Supercast

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It's not something students typically see every day, Queen Elizabeth making a grand and dignified entrance into one of their classrooms. But when the classroom belongs to Fort Herriman Middle School Science teacher, Gayle Dowdle, it is simply part of the learning process.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out how one teacher's love of cosplay resulted in something called the “Creators Club” for students. A club where creativity is sparked by making colorful costumes and transforming into beloved characters.

We're here with Gayle Dowdle, a science teacher at Fort Herriman Middle School to talk about cosplay. Thanks for talking with us today.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, no problem.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who may not know, if they were standing here with you right now, they would know what cosplay is because you are dressed to the nines. But describe what cosplay is just to start.

Gayle Dowdle:
So cosplay is a kind of mix of two words. It's a mixture of costuming and play. So the idea is that when you cosplay, you basically dress as the character and you pretend to be the character as well. So the cosplay character that I usually portray is Queen Elizabeth I, and I do the Utah Renaissance Fair and stuff, so I represent her at those. I've done a bunch of other characters too, but lots of it is involved with like FanX and comic conventions and things like that, but also people do it as like volunteer stuff too.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I can hear that I've already mispronounced it, cosplay instead of cosplay. Which is a common mistake I'm guessing.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, my dad the first time he said he's like, "Have you heard of this cosplay stuff?” I'm like, "Yeah Dad, that's what I do.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I am a big pop culture fan and I have seen cosplay a lot at FanX, at San Diego Comic-Con, and at other venues for pop culture. You talked about the service aspect too, but let's talk about the fan experiences that you're a part of and where cosplay comes into play at those venues.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, so FanX was kind of one of the first places that I really got into some of the more major stuff of doing costuming at a higher level and that was because I got pulled into one of the cosplay competitions there. Ro is the one that runs the cosplay competition and he was like, "You should do this." So I applied and got in and won my first cosplay competition as an Elizabethan vampire. And so that was really cool. And I was like, "This is amazing. This is exciting.”

What's really cool is when you go and interact, the community of cosplayers is really close and supportive a lot of times. And so made a lot of friends through that. So it's just kind of become this huge part of my life where I've got people. In fact, one of my friends is in the cosplay called Fame and she's actually gonna come next week as a guest to help the kids next week at our cosplay clubs. But basically, just everybody comes up with the character that they love and then they build it. Sometimes it's original characters, sometimes it's characters from pop culture like you were talking about.

And there is competitions. I've competed, well, except for during COVID when we didn't do it. I basically competed every year for the last five or six years, and I've won six or seven awards. Last year I won first place in Masters at FanX with my Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth gown. So yeah, it was pretty exciting. I was excited about that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, let's talk about the array of costumes that you have embraced.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
It really, like you said, is next-level costuming. And I've seen a wide range as I've gone to FanX and other events.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Transformer outfits that are made out of Igloo coolers and lots of different household items that are used as a part of a costume. But then there are those costumes that stand out that really are just very eye-catching, very compelling. Something that obviously took a ton of effort, not that the Igloo cooler costumes don't, but there are some that are really made to look completely realistic. So what are some of the Costumes over the years that you have created and won awards with?

Gayle Dowdle:
So a couple of them are different Queen Elizabeth gowns because I love that era and I love, even though I teach science, I love history. My husband's a history teacher so we love that era and kind of focus on a lot about Shakespeare. So I've done a Shakespeare costume for him that's based on the Cobbe portrait of Shakespeare. So it's a replica of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that the one with or without an earring?

Gayle Dowdle:
It's a younger one that they're still arguing about whether they really think it's Shakespeare, so it does have an earring in it. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So he dressed as the maybe Shakespeare.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah. Yeah, he's the maybe Shakespeare. But so I did that, and that was one that won. I also have done, I did a steampunk Batgirl. Which steampunk is like Victorian stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
I understand the steampunk.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, so I did that that was a lot of fun. It had wings that opened and closed. Then my most recent one that won just this last Halloween at a cosplay competition at the aquarium. The Loveland Planet aquarium was a six-foot-tall Chocobo, which is basically a giant chicken. It's a chicken costume for what most people don't know what a Chocobo is, but it's from a video game and they ride the Chocobo so it's like the size of a horse but it's a bird. But I made that for my son and you're inside the costume and a scientist actually told me when she was judging it how much it looked like the skeleton of a bird, which being a scientist I felt very like complimented by that so that was cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
How do you get from Queen Elizabeth to an enormous chicken from a video game?

