are so excited. We're happy to see you. And this is our fourth year, and I think it grows every year.

Erica:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful. Thank you so much.

Both:
Thank you.

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. Bye-bye.

Stacie Thompson:
They were bred for a job.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what job was that?

Stacie Thompson:
To protect the farms, but they also are very well known for working together to hunt lions.

Anthony Godfrey:
The name Rhodesian Ridgeback sounds intimidating. There's a reason for that.

Stacie Thompson:
Yes. Currently, I think they're only feared by my couch.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. When she's not in the classrooms of her school caring for kids, one assistant principal has a unique passion and you could say she's having a doggone good time pursuing that passion. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Elk Meadows Elementary School, where we meet up with Stacie Thompson and her Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. Find out why this educator loves showing her prized possessions at dog shows everywhere and what it takes to bring home the title of Best in Show or Best in Breed.

Anthony Godfrey
We're talking today at Elk Meadows with the assistant principal who happens to be a big dog fan and a prize winner when it comes to her dogs. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you're up to with these dogs.

Stacie Thompson:
I'm Stacie Thompson and I show and breed Rhodesian Ridgebacks. We enter AKC events both in the ring for confirmation and on the field for lure coursing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stacie, I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I have two dogs that are neither shown nor prize-winning at all, unless there were prizes for barking at the door at 3.30 in the morning or things like that, you know.

Stacie Thompson:
There could be.

Anthony Godfrey:
There could be. There really should be. Now, let's talk first of all about the breed, the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Rhodesia is a country, or was a country, with a very unpleasant past. So tell me about the Rhodesian Ridgeback name.

Stacie Thompson:
So they are an African dog and they do hail from formerly Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe. But they were bred for a job.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what job was that?

Stacie Thompson:
To protect the farms, but they also are very well known for working together to hunt lions.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, OK. So, when the name Rhodesian Ridgeback sounds intimidating, there's a reason for that. OK. All right. Protecting the farm and working together to hunt lions. If you hunt lions, then you're something to be feared, I would say.

Stacie Thompson:
Yes. Currently, I think they're only feared by my couch. They want to spend their time there.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. All right.

Stacie Thompson:
Yes. That was their original job.

Anthony Godfrey:
I did get a glimpse of them as we walked in and he looked very charming, not very, not very intimidating.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
But that was because he was under your command. So I'm sure that if I met him in a dark alley, I might think otherwise.

Stacie Thompson:
He's a sweet guy.

Anthony Godfrey:
He's a sweet guy, I'm sure.

Stacie Thompson:
I got my first Ridgeback 13 years ago, and I still have her.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good.

Stacie Thompson:
Then Zero is 10 and I have Izzy has just turned seven and my puppy just turned two. And that's Scarlett. We have her here today.

Anthony Godfrey:
Which leads me to the next question. So there are four Ridgebacks in your home. How many dogs are there in your home?

Stacie Thompson:
Four.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. So how many legs total in your home?

Stacie Thompson:
Too many.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's two for you, 16 for them. That's a lot of legs.

Stacie Thompson:
That's a lot of legs.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a lot of legs. Are they far from you or do they always want to be right by you?

Stacie Thompson:
They're a little bit different. They I would say they like to be in the same room, definitely. But they're comfortable being across the room as long as they can have eyes on you. And then sometimes they just love a good cuddle.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. That's a big cuddle from what I saw as I walked by.

Stacie Thompson:
It's like a big hug.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a big hug. That's fantastic. Tell me about what it means to breed and to show these dogs. What does that look like for you day to day?

Stacie Thompson:
So we enter AKC events where we show our dogs to a judge and usually in a weekend, you'll show to more than one judge. You're just there to get the professional opinion of the judge that your dog has been bred correctly and shows the correct standards for our breed and is worthy of continuing forward with a gene pool and breeding.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the characteristics of this particular breed that a judge would be looking for?

Stacie Thompson:
They look for like a combination of their conformation. So, we're looking for a strong shoulder assembly, an athletic dog.

Anthony Godfrey:
I've always wanted a strong shoulder assembly. I've never really had it.

Stacie Thompson:
A dog that drives from the rear.

Anthony Godfrey:
That drives from the rear?

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah, so they're rear wheel drive. So not fancy but athletic. So they're pushing as they reach and drive because they're an athletic breed. And if they're going to protect the farm, they need to be able to run all day.

Anthony Godfrey:
What else are they watching for? What else are the judges wanting to see?

Stacie Thompson:
Well, automatically our breed disqualification. So the Rhodesian Ridgeback has a hallmark of our breed. and that is that it has two cowlicks that are at the base of their neck on their shoulders. That forces the hair to grow in the opposite direction down their spine. Hence, that's why they're called a ridgeback.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the hair is growing upstream against all the other hair?

Stacie Thompson:
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, well we'll get a look at that in a few minutes.

And so if we don't have that, then that would disqualify us as being correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
But it's not properly bred, I see.

Stacie Thompson:
Then they're just looking for the rest, as far as like our dogs should be longer than they are tall, and they should have a certain kind of shape to them and movement to them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, all right. So, if you are in a competition, is it only showing and looking at the characteristics? Or are your dogs like jumping over the little bar and running around through the cones and all that stuff?

Stacie Thompson:
So an AKC confirmation event is only, it's kind of like a beauty concept.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a beauty pageant. Okay, wow. All right. That may all make sense now. What's his platform? World peace or what is it exactly?

Stacie Thompson:
Maybe more food.

Anthony Godfrey:
More food? Okay. That's a good platform. That makes sense.

Stacie Thompson:
So that's an AKC confirmation event. If you are doing—

Anthony Godfrey:
World hunger. That's the platform.

Stacie Thompson:
World hunger, there you go.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, okay.

