Author: communications

Superintendent:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Have you ever wondered what it takes to store everything needed to run a school district that covers six cities with 64 schools and more than 56,000 students? Where do we safely store food for our kitchens and cafeterias or furniture, paper, and cleaning supplies for our classrooms. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside the District Central Warehouse on a fun and fascinating tour with a man who has taken care of business there for 39 years.

We're here at the Jordan School Cistrict warehouse with Randy Gray, the Distribution Coordinator. Good morning, Randy.

Randy:
Good morning.

Superintendent:
We're here at 7:30 AM, which is early for me, but you start your day very early. What time does the warehouse get rolling?

Randy:
I get here about 4:20 AM. My guys show up around 5:00 AM.

Superintendent:
4:20 and 5:00 AM. Why does everyone start at that unearthly hour?

Randy:
Because we have to get all the food to the schools before they are ready to cook. So if they need it for the schools, they need anything for the lunch that day, they have it before they need it.

Superintendent:
So everything starts with you really here in the morning at 4:20 AM. So tell me, you've got a stack of calendars here. How long have you been coming in to work at Jordan School District?

Randy:
In one form or another 39 and a half years.

Superintendent:
39 and a half years. And we're about to lose all that 39 and a half years of experience from what I understand.

Randy:
Right.

Superintendent:
When do you retire?

Randy:
December 22nd.

Superintendent:
And how does that feel after so long?

Randy:
I'm going to miss a lot of guys, but I got a lot of other stuff I want to do, so it'll be fun.

Superintendent:
Well, you're certainly going to be missed. There's no question about that. Your stack of calendars goes back to the nineties.

Randy:
Yeah, 1996. I've got another door that has the other ones on it. That's about how long you and I go back right to one of those calendars. And I saw a long, long time ago.

Superintendent:
We met a long time ago. Tell us a little bit more about the warehouse. What what does that involve?

Randy:
We do all the food supplies go out of here, every day produce.

Superintendent:
So that's the main bulk of the load in the morning?

Randy:
That's my big crew. So that's getting everything to the school programs. Anything that they may run out of, they are short on, we get it to them as soon as we can in the day, as early as we can.

And then I have separate crews when we do the school supplies, custodial supplies and the maintenance supplies. And we picked orders every single day.

And then we do all the receiving for everything that comes in and clean books or any non inventories that come into.

Superintendent:
When you say picking, is that just pulling what the order is from the inventory that you have, what the schools have requested?

Randy:
Yes.

Superintendent:
Okay. So you have regular orders and then when they run out, then you run stuff out as needed as well.

Randy:
Yeah. If we do run out of things, we tried really hard not to. If we do run out, it goes into a back order system and then we pick back ordered tickets as soon as we get them in. And then they go out, as soon as we can get them to out.

Superintendent:
How many employees do you have?

Randy:
We have 14 people in here.

Superintendent:
I know with all the PPE, there's been a big shift to get all of that out to the school. So that's probably been one of the main impacts of the pandemic.

Randy:
Right, right. It has really impacted us. My guys were working overtime, breaking down masks and everything and anything, hand sanitizer. Kurt was out here helping us everyday on that. So they were delivering nonstop.

Superintendent:
Well, I've talked with Kurt, the Director of Purchasing who's with us here today about that.

But I just want to thank you personally for that, because that sure made a big difference when people have that the first day. And I know you guys just pulled out all the stops, so thank you for that.

Randy:
Yeah. The crew really jumped together. It's a good team out here. They work really well together and they just jumped on it and got it done.

Superintendent:
Part of what fascinates me about the warehouse is just the sheer volume of stuff that you guys have moving through here. It makes Costco look like a convenience store.

Randy:
Absolutely.

Superintendent:
Tell me about some of the volume of the items that you just have coming through here in big quantities.

Randy:
For instance, like if you take the white copy paper, we do around 23,000 cases of that a year. And we'll do like 12,000 to 15,000 cases of towels, toilet paper or tissue handy.

So you know, those quantities, they rotate and they never stopped. So because we don't have an unlimited space, we have to gauge how much we can bring in at a time. And hopefully your next order hits you before you run out. And we've been really lucky. We really haven't run out of much of anything. It is a large space, but like you said, it's not unlimited. So you have to gauge when to bring it in. And then the demand hits and in the front is the beginning of the school year. Just the craziest time. You're pulling everything for the startup of next year.

Superintendent:
Okay. So you have massive orders.

Randy:
We have to get them out and into the schools because when food start ups come in a week and a half before school. Then we resupply all the schools, lunch rooms with all their foods that are frozen. And then for the next two weeks, it's all food. It's getting all their produce to them. They're frozen. They're dry. I mean, it's just chaos. But the guys are very organized.

Superintendent:
Stay with us. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, more of our fun and fascinating look at what's in the warehouse.

Break:
If you ever feel like you need just a little extra support in your life, maybe it's time to visit the Jordan Family Education Center. The Center, located inside River's Edge School, provides support services and classes for families and students in Jordan School District. Free of charge classes like Blues Busters for Children who are sad or worry. Take a Preteens Communication Class for parents and teens or Superhero Social Skills, a class that helps children with social skills. The Jordan Family eEducation Center also offers short-term counseling and all services are provided by the district school, psychologist and counselors. For information about classes and counseling, call 801-5657.

Superintendent:
Okay, let's walk through the warehouse. And I definitely want to visit the freezer. The freezer is really something. So let's head out.

We have Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing with us here, walking through the warehouse as well. We've got gloves, just sitting here on, what is this, transformers? Why is that warming them up here? This is like a hot potato or something like that, but they put these on gloves.

Randy:
Yeah, the freezer, they're in there for an hour or so each time. And then you get reinforcement. So that's why there's six pair here. He's got another pair on right now and he just rotates. So when those gloves get cold, he can just grab another warm pair off the transformer.