Gayle Dowdle:
Because I am a lot of kinds of nerds. So yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, so a wide range of nerd-dom appeals to you.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yes, yes. So we love video games in my family, but we also love history in my family. So the Chocobo came because my son wanted to be the Chocobo. So we worked on it together and built that. He actually tried to compete with it and we didn't win anything with it, but it was, I was actually just recovering from chemo at the time. So I wasn't able to put as much effort into it as I did. So we kind of revamped it this year and then it won this year. So that was really cool. But yeah, it's just a wide range. Anything that interests me, I'm like, I want to make that. We figure out a way to make it.

Anthony Godfrey:
As I've seen these costumes at FanX and other places, there are lots of people that get stopped to have their picture taken. And I've done that. I've stopped people. I was a Moon Knight fan before Moon Knight was cool. I started buying the comics in the 70s when I was a kid and whenever I saw a Moon Knight costume in the past, it was like somebody else remembers Moon Knight and I had to have my picture with them regardless of the quality of the costume. So let me ask you this, have you had a lot of photos over the years?

Gayle Dowdle:
Oh yeah. One year we actually, my husband kept track on his watch and just tapped every time somebody took a picture. And by the end of the first day, he stopped counting 'cause we had hit over 400 people that had come and taken pictures. So when we go to FanX, we don't get anywhere very fast ‘cause basically it's, we look at something, somebody takes a picture, we walk a few steps, somebody stops us, takes another picture, we walk a few steps. Yeah, we don't go anywhere fast. And at the Renaissance Fair, I have my own throne room with the other queens and the other kings. So people come to us there and get quests and stuff from us and take pictures, so it's a lot of fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back more with the “Creators Club” and cosplay in the classroom.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk about the craft around it and bringing it into the club. So it takes a lot of work, it takes some skills. What made you want to start a club at the school?

Gayle Dowdle:
So when I started getting into this, I didn't have all the skills I needed. I didn't know how to do foam work and make armor and I didn't know how to do war blood and I didn't like, there were a lot of pieces. I knew how to sew because my mom had taught me to sew, but I didn't know how to sew what I needed to know. And so many of these kids, when I walk, 'cause I'll wear costumes to school occasionally for not really any reason other than I wanna wear a costume. So when I do and the kids see me, they're like, oh my gosh, I love it, I wanna do cosplay. And I started thinking about it, I was like, I have all this knowledge and stuff that I've learned over the last 10 years, that it only makes sense that I find a way to share it with them.

And this was something that we came up with, that we came up with this idea that we could do this club and each kid won't get their own costume, but they're gonna get skills from it and they're gonna get things that they can take. And what I'm hoping is that some of these guys will take this and continue with it because, for some people, this is their living. And for me, it's a side gig and I do commissions for people, but for some of them, they may actually be designers. And we didn't call it the cosplay club, we called it the “Creators Club”, because we didn't want to disparage those kids who were not necessarily into cosplay, but who want to sew dresses because it's the same skills and it's the same ideas.

So yeah, I just decided, I'm like, this is dumb that I have all of this vast knowledge and skills and stuff that I've learned over the last decade that I'm not imparting to these kids who want that knowledge and who are excited about that. So we have about 40 kids that are on the “Creators Club” and some come more regularly than others, but when they do come, they just get to work and they get working on stuff and they're very dedicated to what they're doing.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's dynamite. I love that you've provided this opportunity and this outlet for creativity, but also the sense of connection and sense of community.

Gayle Dowdle:
Yeah, it's been a lot of fun to get to know some of these guys. And they're an interesting group. They have such passions about specific things that they love, so it's great.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the great costumes that have come out of this club?

Gayle Dowdle:
So right now we're in the process, since it's only our first year, and each year we're basically focusing on creating one costume. And so we've got some that are Five Nights at Freddy's video game costume, we've got that one coming along. A lot of them were original characters. They didn't pick a specific character from something else, they designed their own stuff. And then they're coming up with how they're gonna do that on their own.

We've got armor that's gonna be made with scales and horns and lots of skirts, lots of petticoats, 'cause we've got lots of 'em that want the fluff. And, but yeah, we're gonna have them all put them on display at the school talent show in May. So that's our end goal, is to get those finished and then kind of have like a fashion show of all the ones. And whatever they have done, we'll put on display. If they've only got the skirt, we'll display it. If they've got the whole costume, great. That's good too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic, I love that. For those who are not lucky enough to be here, describe this costume to me, please.