Stacie Thompson:
If we're doing going through the sticks and over the jumps, that's called agility.

Anthony Godfrey:
Agility.

Stacie Thompson:
We can also compete in that. Then if they're competing for obedience, that's obedience or rally. And then if they are competing on the field, which is something only sighthounds can do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Not—

Stacie Thompson:
Not just any hound but a sighthound. So a sighthound is a nose.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I see. But the Ridgeback is a sight.

Stacie Thompson:
Um hum.

Anthony Godfrey:
So they see the lion. They don't smell the lion. Well, they also smell it, but they work on sight.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah, they're very prey-driven by sight. So that's a dog like a whippet or a greyhound. They're going to compete in this event. And it's just in the field where they have a motor and a pulley system. And the dogs will chase--it's a plastic bag. But it's supposed to simulate a rabbit.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see.

Stacie Thompson:
And they'll chase it sprinting between 600 and 900 yards.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it boring to chase a plastic bag rabbit when you're used to chasing lions?

Stacie Thompson:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
Or are they happy to do that still?

Stacie Thompson:
Well, since they haven't been to Africa in a while, I think they're pretty happy to chase a plastic bag.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. Very good. Let's talk about all of these ribbons, these awards. This is quite an array and I will say, whenever an AKC competition is on TV, I cannot turn the channel. I cannot look away. I have to watch it through to the end because it's fascinating to watch the competition. So, tell me about all of these awards.

Stacie Thompson:
So these awards are just various awards that the dogs have gotten over the years. Some of them are from confirmation. Some of them are for coursing. So the ones that say lure coursing, those are field events. The red, white, and blue is what's called Best in Field. So they compete against other Ridgebacks and then if they win against the Ridgebacks, then they compete against the winners from all the other breeds. Once that happens, then they can be Best in Field. So Zero, my dog, has been best in field twice, which means that he ran against Whippets and Greyhounds and Salukis and Afghans and was able to win those days. So, it was a lucky day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Even Salukis. Wow. Very cool. I just pretended to know what a Saluki is. So that's really fun. That's exciting. So how often would you say you are taking them to competition of one sort or another and how far away have you taken them for competition?

Stacie Thompson:
I don't do it as often as others. Others are committed and they're out there every weekend. We only have two shows in the spring and two shows in the fall here in Utah. So, we do both of those if we can. And then typically we do Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado in here and just kind of keep it close. But I've been as far as Washington State and North Dakota, and I guess quite a few states.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so we have some photos here of the competition. Let's look at that.

Stacie Thompson:
We do. So when you win, you get to take a picture with a judge.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah.

Stacie Thompson:
That's the one that I read. This is Zero's son. And you get to take a picture, which is great.

Anthony Godfrey:
Look at that. They know exactly how to stand. Like, there we are. We're ready to go.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah. Well, and so you're showing off, right? They're best qualities. So you can see there should be longer than the front.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Beautiful dogs. Yeah. Very cool. And this is the ridge. There's a magazine. There's a Ridgeback magazine?

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah. So if you belong to the club, you know, we can show our dogs and advertise if you are wanting us.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, look, there you are.

Stacie Thompson:
There I am.

Anthony Godfrey:
New champion in the magazine.

Stacie Thompson:
That's Izzy. So Izzy is Scarlett's mom, who we have here today.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's very cool.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Look at that. Huh. They're very photogenic dogs.

Stacie Thompson:
They are. And this is Zero's dad.

Anthony Godfrey:
Dex.

Stacie Thompson:
Dex.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very cool. Very distinguished looking dog. Like, “I stand on business.”

Stacie Thompson:
They do.

Anthony Godfrey:
“I have things to do.” Stay with us when we come back. We meet Stacie Thompson’s Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Zero and Scarlett.

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

Female Voice:
In Jordan School District, communicating and connecting with parents is really important, and that's why we're very excited about ParentSquare. ParentSquare has replaced Skylerk as the District's new communication platform. With ParentSquare, you'll receive all District and school communication via email, text and/or the app based on your preference. All messages can be translated to your preferred home language indicated in Skyward and it takes less than a minute to set up your notification preferences. You can use the ParentSquare app on any device. The app is available at parentsquare.com/signin. We look forward to connecting with you through ParentSquare.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's go meet the dogs, shall we?

Stacie Thompson:
Let's do it. This is Zero, we'll meet him first.

Anthony Godfrey:
Alright, let's meet Zero. Now, they're very well behaved. I saw you put them in the kennel and they just like, "Oh sure, no problem. Why don't we go into this zipped up little box?"

Stacie Thompson:
They're used to coming to dog shows.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Stacie Thompson:
So he's 10, so I'm just going to grab him. He is my racing dog, so he loves to run.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. He has two white paws on the left and two brown paws on the right.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah. Our dogs shouldn't have too much white, so we don't want the white to go up past that first joint.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it a problem, the white that he does have on his paws?

Stacie Thompson:
Not at all.

Anthony Godfrey:
Or that doesn't take away from it?

Stacie Thompson:
Not at all. So, they typically have a little bit on their chest as well at times, so you can see.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, someone told me when we got our second dog that some dogs are treat-motivated and some are ball-motivated. Is that, in fact? Is that breed-specific or does that just vary on the dog?

Stacie Thompson:
For Ridgebacks, typically are very food motivated.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I don't know if they might pick that up, but that was a loud attack on the snack that was airborne.

Stacie Thompson:
But they typically are independent thinkers, so if you throw a ball, they might go get it the first time, but the second time they kind of look at you like, “well, you threw that away, so you don't want it. That's all you. So why would I want it?”

Anthony Godfrey:
I actually, I respect that.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I really respect that. Oh. That's Zero?