Superintendent:
Let's go check out this freezer. When you come here, people say, well, have you seen the freezer? Because it's really something. How cold does it get in the freezer?

Randy:
Usually around minus 12 to minus 15, I tried to keep it in the 10 to minus 10 range.

Superintendent:
And how many pallets can we fit in the freezer?

Randy:
We're about 900 right now. 900 pallets and 900 talents shopping at Costco. They're 900 pounds.

Superintendent:
Oh my gosh. And you gotta be a real good operator and make this work.

Randy:
Yeah, you do. You're not really happy if you don't know what you're doing.

Superintendent:
I could see that I will never drive a forklift in here. Tell you that. That would not be a good idea.

Randy:
I'm very picky about who brings in forklifts in here. And I have to say we haven't made it here very long. That cold kind of slows your heart down.

Superintendent:
Yeah. So what are we looking at here? What do we have?

Randy:
Oh, this is why a lot of your produce stops right here. This would be government that the Nutrition Services Director has had processed, breaded chicken chicken nuggets, you know, items like that. So it's like a lot of chicken. We tried to keep this together.

Superintendent:
So this is going to be all your process. And then we have to purchase and we have just regular government contracts, like  Kung Pao chicken.

Randy:
They're right here. They taught he's one of my top operators as far as the uprights and reconstruct. And that's why he's in here. I trust him in here.

Superintendent:
So he does me a very good job and he does the right stuff and tips the button. Oh, there we go. Now there's a frozen bag of chicken fajita. All right. Hungry working in here? All you do is work with food all day.

Worker:
Yeah. Once in a while, I gotta say you are ready for the Arctic band, your iron chop. That is a refrigerator where you don't last long, especially when you're grabbing boxes. Even with these six gloves on five, six times, pick your time up. You're out changing. We got two different sets. Your brand of Coke has the word refridge in it. That means that you are set to work in the freezer.

Superintendent:
Yeah. Wow. This is something. Wow.

Randy:
Even in the winter, the guys will go out of here and they'll go outside in the snow to warm up.

Superintendent:
That's a lot of paper. That's probably not a lot of paper to you, but we're walking by pallets and boxes of paper.

Randy:
This is all the colored paper right here. This is really our small volume paper right here.

Superintendent:
That may be more paper than I've seen over the course of my entire life.

Randy:
All the paper that we buy, we buy it on a reverse auction. So I kind of have to gauge how much space I have, what my need is. And then I'll average 840 cases a month.

Superintendent:
You guys have a great reputation for just having things on hand, just making things available because schools do have emergencies and we can't really shut down. We've got kids sitting there waiting for a lesson or a meal.

Randy:
Yeah. And I've been doing the requests.

Superintendent:
You know these warehouses.

Randy:
Pretty much. I started there as a driver. I drove for seven years and then started moving up.

Superintendent:
So have you been in the warehouse Most of the time that you've been at Jordan?

Randy:
The entire time. I started over there under a Superintendent Wittenberg.

Superintendent:
Oh, wow. So, you've been under four superintendents.

Randy:
I have.

Superintendent:
I think you started in the Reagan era.

Randy:
I did. Yeah. A lot of our drivers, we sit and talk and they go, you started at like a Lane one? Oh, us Lane three. And then some of them say, yeah, I wasn't born yet. I said, well, Reagan was not just president. He was a new president. He got voted in, which makes me is really old.

Superintendent:
Now you've mentioned the reverse auction on the paper. That's fascinated me when you've talked about that in Board Meetings before, tell us about the reverse auction for buying tapes.

Kurt:
Right. It's  something that we do as a cooperative purchase with other school districts. We've had the opportunity last two years to do that. What a reverse auction is, is kind of what you think of when you were at an auction, the prices go up and in a reverse auction prices go down. So everyone has the opportunity to outbid the lowest provider until someone says uncle. Basically, he says we can't go any lower. And that's the winner. And typically there's a lot of time. There's some rules with the reverse auction, but it's something we have done in the past. And it's been very successful in that you ensure the lowest price because really the competitors or the vendors really can compete with each other in real time.

Superintendent:
And that's just one of the ways that the Purchasing Department works hard to save money and the Warehouse Department, you know, when you've got the right quantities and they move out at the right time, that saves us a lot of money as well.

Randy:
Right. And when they send it, you know, I'll get a paper. Right now I'm getting them from Brenda, one of our buyers. And it just says, okay, here's three months. How many trucks do you want for this month? And then I just look at what I've used, what I have on hand, and then how much can I bring in? How much can I house? And it's worked out great.

Superintendent:
I can't even do that with my family. I cook way too much or not even close to enough when people are coming over. To do that for 58,000 students is something else.

Randy:
Yeah. If I run out, I'm not very popular. So I try not to run.

Superintendent:
Well, you are very popular and you do a very good job. So are people surprised when they come through here and see just the scope of what you do?

Randy:
You know, they come in and a lot of them say, don't you have time to do this. And I say, well, no. And you know, when they come in and they look and they say, we just didn't understand that. We didn't understand what you guys do. And we will give anybody a tour through here. And they come through and they're just absolutely baffled by how big it is, the amount of products we carry.

Superintendent:
Thank you so much for all your years of service, your decades of service. They just don't have any idea this is back here.

Randy:
Yeah. They just say, we never knew this was behind the building.

Superintendent:
Right. So this is behind the scenes in every way. Thank you so much for all your years of service, your decades of service. And we'll sure miss you, but we wish you the best.

Randy:
Oh, I appreciate Jordan District. They helped me support my family the whole time. It's been great. When I started here, I had one child.  had four kids and now I have six grandkids. So it's offered me a great opportunity. So I appreciate it. And I've always had a job. I've never been laid off. So it's been great.

Superintendent:
Well, congratulations on your retirement and I wish you all the best.

Randy:
Thanks.

(15:48):
Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you.