Gayle Dowdle:
Okay, so this one is, I actually entered this in the geek-bound fashion show at FanX last year. It didn't win, but it was kind of a new thing for me, where basically you take a geekdom and you create like a modern something. And I entered the evening wear category. So there's like casual and then modern wear. So this one was my version of Belle. So a modern version of what I would think that Belle's gown would be. And I actually made it, specifically my goal to make it was that I couldn't spend any money. So I had to use anything that I had around my house 'cause I have a huge stash of fabric 'cause lots of people have donated stuff to me over the years. I should say we had a whole bunch of people who donated fabric and things to the club as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah.

Gayle Dowdle:
And so but yeah, so this is my version of Beauty and the Beast Belle.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's fantastic. So you've got red roses, you've got gold roses.

Gayle Dowdle:
And the mirrors because of the enchanted mirror.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, mirrors along the bottom of the skirt is part of a pattern. A blend of gold and what would you call this red color?

Gayle Dowdle:
Kind of a burgundy almost, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's, yeah, it's a beautiful dress.

Gayle Dowdle:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
If you did this without making a purchase, then you really do have a significant stash at home.

Gayle Dowdle:
I do. These are curtains, actually. So's the stuff that the gold underneath this is curtains, and the red was curtains that were donated as well. So, yeah, my dress is basically made out of curtains, so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's fantastic.

Gayle Dowdle:
It looks better than curtains, I promise.

Anthony Godfrey:
Curtains never had it so good with the design and all of that. That's wonderful.

Gayle Dowdle:
Thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, tell me your name.

Abigail:
Abigail.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Abigail, what grade are you in?

Abigail:
Seventh.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're part of the "Creator Club". Tell me about what that's like.

Abigail:
It's fun. We come every Thursday after school, and we work on our projects.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about the project that you have here. This looks akin to a wedding dress.

Abigail:
It is. We got it from the DI in like December.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Yeah.

Abigail:
And so we are making a fairy dress and this is our base for it.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is the what?

Abigail:
The base.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, this is the base.

Abigail:
So we're gonna take that, and then we're gonna take this and this, and put it on top. So it looks yellow.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. This is the bottom half of a white wedding dress with decoration on it. Does it have a bit of a train? It has a little bit of a train and so you're going to take this fabric and lay it over according to this design that you've put together Did you draw this?

Abigail:
No, me and my friends drew it.

Anthony Godfrey:
What was the inspiration for the design? Is there any movie or Anime that made you think of this particular design?

Abigail:
We just decided that we wanted like a foresty nature-like fairy dress and so we settled on yellow and green because they work together. We made a bag that is green and a flower crown.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I love the crown. White daisies and a couple of pink flowers. It looks really nice. And then this, tell me about this bag. Did you sew this bag?

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And is that, it's in the shape of a leaf. It's green. You can see the veins of the leaf that have been stitched on and then two handles to it. That looks really, oh, it's soft too.

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow, that's really nice.

Abigail:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so this will be the accessory that goes with that.

Abigail:
Yes, so it will be the accessory. The rules were we had to make something with shoes, a headpiece of some kind, and an accessory like a bag or a purse.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, this all looks so great. Holding this wedding dress, it makes me think, what's the story behind this dress?

Abigail:
We were at the DI. We went on a field trip to grab supplies so we went to the DI in someplace in Salt Lake City. And while we were at the DI, we were looking for a base and then everyone looked at the wedding dress and went, that's the one, that's the one we want. So we bought it for pretty cheap, I can't remember exactly how much, but it definitely wasn't full price for what it normally would have been if it were brand new.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Looks like you hit the jackpot.

Abigail:
Yeah, I'm sure the person there was confused why we were buying a wedding dress. Middle schoolers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah probably. Not a lot of seventh graders in the market for a wedding dress.

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay well that's awesome I can't wait to see how that product turns out.

Abigail:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Julie Beaird the sewing teacher here at Fort Herriman Middle School and tell me your role in this club and talk to me about the evolution of this club.