Stacie Thompson:
Yes. Good boy, buddy. Scarlet.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Your hand signals are telling him exactly what to do.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah. So he has...

Anthony Godfrey:
He seems very obedient.

Stacie Thompson:
He has been a show dog, you know, a few years ago, so he does know, and he's just a very good dog.

Anthony Godfrey:
And as a racing dog, how fast does he go?

Stacie Thompson:
Oh, that is a good question. So, if they're running against a Greyhound, the Greyhound might be going much faster than he's going, but the judge has to be able to look at each breed independently and see, is this dog moving the way it's supposed to? They're graded in five categories, and they get up to 10 points in each category, and they run twice. So he would have to run correctly for our breed and follow and have good agility and all of the things that they're looking for.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's not just fast running, it's good running.

Stacie Thompson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see.

Stacie Thompson:
It's important that they follow and don't cheat and cut across the field.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I can agree with that.

Stacie Thompson:
And they want to show their agility. Can they corner well? Do they come in, you know, still excited about chasing the plastic bag? And are they fast?

Anthony Godfrey:
Can they corner well?

Stacie Thompson:
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
And, Zero, do you corner well?

Stacie Thompson:
He says, "Well, I am a Best in Field dog."

Anthony Godfrey:
Of course, you corner well. You're in a magazine.

Stacie Thompson:
Good, buddy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, that ridgeback really does stand out.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Once you point it out.

Stacie Thompson:
So just like we have cowlicks in our hair, you can see that he has two right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Kind of a whirl on each side of that that sends the hair. Can I?

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah, you can touch it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it goes that way. Oh, wow. And you can -- oh, that's interesting. So, the hair just goes back the opposite direction.

Stacie Thompson:
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah. Good boy.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah. And they have to have two to be correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay.

Stacie Thompson:
And then it should run down all the way to about their hips back here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, if all of that wasn't right, but they were really good runners, would you still have them in that competition, or do they have to have the whole package?

Stacie Thompson:
So for a running dog, they can't run —f they -- we have to have a ridge, but if it's not correct, they can still run.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. They have to have a ridge, but it can be less than it might be for sure . . .

Stacie Thompson:
Just because that's our hallmark.

Anthony Godfrey:
If I pet him, do I need to put my hand out first?

Stacie Thompson:
He's really easygoing. He just wants to be curious. Zero, dog, down.

Anthony Godfrey:
Zero, what's going on?

Stacie Thompson:
He likes a butt scratch, so...

Anthony Godfrey:
Zero, hello. What a nice dog you are. And a champion, yes? Oh, wow. So you have to pet them in just the right spot, or else you're pushing back on that hair.

Stacie Thompson:
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
And this is Scarlett.

Stacie Thompson:
Yep. And so she is my show puppy.

Anthny Godfrey:
She was pretty excited to come out and say hello.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah, we'll let her come out. So she's a little smaller. Males are about 85 pounds normally. Zero's a little bit bigger. And the females are about 70.

Anthony Godfrey:
Scarlett? Hi, Scarlett. Come here. Now, is that a shorter ridge than Zero has?

Stacie Thompson:
A little bit shorter. It's fine if it goes down to their hips like hers. She has a little bit more in her body here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Stacie Thompson:
But you just don't want it to stop mid-back.

Anthony Godfrey:
She's sniffing the mic, a little curiosity there.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
The microphone does look like something you might want to chase with that furry covering on it. What are the treats you're using?

Stacie Thompson:
This is just freeze-dried liver. They like this.

Anthony Godfrey:
I had that for lunch.

Stacie Thompson:
You did?

Anthony Godfrey:
No, I did not. Freeze-dried liver, huh?

Stacie Thompson:
She's just learning to show, so we'll get her out next spring. She's just been practicing till then.

Anthony Godfrey:
So she hasn't competed?

Stacie Thompson:
She has a little bit. We were at Ridgebacks, have what's called our Ridgeback Nationals. Every dog breed usually has a national competition where it's just Ridgebacks and no other dogs.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Stacie Thompson:
We were lucky this year that it was here in South Jordan.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, really?

Stacie Thompson:
It travels around the country.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Stacie Thompson:
This year it was at home in our backyard.

Anthony Godfrey:
How nice.

Stacie Thompson:
So she was able to compete without having to travel too far, and she earned third against all the puppies in her class, which was great. It was a lot of competition. We had about 500, I think, three... I think we had about 500 Ridgebacks here that...

Anthony Godfrey:
Third out of 500.

Stacie Thompson:
Well, not out of 500 because there were boys and girls in different ages.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Sure.

Stacie Thompson:
So her class would have just been with the puppy class.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see.

Stacie Thompson:
They go in different classes. And so she would have been in the 15 to 18-month class.

Anthony Godfrey:
Which of your dogs has been the most successful in competition?

Stacie Thompson:
Zero's been the most successful runner, and so far her mother has the most titles in AKC confirmation, but we're just getting started. So, we'll see how that stands up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. So you think that Scarlett may give her mom a run for the money, huh?

Stacie Thompson:
Let's hope so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Stacie Thompson:
Do you think so? What do you want?

Anthony Godfrey:
Are you just interested in me?

Stacie Thompson:
She says yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Any advice for those who might be considering Rhodesian Ridgebacks in their lives?

Stacie Thompson:
Um... Be ready for an independent-thinking dog. You need to just make sure you research the breed well, know what you're getting into, and find a breeder that will support you and your dog for the life of your dog.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Fantastic. Well, these dogs are lucky to have you, and it sounds like you're very lucky to have these particular dogs as well. It's really fun to talk with you and to meet them and spend a little time.

Stacie Thompson:
Yeah. Thank you for coming to meet them. They're always good to get to meet new people and have new experiences, so this is good for them as well.