Superintendent:
Welcome to the Supercast and to a brand new year, 2021. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. As we begin the new year, Jordan School District is following some new state COVID-19 guidelines, quarantine procedures, and plans for students who wish to participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities. On this episode, I'm joined by several colleagues involved in our ongoing COVID safety plans together. We hope to help students, teachers, staff, and parents better understand the changes in COVID-19 protocol that will impact our schools moving forward. All right, we are here with Caleb Olsen, our Planning and Enrollment Consultant, Brad Sorenson, the Administrator of Schools over High Schools, and Mike Anderson, our Associate Superintendent to talk about moving forward and where we stand with the pandemic in a new calendar year. It's amazing that we're in 2021. And there's just been a little bit of a mind shift as we look toward the remainder of the year.

There've been some changes in procedure at the District level and at the State level, since we last talked about this on the Supercast. So I invited these gentlemen back to talk about some of the changes and how they're impacting students, families, and employees. Caleb, let's start with you and talk about the Dashboard.  First off, the Dashboard has been very popular. We have a lot of visits to the Dashboard, that updates case counts and quarantine counts. Tell us about that.

Caleb:
Absolutely. We've had the Dashboard up since about the end of September. And right now we're seeing between 1,002 thousand views a day of patrons and community members coming to get information on their schools altogether. The Moving Forward site with the Dashboard and all of the Districts COVID-19 information has been viewed just under 370,000 times since it went live in August, that's a higher level of engagement.

Superintendent:
And I really appreciate all the work that goes into providing and updating information on that site. There have been some changes to the way we report that. And one of the big changes that we've had questions about is the reset after we've been out for two weeks for the holiday break. Can you tell us about the reset and some of the ways that the information on the Dashboard has evolved?

Caleb:
Absolutely. The reset happened because of our return from winter recess. And I think everyone in the District needed that winter recess and that time off to kind of recover and recharge. But what that winter recess meant is there were no classes being held. So there were no opportunities for students to interact with those who might've had positive cases. There were no situations where we needed to quarantine new students.

Because of, and at the direction of the Salt Lake County Health Department, when we came back from winter recess, we reset all of our quarantine and our case totals to zero because any of the existing quarantines would have ended and any of the existing positive cases would have run through their course. It would have been more than 14 days and they would have been able to be back in school or back to work. So when we returned, we reset all of those numbers to zero. That meant the Dashboard had a few changes in the way it looks, and it may be a little different to people. But the main information is still there prior to winter recess, because we had schools who were going to virtual learning for a two week or a 14-day period. There were two sets of numbers on the Dashboard, one for current cases and one for the last two weeks.

When a high school or a middle school came back from virtual learning, they may or may have had cases that have been active in the last two weeks. But just like with winter break and our districtwide reset, there were no active cases at that moment because they would have run their course. So we showed on the Dashboard those two different sets of information so that patrons and schools could see what was happening right now, and  also a little bit of the history of what was happening since we've reset as a district. That last two week section has gone off of the Dashboard because it doesn't need it. Everyone's at the same starting level. Everyone went to zero on Monday and we've had a few cases and a few quarantines come back since then. So it's a little more simple, a little more clear to see the information about your school, but the same information is there and the same information is available. And as you said, hat reset comes countywide at all of our schools in any district in the County, because that comes from the County Health Department who reset protocol.

Superintendent:
Now you've talked about the changes to the Dashboard. What are just some of the things for people to keep in mind when to check when it's updated? Those are not live updates by the way. The Dashboard is updated once per day.

Caleb:
Absolutely. We don't update in real time, although our school nurses do and they are inputting information and reporting information to the District all the time. And they're hard at work, making sure those numbers are reported, but the Dashboard only updates once a day. We will always have it updated by 1:00 PM, but our goal is to have it done as soon as possible each school day. And as soon as we've been able to get the morning's information from the County Health Department and verify it and make sure it everything is correct and that it will display correctly, we push it out. So it's visible to all of the schools and all of our patrons.

So it will be available on the District website, jordandistrict.org, and at movingforward.jordandistrict.org everyday by 1:00 PM. As soon as it's ready to go, we push it out live. You'll be able to see the date and the time that it was updated last so you know how current and how accurate the information is you're viewing.

Superintendent:
Well, thanks for your hard work on that. I'm glad that you mentioned the nurses. Our nurses have worked constantly to get that information updated and to help coordinate quarantines that are put in place through the Health Department. And many staff members are working really hard at the school and district level to make those numbers available and to take the appropriate action. So thank you for that. One of those numbers that we talked about that's reported is quarantine numbers. We expect those to go down dramatically, based on the new procedures that were put in place just before the holiday break. Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent, talk to us about that change to the quarantine procedure.

Mike:
Yes. Quarantines have now changed from 14 days to 10 days. And the reason behind that is because the schools started implementing the seven day test and return protocol. In other words, a student who was on quarantine could test after seven days. If they were negative, they could come back to school. The County has been crunching all of that data and they realized that less than 1% of the student population was being impacted with a positive COVID test after being quarantined. It's a very low number. And so based on that, they reduced the quarantine requirement. They count from 14 to 10 and that's going to significantly impact our quarantine numbers. In addition to that, you don't need to quarantine if there was a school exposure that was mask on mask.

In the past, you would have to quarantine if you were exposed to anybody that was positive for COVID-19 within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes. Now, if you're at school and you have mask to mask exposure to someone that has COVID-19, you do not need to quarantine at all. There are two important things to remember with this. It only is pertaining to school related exposures, and it's only pertaining to those exposures that were mask on mask. Any instances at lunch or participating at in athletics or in certain classes where masks aren't worn, there could still be quarantines as the numbers that we've seen previously. But mostly, this should dramatically reduce the number of quarantine.

Superintendent:
Yeah, it really should.