Julie Beaird:
Well I started doing a Stranger Things Club three years ago.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Julie Beaird:
With the request of a student. So we would get together and talk about episodes and it was kind of dying down so I thought we'd fit some sewing into it. So we made Christmas stockings for our fundraiser and stuff at Christmas time and but I still wasn't getting there with sewing so last summer Ms. Dowdle came and said what do you think of this idea. Yay, we could do more sewing! So I was really excited to do this. So it kind of morphed from the Stranger Things into the “Creator Club”.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic.

Julie Beaird:
I was already kind of used to doing a club-type thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, and because it's the “Creator Club”, cosplay is certainly a part of that, but it's not uniquely cosplay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So tell me some of the projects that students have been working on through the year as part of the club.

Julie Beaird:
Yeah, I think a lot of students, at least my Stranger Things kids, didn't want it called cosplay because they don't identify with cosplay as being like a cool thing. So we kind of voted on names and when we came to “Creator Club” it fit perfect because it isn't just about cosplay, it's about being a fashion designer in a lot of ways and problem-solving when it comes to like trying to make an outfit or your design come to life that's on paper. So I like the idea of a creator because then you could do anything with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the skills that students have gained as they've been a part of this club?

Julie Beaird:
So a lot of them don't really know sewing. I have every seventh grader in CCA learn sewing, but some of the kids that have come here haven't been in my class yet. So they've had to pick it up pretty quick. And so they're learning to thread the machines, use the machines, unpick things when they've made a mistake so using a seam ripper, cutting things straight, that's a really big skill. I just showed a student how to cut a line and she accidentally cut too much and that's that's hard in sewing because once you cut it away it's gone. But the thing I love about sewing and this is a skill I hope they will learn, of a seam ripper because everything in sewing can be fixed just like everything in life can be fixed.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that.

Julie Beaird:
So a seam ripper kind of represents there's no mistake that can't be fixed in life or in sewing.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great.

Julie Beaird:
And I try and tell them you know there's not a lot of careers in sewing but it is a good life skill. Even if it's just someday you're gonna talk to someone and say I remember back in middle school when I sewed, and I still have my pillow or I still have golf shirts. Advanced though because sewing on knit it's hard.

Anthony Godfrey:
It may not be a skill that turns into a career, but there are going to be a lot of applications for it.

Julie Beaird:
Yeah, that's why I'm really glad the district still does it. There is a lot of life lessons to be taught at school, not just about careers, but about living your life.

Anthony Godfrey:
And a physical product that results from learning something you couldn't do before, that's tremendous value in that. Thanks to both of you for spending time with me today, and especially for putting all the time and effort into this. I think it's fabulous that you're making this available for students.

Gayle Dowdle:
Thank you. I appreciate you coming.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a high school medical forensics class which focuses on the proper way of documenting and processing a crime scene and on this day, it does not involve work in the classroom.

On this episode of the Supercast, we take you on a unique field trip where forensics students are getting their hands dirty, with hands-on learning, digging deep into the science of medical forensics surrounded by police cars and crime scene tape. They are crime-solving students in action.

I’m here with Cynthia Cox out in Copperton, out in the field with her medical forensics class and with the law enforcement class as well. So introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about these classes and today's experience.

Cynthia Cox:
Well, my name is Cynthia Cox and I teach the medical forensics class at Bingham. All year long we've been talking about crime scene investigation, crime scene analysis, identification of evidence, analysis of evidence, packaging of evidence, and so this is kind of a culminating activity where the students come out and it's led by the police department. So the students are getting a real-world view of how to solve a crime from beginning to at least evidence packaged and sent back to the lab.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we have a gloomy snowy day that you might have ordered for dark work like this. It's the perfect setting. Tell me about the skills that students learn in class that lead up to this experience.

Cynthia Cox:
Well, we talk all about observation skills and turning off filters during observation, trying to make sure that students are coming in looking at evidence unbiased. We try to, we teach them about how to package all different types of evidence, not just a screwdriver, a piece of wire, but biologic evidence, drug evidence, blood evidence. And so there we teach bone analysis, we look at fingerprint analysis, we look at blood spatter analysis, and through all of those activities we're working on, you know, other workplace skills like problem-solving skills and teamwork skills.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the bone analysis and the blood splatter analysis.

Cynthia Cox:
Okay, so with blood spatter it can tell a story. We can, based on are we seeing large drops? Is this somebody that was maybe walking away from after they were injured? Or is this a really fine mist that may have come from a fast-moving weapon like a gun? So the angles that spatter hits a surface can tell us whether that person was standing up, whether they were sitting down, were they lying down. We can identify how many times a person might have been hit with blood spatter analysis. So there's lots of things we can learn from that.