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.

Mitch Gibson:
Kids are curious and they look at these differences. Now all of a sudden they're engaged and I know that that kid is going to see them every time in the hallway and know their name. It's going to occur and I can see the light on. It's so cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He works tirelessly to improve the motor skills and mobility of students so they can get the most out of their education and all the fun activities that go along with it. On this episode of the Supercast, we meet Jordan School District physical therapist Mitch Gibson. Hear why Mitch is considered quite the character, dressing up in fun and creative costumes as a way to connect with the students in his care. It is the story of a physical therapist going above and beyond every day to ensure student success inside and outside of the classroom.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at the Auxiliary Services Building talking with one of our itinerant physical therapists. Mitch, introduce yourself and tell everyone a little bit about what it means to be a physical therapist in Jordan School District.

Mitch Gibson:
Great. Hey, thanks Dr. Godfrey. This is really fun. So my name is Mitch Gibson. I'm an itinerant physical therapist, like I said before. So what that means is in the school district we have about 75 schools and me and two other PTs, we cover all of those schools. So as a student in the District might need some assistance or help, we are the ones who travel to every single school and work with them. So I cover about 25 schools and so I see each of these students about once a week. I get to see countless number of staff and office and principals and work with teachers and that. And so my role is really fun. I focus on the gross motor skills and occupational therapists who work with us, they work on the fine motor skills. So that would include something like the coordination and the function, strength, range of motion, balance, working with walking and sitting, and wheelchair training, transfer training, anything that a student might interact with or need to do to improve their educational experience. The physical therapist's role in mostly special education would address that and versus occupational therapists, theirs is the fine motor skills. So they have all of those foundational components work to improve their handwriting, zippers, buttons, fasteners, bilateral hand movement stuff. So we kind of work on both sides of the coin.

Anthony Godfrey:
The gross and fine motor skills all at the same time.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. And so there might be kids who only have fine motor concerns or impairments and we might have the gross motor skills. So sometimes work together with them, but most of the time it's whatever the student needs. If it's a gross motor impairment, then we would step in and help with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
What age of student do you work with? You work with a wide range.

Mitch Gibson:
I do. Yeah. So I work with preschool, which starts at three, all the way up to post high school. So a student can graduate from, let's say, Riverton High School or Bingham High School. And they would move on if they choose, especially in the special ed world, to like South Valley and they cap out at 21 years old. So from three to 21 years old, I'll be working with kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I would imagine that working with them over that period of time, you develop some close relationships with those students.

Mitch Gibson:
It is. Yeah. I have students that I started with in preschool when I first got hired and I'm still with them today and we're still working on their goals and improving their life. I get to look back on pictures and talk with them like, oh, do you remember this? We were working on this, and it's so much fun. I get to work with them every week for years and years.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic.

Mitch Gibson:
There are diagnoses that like, for example, cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy doesn't necessarily get better. You don't heal or get better from cerebral palsy. But as you grow and your body grows, you have different demands on yourself so you have to be able to accomplish those things with your impairments. And so the main . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
I wouldn't have thought of that. It's as they grow, as their bodies change, then they need to adapt in a different way.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. And different demands are put on them, such as like a preschool environment. There's a lot of sitting, crawling. There's the rug time. There's play time and then you get to first grade on and then you have recess and you have to worry about, OK, how are they going to navigate the playground? Whether it's the blacktop or the wood chips or the ramps or the playground structures. Then you get to middle school and high school and all of a sudden they're walking from their class to the cafeteria is now walking across campus and getting across campus. So the demands are different. Their bodies are different. So we establish different goals. With the IEPs that we set up, which is the individual education plan, we would set goals that we hope to accomplish every year.

Anthony Godfrey:
I would imagine that just every student has very unique needs, that there are skills that you use with multiple students, but you really have to be individualized in your approach. For sure.

Mitch Gibson:
It really shows you not only like the techniques, but every kid, every student, every child that we work with have their own interests. So one of the biggest things, of like, when I graduated from PT school, I was used to working with outpatient physical therapy. It's usually like in general like a normal member of the population with a back pain or an athlete and their motivation to get better is a little bit different than a kid. Most of the kids we work with, we're not working with them because of pain. We're working with them because of function. So I, my role and occupational therapists and physical therapists, is not only find the best course of treatment plan, but also facilitate an activity or a motivator that's going to allow them to participate in that game. Because I can't ask a kid, or “I want you to do Russian deadlifts,” you know, “three sets, five reps with this much weight. Okay, go off the corner and go do that.” I can tell an adult that, but I can't tell the kid that.

Anthony Godfrey:
You could tell me to do Russian deadlifts and I still wouldn't be doing Russian deadlifts or any other kind of deadlift.

Mitch Gibson:
Or remaining deadlifts, whatever it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Whatever, whatever.

Mitch Gibson:
So, so because of that, like, I have to be a little bit more creative and in a way I have to be like a child entertainer. That works with my skill sets as I've had a whole list of my whole life of working with kids in different settings.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mitch Gibson:
From summer camps to special ed, you know, programs to special and picks, snowboarding coach. So, and so all, all of those things be like, okay, they like this activity. So let's build their goals off of this kind of kind of activity.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's about fun and function.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Not just function.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. So my favorite complaint is when I take a kid out of a class and the other students are so jealous and mad because their friend gets to go play with Mr. Mitch, you know, doing these activities, you know, in the hallways and the gym and the playground, “they get, they, they get to go play to the playground and we have to stay in class.” And so that's my favorite. When the student is enjoying it so much and the kids are jealous that they don't get to play because really we're just playing. They don't know that I'm working on trunk control or strength training of their hips and knees and ankles.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mitch Gibson:
You know, they, they just think that we're, we're here to play.