Mike:
And you'll see some quarantines on the Dashboard because of non-mask exposure. Some of those may happen also at lunch where students have removed their masks to eat. But we should see a significantly overall reduced number for quarantines. And hopefully that also translates into a lower absenteeism. There were also some changes at the District and State level concerning the threshold at which a school would be considered to be moved to virtual instruction and the process for doing so. Right before the Thanksgiving break, the Jordan School District Board of Education voted to change that process so that the District Administration and the School Administration have a conversation when the school meets one of three thresholds for two school days in a row. That means not over a weekend or over a break, but for two school days in a row.

The three thresholds are as follows:

1. If there are 15 cases at the elementary or middle school level or 1 percent of cases at the high school level.
2. If 10% of the student body is on quarantine.
3. If 20% of the student population is absent.

And those are the thresholds at which there's a conversation about moving the school to virtual instruction. After that decision was made in December, the State threshold actually changed to match those.

Superintendent:
Would you describe that if you don't mind?

Mike:
Yes. Our patrons shouldn't notice much of a difference at all because they are the same protocols that our Board had implemented prior to Thanksgiving. And that is for schools with more than 15 of 1500 students, you would have to reached 1% of the population testing positive for COVID-19. Before, a school would be considered to go virtual for schools less than 1500 students. The threshold remains at 15 days before you would be considered to pull virtual. And that includes all of our elementary and middle schools.

And if a school reaches one of those three thresholds on a day where they could have a second weekday where they meet that threshold, then they'll receive a notification for what's called an alert day and be made aware that they've met that threshold one day. If they meet the second day, they would be seriously considered to be moved to virtual instruction.

Superintendent:
Stay with us. We're going to take a short break and when we come back we will discuss what you need to know about new COVID protocols for students involved in athletics and other extracurricular activities.

Break:
If you ever feel like you need just some little extra support, maybe it's time to visit our Family Education Center. The Center located inside River's Edge School. We provide services and classes for family and students in Jordan School District, free of charge classes, like Blues Busters for children to help them worry less. There is a Pre-teen Communication Class for parents and Super Heroes Build-a-Plan that helps children with habits.  Jordan Family Education Center also offers short-term counseling and all three are provided by the District School Psychologists and Counselors. For information about classes and counseling call (801) 565-7442.

Superintendent:
Now, another the impact is on athletics and there's been a big change there. So let's talk with Brad Sorenson, Administrator over High Schools. This is athletics, extracurricular activities, anything that involves practice or rehearsals outside of the school day. Can you describe that procedure to us? And it's been very efficient at our schools. I must say, people have really jumped in and worked really hard to make this protocol work effectively.

Brad:
Yes, since just after Thanksgiving break, it's been required that students in all of our extracurricular activities be tested within a two week window. That testing continues every two weeks for all students who are participating in an activity that is more than just a one-time event. So that includes all of our athletics. It includes a lot of our performing art groups. It includes dance. It includes any groups that are meeting after school. And now, each school has set up a protocol and a process by which those groups would be tested every other week. Our schools do testing mainly on Fridays, but we've also had schools testing on different times during the week in order to accommodate all of those groups. So it's been a huge effort by the schools, and support staff. And again, the nurses who now have come in. They're the ones actually swabbing our students as they go through the testing. And those testing results determine kids' abilities to continue in those extracurricular activities.

Superintendent:
I happened to be at one of our high schools when that testing was going on. Large numbers of students moved through that process very quickly.

Brad:
School staff have been very organized and have worked hard to make that process go smoothly. And there had been some positive test results, but it's also allowed for safe continuation of extracurricular activities.

Superintendent:
And that's a Statewide protocol that's in place with an expectation. We continue to receive shipments on a regular basement basis of tests from the State. They are the rapid tests. It only takes about 15 minutes to get a result.

Brad:
Yeah, correct. Students will come in and, based on their assigned time, are usually in and out of that testing in 15 minutes at the longest, and they'll know their results through the system that sends them an automatic notification after the test has been confirmed positive or negative.

Superintendent:
Well, a lot of families and a lot of employees at the School District and State level working very hard to provide the best experience possible for students. Things are shifting all the time. We encourage you to visit the District website for updates. We'll continue to send out emails, as we did this week, to provide the latest information that we have available.

Thanks to the three of you for joining us. Thanks to families and employees out there who have been working so hard. We'll continue to follow these protocols and provide the best education and experience for students, employees, and families that we possibly can.

Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you.

Superintendent:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Jessi Morton-Langehaug is a passionate educator, athlete, ultra-marathon runner and parent. On this episode of the Supercast, the Herriman High School teacher talks about inspiring students by sharing her personal story with them. Jesse went undiagnosed with Lyme disease for 10 years and was told she would never run or compete again because her body was too damaged. Hear how Jesse defied the odds, not only competing again but recently winning the Moab 240. That's right, 240 miles with the fourth-fastest time in history. Jesse's story is one of hope and inspiration as we begin the new year. Jesse, I'm just going to ask you to kind of list off some of the amazing things that you're up to. Let's start with teaching.

Jessi:
I teach chemistry, AP chemistry, honors chemistry, regular chemistry, and yoga at Herriman High School. And a hobby is I love to run. I like ultra-marathon the most, but I've run the Boston Marathon three times. I've done Chicago. I've done New York. I ran my first marathon four months after my daughter was born. She's now six and a half. And I've just kept going further and further since then and just finished a Moab240 three weeks ago.

Superintendent:
Yeah. This is a long list of accomplishments in a very short amount of time, but I'm going to start with chemistry and yoga. That is perhaps a combination I'm going to use in the future. When I'm talking about difficult teachers to replace, it used to be French and math as the combination, but I think chemistry and yoga is going to take over as the new example of a difficult position to replace. Why chemistry and yoga?