With bone analysis and what they're looking at out here, a lot of animal bones that we've put out here, and we allow them to decompose before the students come out here. We can identify gender, we can identify ancestry, we can identify age from the bones, we can identify some of the injuries that might have occurred and left marks on the bones when we're trying to put all the pieces together and figure out what happened.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you indicated that you have animal remains out here that are used as evidence.

Cynthia Cox:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about that. That's how you helped create the crime scene.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah, so these are all legally acquired animal remains that taxidermists have given to me. And so we put them out here and allow them to decompose. And then the students collect the evidence that's already completely decomposed 'cause they don't like dealing with the flesh.

Anthony Godfrey:
You’ve really gone all in with getting things early enough to allow them to decompose. That's really, that's lesson planning at another level.

Cynthia Cox:
Well, we've been putting stuff out here every year for about nine years, so.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've got it down.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me about the involvement of the police. As I drove out here, I saw the truck and the flashing lights and I knew something was up.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It definitely gives that real feel. They're working with the police right now, walking through with police officers in uniform, walking them through the crime scene. It's pretty exciting.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah, so I feel like that's one of the benefits to it. We get that work-based learning feel. It's one thing for a classroom teacher to stand up there and teach all these components. But when they come out here with the police officers who do this every single day, all day long, they get a little bit more of that real-world experience, trying to really bring work-based learning into the classroom as much as we can, or outside of the classroom as we may. So I set this up through our SRO, and then he reaches-- -

Anthony Godfrey:
School resource officer for those listening.

Cynthia Cox:
Yep. And then he reaches out to the forensics division at the South Jordan Police Department.

Anthony Godfrey:
So do you draw attention? Do people wonder what's going on when the police are out here and we're scouring the landscape with police tape and everything?

Cynthia Cox:
Well, just like it was interesting to you when you walked up, we've already had Rio Tinto security come up and check on us to make sure everything was okay and see what was going on 'cause they saw the police tape and the flashing red and blue lights and--

Anthony Godfrey:
You told them no problem, we're just solving crime.

Cynthia Cox:
Yep, that's right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's about the most engaged learning you can imagine. I'm just looking out at a couple of dozen students with police officers and do not cross police tape and evidence and it's really exciting. So thank you for providing such a great experience for them today. Tell me, does this change their view of the crime shows and movies that they watch? Does it shift their perspective?

Cynthia Cox:
I hope so. We talk about that quite a bit in class, the fact that a crime is not solved in 45 minutes, that a collection of evidence alone can take 8, 9, 10, 12 hours, and then there's all the analysis and then all the legal work and the paperwork and everything. So we talk about that in depth in class.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what is it that draws students to a class like this? Is it they want to be in law enforcement, they want to be an attorney, they want to know more about you know a medical approach to solving problems? What is it that draws them?

Cynthia Cox:
I think most of the time they've they've seen the shows and those are interesting to them and so then they want to learn more. We talk about it throughout the school, they see some of our mock crime scenes that we set up during the school day as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Mock crime scenes must be really good advertisement for that class.

Cynthia Godfrey:
Yeah, we set those up multiple times throughout the year in the building and the students are able to then go through and practice collecting evidence. They stage them so they create those crime scenes that we do in class and they moulage each other, and they practice but then this is taking it to a whole different level.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is impressive. We're now in the area of the decay and with the bones out there. Kids are measuring things on the ground, working in teams, scouring the landscape, packaging evidence all under the watchful eye of South Jordan Police. It's really exciting. It's really cool to see this level of engagement. So beyond the specific skills of forensics, what are some of the other general skills that you hope students take away from this class?

Cynthia Cox:
Number one, I want them to have an appreciation for law enforcement, right? I want them to understand what really has to go into crimes and evaluation. You think about a TV show and it lasts 45 minutes and they've solved the whole crime.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Everything gets tied up pretty neatly.

Cynthia Cox:
Yeah. And in real life, it doesn't happen that way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Cynthia Cox:
So, I want them to have that appreciation and kind of that real-world view. We teach a lot of analytical skills in this class, information processing, you know, how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, teamwork skills. It's another big thing that we work on in this class.