Anthon Godfrey:
Yeah. When they don't realize that they're working on getting better, that's, that's really the magic right there.

Mitch Gibson:
And that's the goal.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mitch Gibson:
Sometimes that's not the case.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure.

Mitch Gibson:
You do get a lot of kids who cry when they see me because they know they're going to work harder. They're going to work.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back, hear about the collection of costumes Mitch has managed to acquire and how it truly does help him connect with students when he wears them.

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

Female Voice:
They're out on the job in the rain, sleet, snow, ice, and in the sunshine. As Jordan School District students navigate their way to and from school every day, we are truly grateful for our city crossing guards, always vigilant and looking out for students to ensure everyone's safety because they work so hard protecting our kids. Let's give those crossing guards a hand. If you're driving near or around schools, slow down, pay attention, watch for students and staff, and follow instructions from the school crossing guards, and know our cities are always looking to hire crossing guards. If you like kids and need some flexible hours, contact your local city and apply to be a crossing guard today. Together, let's make this a safe and successful school year.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're always dressed in a costume of some kind or something exciting. I don't know if you have multiple hats with propellers on top or if it's just the same one, but I've noticed over the years, I, before I knew who you were, I'm like, who is that guy down at the end of the hall and what is he up to? Because you always are making the most of the moment. When you come into a classroom, it's an entrance.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. Yeah, I could say. Yeah. It's a good excuse to really showcase what schools and elementary schools, like all of these things, you know, provide. It's not just this like warehouse where we teach kids, but it's such a fun environment. And I get to be on this side of things rather than the student where I get to walk down the hall and I get to see the work that the teachers and the staff put in of decorating the hallways and really going all out. I get to support that with being silly and fun and sometimes adding a little bit of chaos to kids walking down the hall because they see a rainbow unicorn and they're all distracted.

Anthony Godfrey:
But look, we all get distracted by a rainbow unicorn. I think that's fair.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. Yeah. So I get to wear these things and set myself apart and help the kids hopefully find it that it's fun and it makes it more effective for me in my style. Not every PT is like me. And sometimes, like over the summer break when I when I shadow it, you know, outpatient PT clinics and everyone's all professional. I still show up in costumes and it causes a scene, but it's great.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like that you stay in character wherever you go.

Mitch Gibson:
Of course.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of your favorites? We've seen the storage rooms here at the District. But what does the storage room look like at home for all of your costumes?

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. My wife allows me to have one closet.

Anthony Godfrey:
One closet?

Mitch Gibson:
One closet for my costumes. It is very full and it gets full every it seems like every week of October. I try to dress up for every day of October because if I dress up outside of October, people start getting weirded out. But if I but if I do October, it gives me this and then I can hit December and start wearing all my Christmas stuff. But ultimately anything can be a costume. So, you can make anything a costume. Here's some pictures.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, there's your Professor Mitch.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah, this was I believe this is Midas Creek and their theme this year was Harry Potter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mitch Gibson:
That's why I was Professor. But this is during COVID. So this is my excuse during COVID is like wear my shield. I was like, what can I dress like to wear the shield all the time?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mitch Gibson:
And then this is another good one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Mitch Gibson:
Bluffdale.

Anthony Godfrey:
The sunflower. Thank you. All right, we'll post some of these for . . .

Mitch Gibson:
No (laughing)

Anthony Godfrey:
Mario Mitch right there.

Mitch Gibson:
Mario Mitch. Midas Creek. I gotta say they are on top of it with the best themes. And not only they come with the idea, but it is decked out.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's all in.

Mitch Gibson:
It's they do everything. This is like Olympic year.

Anthony Godfrey:
The gold medal teacher. Very nice.

Mitch Gibson:
Oh, South, South Jordan.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Mitch Gibson:
I wore a wig and that mustache is made of two. Oh, sorry. The eyebrows are made of two mustaches.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, really?

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that's a that's a that's a serious mustache.

Mitch Gibson:
Thank you. There's that one.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think I might have seen that one, actually. And I love what you said to me the other day that this elevates the students that you work with. It gives them prominence in the school, the fact that you come in and you're really making a statement when you arrive.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. And it just kind of the hope is like, I mean, a lot of these kids already feel different. And so I want it to not be like I'm pulling them out of class for bad reasons, but it's hopefully something good that they look forward to and that other kids can see this. There's lots of times I'm like walking down the hall and I might have a student with a variety of diagnosis, but like trying to walk with the gate trainer. And it's my . . . I've had a few moments like this and it just kind of like warms my soul when this is . . .  a kid can be walking by and not know what's going on. It's like, why doesn't this third grader know how to walk?