Jessi:
Well, chemistry because really, chemistry is the fundamental science of everything. So like biology, if you break it all down, it all has to do with chemistry. And then yoga, it's just become a passion of mine. I started practicing yoga and then went to yoga teacher training and then spent three years in India and in three summers, my students actually were the ones that knew that I had gone to India. I would talk about meditation with them and things like that. And they asked me to bring yoga to Jordan School District. They said if we would go around to get enough signatures, will you write the program or get it to Jordan School District or get it to the high school catalog to teach here? And so I said yes, go get signatures. We'll see what I can do. So they did. I went to the District and presented yoga and they got it on the catalog and now we have yoga. So, I'm kind of a "Jack of all trades".

Superintendent:
Well, that's very impressive. And it's exciting that the students were the ones that were behind adding yoga to your schedule.

Jessi:
Yeah. I give them the credit. Absolutely.

Superintendent:
Well, you've had a wide variety of experiences and like I said, a wide range of expertise. I want to talk a little bit about the running nap. You said that you started just after your daughter was born, just a few months after. So you've been running for about six years. Is that right?

Jessi:
Well, I ran cross-country in high school. But then I got Lyme Disease and it wreaked havoc on my system. So I stopped running for a lot of years. Then I would do like little runs here and there. I got more into cycling. It was easier on my joints. I got more into yoga because it was a lot gentler on my body. Then I kinda was always told I wouldn't be able to have children and so when I was pregnant and I had my daughter, I started running. I got up to 10 miles and I thought, if I could do 10 miles, I just think I'm going to do a marathon. If I can have a child, I can run a marathon.

And the Boston Marathon bombing also happened during that time. And it like ignited something in me. I'd never wanted to run a marathon before that. This sort of runner in me, like runners united just created this emotional thing inside of me that made me want to run the Boston Marathon. And so I started. I was running with my daughter, when I was pregnant and then she was born in January and I ran my first one. I believe it was like June 14th.

Superintendent:
Okay. Again, you just jam packed a whole bunch of things into that short little conversation, because most people, in my experience, me included, don't say I just reached this 10 mile goal. If I can do that, I can for sure do more than double that. And I can for sure do it after I just had a child, but no one thought that I could have and overcoming Lyme disease. I mean, there's a lot of things that you've overcome in your life. Many people probably don't understand Lyme disease. And I understand that years went undiagnosed for a long time. So can you just tell me about that obstacle first?

Jessi:
Sure. Um, so it went undiagnosed for probably about 10 years. And I never had a bite. I just started to have a lot of digestive issues, the weight loss, the arthritic pains, the chattering in the mind, the constant headaches. It kind of felt like I was hit by a truck all the time. And it was just a struggle just to go from A to B. And then I got to the point where I was kind of feeling like this isn't living. I didn't feel good. I felt like I didn't want to go on. And that's when I found yoga and yoga brought me to India and their approach was different. Their approach was, you spent so many years breaking down, breaking down, breaking down, trying to kill all of this.Now we need to build your system back up. So there were herbs and treatments to open up the energy channels in the body, replace it with herbs to build the systems, rebuild the organs, get you strong again.

Superintendent:
So tell us about coming back to running after all of that.

Jessi:
Running has always been what I love. So even in high school, I was top of the Cross Country team and I started running in middle school and it's just always been a stress relief. It's mental happiness. It's my love, running is my level of self. And before I was diagnosed with Lyme's they said my body is so damaged, you'll never be able to run a marathon. I used to drive down the street and see people running and be so sad because that's all I wanted to do. So when I had my daughter and I started running and then when I ran my first marathon, my first marathon was a big joke. I was on par to get a bike and I just didn't take the electrolytes that I needed to. And I bonked really bad. I made it to the finish line, but it was not a pretty finish, but I learned a lot. And I know that this is going to come back.

Superintendent:
The technical term for hitting the wall.

Jessi:
Hitting the wall biking. Yeah. And I know it'll come back to this, but I am an educator and I am really real. At least I want to be with my students. And like I tell them all the time, don't be afraid of failure. Failure makes you better. And I learn way more from my failures than I ever did any of my successes.

Superintendent:
So true.

Jessi:
I learned so much from my first marathon because I realized, even though I'm a chemistry teacher, you know what you learn in a classroom, you don't necessarily take out of the classroom. And I knew about electrolytes, but for some reason I thinking, I'll get enough, I'll get an off on the course, so I didn't. And so, like that first marathon, I bumped it really bad. And that was my first marathon, over four hours. And then I learned a ton from it, you know? And then I went to Boston, I think the following year. From my first ultra marathon, my first hundred miler, I made some really, really, really big mistakes. And I went back the following year. So that same one shaved five hours off of my time and got third place, female.

Superintendent:
Five hours off your time?

Jessi:
I tell my students all the time, failure is good. You fail and you learn. So this last summer, I had some of my issues. My Lymes kind of came back. And in June, I almost hung up my racing shoes. I ran the Wasatch course on my own. I had some pacers and a wonderful crew, but it was just me because it was canceled this year. So I ran it anyway and I didn't throw up. I always throw up the last 33 miles of that race and I didn't throw up. It gave me the confidence that maybe Moab will go well. Moab was really, really hot this year. And I got behind on my hydration because I read the water chart wrong and I didn't have enough water. So I got behind and I started to get really sick on that first day.

Superintendent:
So you weren't in the race where you set a record. Is a record perhaps for you the only record that counts? But to me, fourth overall of all time, that's pretty freaking awesome.

Jessi:
Thank you. I got really sick that first day and I problem solved it and I didn't let it destroy my race. I said, I'm going to slow down. I'm going to walk. I'm going to try to get this under control. When I made it into my first crew station at mile 72, I wasn't going to sleep, but I slept for half an hour. And then I woke up and I threw up everything and I felt great. I didn't have any other issues for the rest of the race. I think what changed as I made that decision, I'm not going to keep pushing, I'm going to sleep for 30 minutes. I'm going to tell my body if you feel bad, I'm going to rest.