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Mitch Gibson:
And at that moment, it could either lead them down to just confusion and, you know, uncertainty or bullying or all of these things. And I'm like, “oh, I'm so glad you're here. This is my friend so and so and they're learning to walk and you must be a really good walker. I need your help to show them how to walk.” So to get all of a sudden, all of a sudden, this student who a few seconds before really had no idea what was happening is now walking as exaggerated as they possibly can and encouraging and supporting and teaching this other kid that they've never met before. Or maybe they've seen but didn't understand and didn't really know who they are or what's going on with them because kids are curious and they look at these differences and now all of a sudden they're engaged. And I could leave and I know that that kid is going to see them every time in the hallway and know their name and going to encourage them. And it's . . . I get to see it light up. And it's so cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's so important that you have that mentality to make the most of every moment, to connect a student with a diagnosis with a student who's curious about what's going on. And all of a sudden, there's a connection. There's belonging snd that student really feels like he's a part of something. Yeah, I love that.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah, it's a really special moment. Along with that, not really a part of like what our role is, but we see these kids who have these impairments and so it limits them for what they can do. And so all of a sudden, they don't have quite as many friends and they don't know what to do at recess. So every once in a while do like class activities and so it's still based off of the students goals and what we're working on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Mitch Gibson:
But I make it pivotal to this competition or class activity with their whole their . . .  all of their peers. And so all of a sudden, those peers need my student to be successful on their team. They want them on their team because that's the key to their success. We create games to build relationships and show them that they're not as different as you think they are. Or sometimes their differences make them even more exciting and fun. And they can incorporate those things and do those at recess and do those that during inside recess or at PE and find ways to still engage and be friends with them after I leave.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are so many layers to what you do and to how you lift students, not just physically, but in every way. It's very inspiring to talk with you about what you do and I know how much it means to you. Although you're not directly responsible for Unified Sports, I know that this movement in the last couple of years has been a big positive impact on the students that you work with. Talk to me about that.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah. It's been so much fun to watch them translate the things that we're teaching and working on their goals because our goals are supposed to support the teacher. Ultimately, it's like it affects the reading, writing, you know, all of those things. But we can incorporate these goals and facilitate different changes in their life outside of this. A lot of those things can be through Unified Sports. I've had the great pleasure of working with these students in the elementary level mostly, and their sports day at the end of the year. And so we were asked to help support all of that happens there. I end up being the MC there and get to run down the track with these kids or use the wheelchairs down, you know, and all of these skills that we have been working on for year and year and year, years and years of, you know, helping them find joy in like a sports setting that they may not have had before. And now Unified Sports has grown so much that it's not just elementary that we've been doing for years, but it's middle school, it's high school. And whether they can do their sports through running or soccer or basketball or just creating a little skill that they are trying to work on that they can showcase at halftime or something else. And so a lot of these kids are like just throwing a ball or just kicking a ball or playing bocce or just adapting their skill set to beat a certain goal that they have. Those are our kids. Those are those are who we work with and we build such good relationships with. So we're cheering and yelling and I hope that we can continue to see it grow. Like I say before, it's not just about the impact of these kids, but the impact of the whole student body who rally behind these kids and really support them and see their value and see all the cool things that they can do.

Anthony Godfrey:
We can celebrate everyone's personal best.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I have seen you run down the track and you are very good at pacing it so that it looks like you're making maximum effort and yet somehow you lose. So it's pretty it's pretty impressive.

Mitch Gibson:

The wind blows really hard just on my lane.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. It is. It is really remarkable. One day. One day you'll get there.

Mitch Gibson:
Yeah, yeah. I've yet to win a race.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, Mitch, thank you very much for talking with us today and for the incredible specialized individualized support you give to these students.

Mitch Gibson:
You're welcome. It's so much fun. Like, it's great to be able to play with these kids, go on the playground and really change their life and get to know their families and the staff and be a part of their medical world. But it's also here in the education world. Yeah, it's so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Well, thank you.

Mitch Gibson:
You're welcome.

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

Lacey Paschall:
So you don't have to have any driving experience. You just need to be somebody who loves working with kids, who is passionate about safety, who wants to be a really important part of the community.

Anthony Godfrey:
That sound of the air brakes and the door opening, that's really exciting. And here come the kids.

Lacey Paschall:
There are a lot of kids who we are their only safe ride to and from school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to The Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Some classrooms on wheels are making their way to kindergarten and first-grade students throughout Jordan School District right now. The classrooms are actually big yellow school buses. On this episode of The Supercast, find out how our dedicated school bus drivers have come up with an entertaining and hands-on training course to keep kids safe on the school bus. Hear how students are loving the lessons which will save student lives.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Copper Canyon Elementary to talk about bus safety with Lacey. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your role in Jordan School District.

Lacey Paschall:
I'm Lacey Paschall. I'm a trainer for our Transportation department and I am the coordinator of the Safety in the Schools program. So I do all of the back side of it. I do all the scheduling, contacting all the schools. I schedule all of my drivers. I train all of my drivers on exactly what our expectations are and then I've been out of schools as well this year helping them out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now most people when they think about school safety, the first thing they think about is not bus safety. But it's really important that students know how to ride the bus safely, board the bus safely, and you start early. You start with kindergarten and first graders to make sure that they are all ready to make the most of their busing experience and to do so safely. So tell us about what the program looks like and how frequently students are trained and all of that.

Lacey Paschall:
That's a great question. So we start with the kindergarten and first grade, like you said, because we want to build that foundation of safety as early as possible. So we train them once a year and we start at the beginning of the year when it's going to be fresh in their minds a little bit better rather than at the end of the year when they're entering into summer. We teach them about the danger zones around the bus. We teach them about watching for their driver's signal, that it's safe to cross, always looking both ways. We make it fun too so that it's not a scary thing. Another thing that we do is we teach them about emergency exit evacuations as well, which if they ride the bus, they do twice a year anyway. But we take them out and we teach them that so that they know that that's not scary either. And all of this is, it's an important thing and safety's cool. We make it really fun and interactive and engaging.

Anthony Godfrey:
So we're talking about getting on the bus safely. We're talking about getting off the bus safely in case of an emergency. Talk to me about the rules of being on the bus safely.

Lacey Paschall:
We actually go over all those with them, too, and a really fun little slide show that I think that the kids like. So we talk about, you know, always remaining seated, no legs in the aisle way facing forward, nothing, no body parts out the window or throwing objects out the window. We explain to them, you know, if you can't fit it in your backpack, if it can't fit on your lap, if it doesn't belong at school, it doesn't belong on the bus.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Do you show a clip of Napoleon Dynamite about what not to do throwing something out the back of the bus on a stream?

Lacey Paschall:
I should. I do have lots of really fun pictures for them.