Superintendent:
So the thing that's remarkable to me as I listened to overcoming the illness and overcoming obstacles, even within the day. In a race is that you're always thinking about what does this obstacle mean? How can I solve it and how can I get around it and just keep moving? And I do think that's a great lesson for your students. You're the embodiment of just continuing to try, even when things don't go your way.

Jessi:
Oh, absolutely. 100 percent. I'm not a good teacher because I'm awesome in my content. I know my stuff, but I value relationships and I share a lot of my life experiences, especially with my yoga kids. I tell them if you become more flexible, awesome. If you become stronger, awesome. But what I really care about is that you have more tools in your toolbox for when life gets hard, because it will, and you can pull stuff from that. I want to teach them to learn, to have a relationship with themselves, to gain some mental strength because that's what's going to help when life gets tough.

Superintendent:
When you finish this race, you're running along at a 10 minute mile clip, is that correct?

Jessi:
There might have been some sections at the end that I was definitely pushing. I wasn't able to hold that pace for the whole race, obviously. But I was super impressed with how my body was able to continue to push some pretty fast miles when I came into the eighth station at 37 miles. They said, wow, good job. You're the first female. And I though, yeah, it's 37 miles in. There was a long race to go. I don't even tell me that at mile 200 miles. So the whole time I was thinking I don't want to know what place I'm in because I was doing my race and I told my crew that this is my race. There were definite lows, but I had a lot of fun and I know people that's crazy.

Superintendent:
Like how can you have fun running 240 miles?

Jessi:
I had a lot of fun. I was cracking jokes with my crew. I was like singing, belting out loud with my music. I had a lot of fun. I had some lows. I felt like crying at the very end. I felt like swearing a few times. There were some bad times, but I always knew that at the bottom of a low, there was always going to be a high because that's life. When I say ultra marathons are like life, and for anyone listening,  if you are in a really bad place or if life isn't going super well, it will get better. You know? So I just always knew that if I was in a really bad place that eventually it was going to turn around.

Superintendent:
Well, it's good advice. It's obvious that you have a lot of hope and just that you're able to say it's going to get better and you're able to see past that difficult time, which is something that we're all trying to do right now. And I do think that important component of not just saying it is going to get better, but also I have a hand in trying to do that and I need to think about a lot of different ways I can attack the problem. I just, I really admire that. And I'm so glad that your students are in your class and able to get that message.

Jessi:
Thank you.

Superintendent:
You also wrote a book? Tell us about the book that you wrote.

Jessi:
It was in my head for a while. When I run, it's kind of my meditation time, when I just sort of let thoughts flow.

Superintendent:
Do you run with a little notebook in your hand and a pencil?

Jessi:
I should run with a notebook and a pencil. I would sort of write in my head as I was running. I'm a pretty private person. or I used to be, especially in terms of my health. I didn't tell people that I had Lyme disease, just because I always kind of viewed or people would see me and think I was a weak individual. So I didn't ever tell people. I didn't want people to look at me differently. So writing took a lot of courage. I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to put it all out there. And then one day I just sat down at my laptop and I started writing. I would just write all day long. Chapter one, after the prologue, took so much out of me that I needed to go for a run, just to kind of get off of this table. I had felt like I had just run an ultra marathon. I was so tired because of all this stuff I had been holding onto for so long. I just put on paper. It was just like this heaviness, you know? I just kind of felt like I just kind of felt like it was time. And I always say, if I can help one person then I've done my job. I know that there's been a few of my students that have read it and they've reached out to me to say, I looked up to you before and now, but I just respect you and you've taught me a lot. I've had other people write to me and say that I've helped them.

Superintendent:
Obviously, you have some great accomplishments in your life, but there are a lot of great accomplishments to come. And I'm just thrilled that our students here at Herriman get to know you and get to know the attitude that you've brought to life.

Jessi:
Thank you.

Superintendent:
Thank you very much for spending time with us.  Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. And remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.

Superintendent:
Welcome to a Holly Jolly edition of the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is music that will make you smile and warm your heart. On this episode of the Supercast, we share some sweet Sounds of the Season performed by Jordan School District students. While you listen, just know we are wishing you the happiest of holidays and a safe prosperous year. Let's start with "Snow Carol", performed by South Hills Middle Schools advanced women's ensemble.

Song

Superintendent:
Now enjoy South Jordan Middle School's ninth grade Concert Choir performing "Sing We Now of Christmas".

Song

Superintendent:
Up next, Hidden Valley Middle School's percussion ensembles performing "On Thin Air" by John Wilmarth.

Song

Superintendent:
Now taking the stage is West Jordan Middle School's Combined Choirs performing "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" arranged by Carol Straumer.

Song

Superintendent:
We have Sunset Ridge Middle School Symphonic Orchestra with “Rock Ye Merry, Rest Ye Very” by Brian Beaumont.

Song

Superintendent:
Finally enjoy Ms. Madsen's sixth grade class at Eastlake Elementary School singing “Santa is the Man”.

Song

Superintendent:
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Supercast. Happy Holidays and have a wonderful break. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Superintendent:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Have you ever wondered what's the very best way to cookie perfect steak? Some students in the ProStart Culinary Program say it's by using a cast iron skillet on this sizzling episode of the super cast. I head to Mountain Ridge High School with my brand new cast iron skillet in hand, ready for a cooking class like no other. I was inspired to learn the art of cast iron skillet, cooking by one student who appeared on a previous Supercast and said he was having "Steaks-giving" instead of Thanksgiving. Let's start in Ms. Anderson's classroom kitchen, where we prepare our skillet. Tell me about seasoning a skillet. Obviously yours is over 50 years old, so it's well seasoned. Tell us about that process.

Student:
For that process, what we do is we heat up the skillet with just some oil and to kind of rub oil all around the inside to make sure that the oil absorbs within the skillet a little bit and allows it to be more non-stick and it just allows food to cook better on it.