Anthony Godfrey:
No, actually, I think that would be counterproductive. Okay, so those are all good rules. And, you know, some of us may forget that for a young child, it's pretty exciting to ride the bus. They're excited about it.

Lacey Paschall:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you train only those who are going to be riding the bus or do you do it for every student in every school?

Lacey Paschall:
It's for every student at every school because the thought is whether or not they're on the bus now, they could ride the bus in the future. Every kid is going to go on a field trip at some point. So we want to make them excited about being on the bus, whether or not they ride the bus every day to and from school.

Lacey Paschall:
And the field trip is an important point. They're going to be on the bus at some point, so it's important for them to have this training. When you go to an all-walk-in school, and we do have a few of those that have no busing, just because of how close to the school all the students are, is there some added enthusiasm from kids who know they don't get to ride the bus every day, and they're like, "Wow, today we get to get on and off the bus."

Lacey Paschall:
I think so. I was at a school yesterday, and though there is a bus that does -- there's only one, and it's a pretty big group of kids there. So almost none of the kids that were in the assembly actually ride the bus, and they were like, "This is so cool!"

Anthony Godfrey:
You know, it was a good time of life when riding the bus was one of life's big pleasures, you know? There's a bus arriving right now. So talk to me about the things that you teach students about getting on the bus safely.

Lacey Paschall:
One of the things that we teach them is to be five minutes early to your stop so that you're never running late, you're never going to chase the bus.

Anthony Godfrey:
We had a nickname when I was growing up for the kids that were running for the bus while we were all watching.

Lacey Paschall:
What’s that?

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm not going to say -- I don't think it's bad, but maybe I just didn't understand it. But it was a very strange kind of combination of words, and I just remember not wanting to be called that name. It's like, "Mom, I have to leave. I cannot be the blank for today." And anyway, so it's a big deal to be on time.

Lacey Paschall:
It is a big deal to be on time, and that's something that's really unique and cool that we teach them is like a time management factor.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, right.

Lacey Paschall:
So that's really cool and unique. We also teach them about lining up so that they're safely away from the roadway when we get there, and I think that's especially important because we aren't there to keep them safe until we get there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, they have to be in charge of themselves until the bus arrives. And, you know, the idea of being on time and giving yourself some time so that you can be safe and not be in a hurry, that's going to help them when they're driving. That's going to help them in every aspect of their lives. You're going to avoid accidents if you give yourself a little bit of time.

Lacey Paschall:
Absolutely. I totally agree. The other cool thing that I think that we teach them unknowingly is a little bit of independence because getting to walk to your bus stop by yourself, that's a really cool independent thing that they...

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Lacey Paschall:
The opportunity that they have to do that is really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's a lot they learn from that. That's true. So that sound of the air brakes and the door opening, that's really exciting. And here come the kids. Let's talk about boarding the bus. You talked about watching for the bus driver to signal and to notice you. Pedestrians are told that when you cross the street, make sure the driver... You make eye contact with the driver. So talk to us more about that.

Lacey Paschall:
Our biggest one, my kids know, and we teach this in our training department. We teach all of our drivers to teach their students that the kids don't enter into the roadway until the doors open. If the doors are open, that means that we've checked, it's safe to proceed, there's no oncoming traffic. The afternoon is actually the most dangerous time of the day for us because that's when we're generally going to have kids crossing. And that's the biggest one about our eye contact with them and watching for our little pointer signal. They're expected to take five big steps out and over so that we can see them. If they're too close to the bus, we can't see their little bodies. We teach them to still look for both ways, to still check for themselves, then look back at the driver and double check. So it's a big piece of teamwork in keeping them safe.

Anthony Godfrey:
So five steps out so that they're far enough in front of the bus. It's like the billboards that say when you're passing a semi, you have to be able to see two headlights in the rearview mirror or else you aren't far enough ahead of them to change lanes.

Lacey Paschall:
That's exactly what it is because we're up so high and we have a lot of blind spots that I don't think people realize about. Even though our mirrors are fantastic and I personally feel like I can see a lot more in my bus than I can in my car, there are still a lot of things that we can't see. If they're short, and even I'm short, so if I'm right up at the bumper, it is going to be difficult for you to see me when you're sitting that high up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, the stakes couldn't be higher in keeping children safe. I drove a bus only in the parking lot, only with high levels of supervision and that was pointed out to me. “Okay, here are all your mirrors, check all your mirrors, look at all the view that you have. Okay, now I'm going to hop off the bus and I'm going to show you how I can hide in some blind spots despite all the mirrors that are in place.” And they would hide there and it's incredible. If you aren't far enough out from the bus, you really cannot be seen. So that stepping five steps in front of the bus is a really, really important point.

Lacey Paschall:
We have a . . . we call it a cushion of safety or our danger zones. So there's 12 feet to the sides and 12 feet to the front and the back is the danger zone. If you're there, you're potentially in our blind spot. Even though one of the things that we teach our drivers, it's called a five-point mirror check. So they're checking all their mirrors in a specific pattern for safety. It only works if they're not in those blind spots. It only works if they're outside in their cushion of safety. They're not in our danger zone. So that's one of the reasons that we're teaching them this and we teach them about like, you know, the yellow lines at all the elementary schools. That keeps them actually out of our danger zone when we're arriving at the school so that they're not too close to our mirrors, things like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like safety cushion more than danger zone.

Lacey Paschall:
I do too. It sounds a lot less intense and scary.

Anthony Godfrey:
I keep thinking of Kenny Loggins music keeps, you know, popping into my head. But that's for those from the 1900s.

Lacey Paschall:
Do you guys remember what the danger zone is? Very good. So this side of the yellow line is the danger zone. Can you guys show me what finger we need to see when our bus driver wants us to cross?