Superintendent:
So I asked Mike Anderson, our Associate Superintendent, who is here with us. Say hi to everybody.

Mike:
Hi everybody.

Superintendent:
He seasoned mine, it was pre-seasoned. And then he seasoned it at home because it needs another layer. So tell me why yours is so much blacker and shinier than any others I've seen.

Ms. Anderson:
My husband's cast iron skillet, I believe he got it from his grandparents, and it has just been used throughout the years. And it's just insanely smooth for cast iron, but you really have to use it in order for it to get that way.

Superintendent:
And we have a couple of students here with us as well. Tell us your names.

Student:
I'm Aaron Butterfield and I will be cooking the steaks for you today.

Superintendent:
What do we have set up here?

Student:
So it's basically getting all your recipe and all the equipment you'll need and the food you'll need. We've got our cast iron skillets, and then we'll preheat those in a minute. Then we have butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and the oil we will be cooking with. We have a thermometer to watch the temperature of our meat, so we don't over or under cook it. And then, just some other utensils that we will be using.

Superintendent:
Now, this really is a nice way to approach just about anything. You have everything right in front of you that you need so that you're not in the middle of trying to cook something on a particular timeline and then find yourself scrambling for what you're missing.

Student:
Yes, exactly.

Superintendent:
Tell me a little bit about the cut of steaks that we have here. They look absolutely gorgeous. I want to spray shellac on that and just put it on my desk because it looks so delicious.

Student:
All right. So we have some ribeye steaks. We opted for the boneless version and purchased them last night. We salted them and then put them in the fridge overnight, uncovered. It helps the moisture to kind of evaporate. You don't want any moisture when you sear them. And so if you leave them uncovered, it helps with that really nice crust. And then we just salted them, both sides and have just left them uncovered, refrigerated. We've just pulled them out so that they can get to room temp. So in about 10 minutes, we'll be ready to cook.

Superintendent:
Those are important tips. I love the attention to detail. So, the seasoning looks pretty sparse. There's not a lot required beyond that. Okay.

Student:
Yeah. Beef, I mean really good quality beef is going to have a great flavor. So you don't really want to mask that. We have decided to do a little bit of butter and Rosemary and garlic and salt and pepper. But honestly, that's really not necessary with a good steak. You could just do salt and pepper and it should taste absolutely amazing.

Superintendent:
Talk us through as we take the next steps. Are we doing a side dish as well?

Student:
Yeah, we're gonna do some caramelized honey Brussel sprouts for you today. I used to not be a big fan of Brussels sprouts, but I learned that because I just never had them cooked correctly. Once you cook them correctly, they're absolutely delicious. So we're going to do a caramelized honey pepper flake and vinegar glaze on some Brussels sprouts. We're going to roast them in the oven, I believe for about 20 minutes to 425 degrees. It's a really hot oven and they will be absolutely soft, but tangy, salty but hot. They're kind of everything.

Superintendent:
I'm excited to try it. The word you added in the mix before and after Brussel sprouts, I think are going to make me like them for the first time.

Student:
I honestly hope so.

Superintendent:
I am expecting good things. I think it's going to be awesome. So tell me some of the health and safety precautions that you teach students in the kitchen.

Ms. Anderson:
So here at Mountain Ridge High School, we have different levels of foods classes, and each year we usually add a little bit to their knowledge. Foods I actually offers the food handlers certificate. Students learn everything safety and sanitation wise that they need to know to be able to work in the restaurant workplace. From there we just add on a little bit of knowledge with Foods II, applying it more. Honestly, just practice makes perfect. And then in ProStart we actually run a restaurant at our school. We learn the applicable skills in our commercial kitchen and lab space.

Superintendent:
Walk us through.

Student:
So first, we're going to cut up this garlic real quick, just so it's ready. You're just smashing it, really putting your weight on it and leaning into it with the side of the knife you just crush it, and then you'll cut off the end of it because you don't really want that part. Then you just peel the garlic right off. That's the good stuff on the inside.

Superintendent:
Okay. And is this a career from what you aspire and wanting at this moment in time?

Student:
I'm not really sure what I want to go into quite yet, but it's definitely an option. Come over and we're going to start preheating the cast iron.

Superintendent:
When do you put the oil in?

Student:
Once the pan is hot.

Superintendent:
What do you watch for, how do you know?

Student:
As soon as the oil hits the pan, you want to start watching to see it smoking and then you're ready. It's hot enough.

Superintendent:
So you will look at the pan and you turn it up on the highest heat or do you pretty high, just enough to get the whole thing hot. Okay. Aaron, is there a preferred oil you use for a steak like this?

Student:
Different oils have different smoking points. So you want to use a canola oil or avocado oil, both with about the same smoking point. You know, it's up to temperature. I thought I detected notes of canola.

Student:
Yeah. Now the reason we're here, of course, is because of our Steaks-giving episode Thanksgiving episode, which I now remember as the Steaks-giving episode because of the term you introduced me to, how was your Steaks-giving?

Student:
Our family Steaks-giving was amazing. We had a really good time. And even though it was a smaller family gathering than normal, we had a really good time and the food was amazing.

Superintendent:
And remind me, what portion of the meal were you responsible for?

Student:
So I cook the steaks and I did roasted garlic roasted potatoes. I was in charge of the skewer member that did cook the steaks for everybody.

Superintendent:
Yes. Well, I hope to be able to, after I watch the master at work. That's going to start smoking now. It starts to smoke. He dropped the oil in. Okay. I just got goosebumps hearing a steak.

Student:
This is one of I think the easiest ways to make a steak. The one issue with it is that middle can be really rare still in. So we're trying to get it to medium rare.

Superintendent:
Okay. Now you're holding it on the side, searing the sides as well.

Student:
Yes.

Superintendent:
That is something that I have not done. Does that sear from the side as well?

Student:
Yeah. It just gives you an idea of how thick you are as well.

Superintendent:
Yeah, probably not immediate.

Student:
Yeah. If you were doing sirloin steak, it's probably already cooked all the way through.

Superintendent:
Stay with us. When we come back, it's time to be cooking a steak in our cast iron skillet, create a savory side dish down there.

Break:
Hello, I'm Stacee Worthen, Secondary Counseling Specialist for Jordan School District. Do you know all the ways or the school district counselors can help you and your students? School counselors play such an important role in our school. They provide parents with resources to help guide their children in academics. They provide support with the mental and social well-being of students in our schools. And if you were in the process of preparing a student for college or just beginning, the conversation of higher education now is the perfect time to reach out to your child's counselor. We can assist with college applications and college readiness. I encourage parents and guardians to schedule an appointment and get to know your student's counselor together. Counselors and parents can help develop plans and strategies for students to succeed long after they leave during school district. rReach out. We're always here to help. You can find us and learn more at counseling.jordandistrict.org.

Student:
We're going to go for 130 degrees internal temperature. Okay, 70 degrees. We've got a little ways to go. Ms. Anderson, take over. That one is a little bit thinner, so it might be done.

Superintendent:
So once we turn it, we turn it back down to a low heat, until we can get that internal temperature up to what did you say, 130 degrees?

Student:
Yes. It depends on what you're going for. If you're going for medium or well done.

Superintendent:
Okay. Well, while he continues to get the internal temperature up, tell us the range for rare, medium and well done.

Student:
Rare is about 120 to 125 degrees. A medium rare is more like 130 to 135 degrees, and you probably shouldn't cook your steak anything above that.

Okay. Now you sear both sides and then you sear the edges and now you turn the heat down just to bring that internal temperature up. Now we're going to add some butter to baste with the garlic rosemary, and a little extra salt finishing. And that'll just give it flavor and time to cook.

Superintendent:
What are some common mistakes, if you will, that people make when they're cooking this?

Student:
Probably the biggest mistake is just over cooking it. Occasionally under cooking it, right? It's really hard to get that perfect medium rare.

Superintendent:
The steaks. No dude. Before knowing the roasted garlic in butter and those are ingredients to a magic potion. Okay. Lexi's here from the yearbook. Am I right about that smell or what?

Lexi:
Oh, you're right about that.

Superintendent:
We're coming back to the Brussels sprout conversation here. Are you zesting right now?

Student:
Yeah. So I'm zesting a lemon and we've diagonally sliced some scallions or green onions. And this is going to be a little topping that we use on the Brussel sprouts. Once the steaks are resting, I'm going to start making my caramelized honey glaze. And then we'll just kind of toss that all together and we'll have a wonderful Brussel sprouts side dish.

Ms. Anderson
Aaron has made his famous mashed potatoes for you guys today.

Superintendent:
Oh, well, awesome.

Student:
There's two keys to making mashed potatoes. The first is using Yukon gold potatoes and the second is using a ricer in order to basically mash your potatoes. A ricer is a contraption where you basically squished potato through small holes and it leads to really smooth texture. But right now the Brussel sprouts are getting really nice and brown. They're still not quite ready. They're a little too greenstone. So we're going to leave them in for about five more minutes just to get them really nice and tender. That's always the tough part for me is knowing just by what they look like if they are ready or not.

Superintendent:
Now we came back from the Brussel sprouts and caught Aaron tasting the mashed potatoes. Oh, he's going to let me do the same. They look awesome. They're warming right now. They're still a little bit cold, but they're warming up. I'm going to give it a try. That is incredible. Those tastes so good.

Student:
How was your Thanksgiving?

Superintendent:
My Thanksgiving was great and I actually, emboldened by my conversation with you and the rest of your class, I actually did make mashed potatoes. But I'm going to tell you, they were nothing close to this. I was pretty proud of them. Those potatoes tastes so good and they look great. Wow. So these are Yukon gold mashed potatoes. What are the other ingredients you throw in here to make them a perfection?

Student:
Heavy whipping cream. And then we did some butter, a lot of salt. When you start the potatoes, you want to salt the water really well.

Superintendent:
So we're just going to do some mashed potatoes. Then the Brussel sprouts is out here, on fire.

Okay. Ms. Anderson, some people may be hesitant but interested. What would you say to those who are considering taking one of your foods classes?

Ms. Anderson:
I would say that foods is a really fun class to take. You learn both career skills as well as life skills. A lot of my students may not choose to be in the restaurant industry, but they do develop a lot of skills that they use in college and beyond. I've had some students tell me that my class really helped them be able to cook in their dorm room better. And so that's always kind of a rewarding thing to have some more skills so that you're not always necessarily eating out, but that you're able to make a nutritious meal at home. We have a lot of fun. We cook a lot of different foods. We try to have a huge variety so that students feel that they're able to have a lot of different skills across the board.

Superintendent:
They're trying to stake now. All right, here comes the crust. Oh, that is soft and delicious Aaron. This is a masterpiece. It turned out very good. Lexi, how do you like your meal?

Lexi:
Mashed potatoes are brilliant. I've never had Brussels sprouts before.

Superintendent:
These are amazing. This steak is so juicy and Brussel sprouts. I'm going to try them right now. Oh, you can taste the zest and the citrus. It's incredible.

Student:
And I saved the Yukon potatoes for last because I know it's like dessert. How are those Brussel sprouts?

Superintendent:
Wow. It was Brussels sprouts. First of all, they have kick, but it's an appropriate kick. I've never had them as good before.

Thanks again to Ms. Anderson, Aaron, to Lexi for being here from the yearbook to document and to Mike. Anderson for bringing his cast iron skillet and his skills to the kitchen as well. And I'm going to go back to the meal, but thank you so much for letting us join you as always.

Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. And remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out.