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. Students board the school bus for some hands-on safety training.

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

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

Lacey Paschall:
Okay, we're going to get on the bus real quick. I want you two to a seat and I want you to go all the way to the back of the bus. You're going to start with this and we'll do a single file line. When we go on the bus, I want you guys to hold the handrails when you go up the bus. Alright, come on, dear.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sure that many people listening to this think, "How do I get to be part of the Jordan School District Transportation Department?" So what do they need to do if someone wants to be a driver?

Lacey Paschall:
That's an awesome question. So you don't have to have any driving experience. You just need to be somebody who loves working with kids, who is passionate about safety, who wants to be a really important part of the community, because there are a lot of kids who we are their only safe ride to and from school. We do classes quite frequently. We're actually starting one in November, so if you go on and apply we haven't even started our interviews for that. So, if you go on and apply, it could be in our November training class and we teach you everything. So, we teach you everything that you need to know to pass your test. We actually have a testing facility on our property and you get the opportunity to work with a lot of really awesome trainers. We have a really dynamic team, so it's really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a very engaging job. You get to know a lot of people and the kids love you and you're a really important part of their day. So anyone who's interested, check it out. Learn from Lacey.

Students:
Hi, Lacey!

Ms. Gaffney:
I'm sure the lovely principal already mentioned my name is Ms. Gaffney. I'm a school bus driver and I've been a school bus driver for six years. So, I know a lot about being a school bus driver. One of my very favorite things about being a school bus driver is coming here to show you guys about how to be safe on a school bus.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk about exiting the bus in case of emergency, which hopefully we don't have to do. But I actually remember as a kid hopping off through the emergency door, and I honestly don't know whether it was a drill or not, but it was pretty crazy to think the back opens up and I can hop out. It seemed very high also at the time to be jumping out the back of that bus. And it is high, especially for some of our younger students. So let's talk about that safety feature.

Lacey Paschall:
That's a really fun thing. You'd think that it would scare the kids, but they are so excited to go out a door that they're not supposed to go out of. So, when we bring them in the bus and we kind of start going over reiterating the rules again, and then we talk about the emergency exits. One of the things I always start with is I want you to look for a red handle because all of our emergency exits, they're identified with words, but you know, younger kids who may struggle with reading. They're always going to be identified with a red handle. So I make them all point them out. They get to point out the ones in the roof and they really hope we're going out the roof, which of course we're not. We demonstrate . . .

Anthony Godfrey:

But there is an option to go out the roof.

Lacey Paschall:
There is the option to go out the roof. We have two roof hatches on our buses. They actually pop open for some airflow, too. So that's nice in the summer. But you know, we demonstrate and show them the windows.

Anthony Godfrey:
It’s like putting the top down on a convertible.

Lacey Paschall:
That's exactly what you're like. Oh, it's so nice.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's summertime, summertime.

Lacey Paschall:
But we show them like the sound and we explain to them, you know, this isn't scary, but I want you to be aware of what this noise is. Then we talk about how to safely get off the bus because we don't want them to get hurt while they do it, but we want them to be aware of how to do it in case they have to. We teach them zombie arms, which makes it a little bit fun. So, because they have to put their arms straight out because that gives them a support that we can bring them off the bus without injuring them. And they like the zombie arms.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Lacey Paschall:
We get them off the bus with the help of another driver or a teacher or even an older student.

Anthony Godfrey:
Then you grab the zombie arms and help them down.

Lacey Paschall:
Yeah, we grab the zombie arms, wrists and elbows, and then we tell them to walk away to a safe location.

Anthony Godfrey:
Because unfortunately, there's not an inflatable ramp that automatically pops out like on an airplane.

Lacey Paschall:
That would be great.

Anthony Godfrey:

To just slide down. That would be fun.

Lacey Paschall:
I would love doing emergency activities.

Anthony Godfrey:
Maybe it would be the first district to have those. OK. Well, Lacey, thank you so much for everything you do to keep our students safe. You have been a driver as well. So tell me about everything you've done in Transportation.

Lacey Paschall:
Well, I started almost nine years ago. I started as a bus attendant, actually, on our special needs routes. I have a big heart for special education. When I started driving, I was 23, and I started as a special needs driver. So that was really cool. It kind of came full circle. I had been a part of our training department in helping our special needs attendants and training them while I was an attendant. So, I was already kind of a figment of the training department. I actually didn't even have a driver's license when I started working here, and the trainers taught me how to drive. I was so scared to drive a car. So, I decided I wanted to drive and I was like, well, I trusted these guys to teach me how to drive my car.

Anthony Godfrey:
So all your driving has been with Jordan District.

Lacey Paschall:
It has. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. That's awesome.

Lacey Paschall:
I've kind of I feel like they kind of raised me and I don't know. They instilled in me a little a sense of safety that's really important. I think that that's why I'm so passionate about what I do. But I got the opportunity as I worked through being a driver, a new driver. I started doing our driver evaluations for new drivers as well. Then I started working on training our special needs drivers and wheelchair securements, and different, just different aspects that they need to be aware of. Then I slowly started working on just training drivers in general and now I'm a full-time trainer with the District. I was bestowed the opportunity last school year to bring back the Safety in the Schools program for in person. We had kind of gone away from it in 2020 for obvious reasons and it had some hiccups last year because it was new to me. It was new to everybody else. And I've been so impressed with my drivers this year who are also just as passionate about what they do. They love the kids and it has been really fun to watch the growth even in just one year. So, I'm really excited to see what next school year will look like for the presentations as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, there's a lot of hard work that goes into keeping students safe and you are at the center of it. Training students, but also training drivers so that they're at their best for students. Thank you very much for everything that you do and we're so happy to have you in Jordan District.

Lacey Paschall:
Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

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