Solving a crime isn't just a one-person deal, you know, you're working with a medical examiner, you're working with an investigator, you might be working with an attorney or law enforcement, everybody has to come together to try to solve that. So we work a lot with teamwork skills, some of those life skills that they can take with them into other professions as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Outstanding. Well, it's a great class experience obviously given by an award-winning teacher and they're very lucky to have you and to have the chance to have experiences like this. So thank you for making learning so meaningful and real for these students.

Cynthia Cox:
Thank you. Thanks for coming out here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, more with our crime-solving students in Bingham High's medical forensics class.

Break:
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:
Hi Lexi, we're out here in the field by Copperton doing investigative work. Tell me what class you're in.

Lexi:
It's the Medical Forensics class at Bingham. It's one of the awesome classes we teach there. We're just learning about investigating crimes and looking for evidence and it's a blast out here.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me what you're looking for out here.

Lexi:
Oh, we're looking for anything that could have evidence. So in the class, we've learned about all sorts of evidence, biological transfer, stuff like that. So we're looking for things that could have DNA on them, things that could have skin or hair, saliva or things that could be used as a weapon, so any tools that wouldn't grow in the middle of a field.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the specific crime that you're trying to solve?

Lexi:
Somebody went out here, we had a missing person, but one of the teams has found a head so they're no longer missing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. So it has changed to a different kind of investigation at this point.

Lexi:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
All of this is fictitious for those of you who may have dropped in partway through the podcast. Now it is cold, it is kind of the perfect setting for grim work of the type that you're doing right now. Tell me about looking forward to this experience as you've been learning things in class.

Lexi:
It's just been awesome, it's cool because in most classrooms it's hard to find any sort of like hands-on, especially a class like this where we're dealing with like criminal things. You can't often find that, but it's cool that we have this experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is this something that you think you might want to pursue long-term as a career?

Lexi:
Not especially, not because of the class I just already have other ambitions, but it's been really good to apply to it. I want to be a nurse and so there's things that have been like applicable throughout and even different types of nursing this can still apply well.

Anthony Godfrey:
And problem-solving and working with teams and just there's a lot of that can be applied from this to becoming a nurse.

Lexi:
Definitely. Along with that, we just learn lots about like the human body and different stuff because like when we are looking for evidence, we're looking for hair and drugs and stuff like that. And then in nursing, we're looking for like evidence of things that could be wrong with the body. So it's cool to learn about the different structures and then apply them differently.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you'll look at every crime show or movie in a different way for the rest of your life now.

Lexi:
Oh definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'll let you get back to solving crimes and making this a safer place for everyone.

Lexi:
Okay, thank you.

Jody Skog:
My name is Jody Skog. I am the crime scene and evidence supervisor.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about this experience with the students.

Jody Skog:
It is super fun to be able to come out here and have them see what we see and when they have all their markers I'm like oh this is an evidence person's worst nightmare because there's like 150 markers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
But just to see how excited they get is really fun because it's the first step of a career for them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me what your day-to-day job is like when you're not helping students solve crime.

Jody Skog:
A lot of my job is running the evidence division and so it's booking any property that the evidence book in. It could be processing, looking for fingerprints, DNA, submitting stuff to the crime lab, processing actual crime scenes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for what you do, and thank you for taking the time to help these students learn these skills.

Jody Skog:
We just did an internship with or a job shadow with a 14-year-old.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh really?

Jody Skog:
And then she wanted to come back, so we had her come back and she actually helped us process some evidence.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you think she might want to pursue this?

Jody Skog:
I think she will.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah?

Jody Skog:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what sparked it for you, what made you want to pursue this as a career?

Jody Skog:
I was a police officer for seven years. And then this just kind of fell into my lap and now I run the whole division.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what made you interested in being involved in law enforcement?

Jody Skog:
My dad was a police officer for 30 something years. And so he always told me over his dead body. And so he got sick of me talking about it. And he says, "Do you wanna do it, do it.” And so I started when he retired.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Jody Skog:
So I'm on my 22nd year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that's amazing.

Jody Skog:
Three and a half years left.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So you're going for 25, a little over?

Jody Skog:
I'm gonna do probably just the 25 and I’m tired.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
And so Audrey's just started. She's been with us for four months. So what they teach you in college isn't necessarily what happens on the job. So it's kind of an eye-opener, but we were telling the kids, check with departments, get involved in like the cadets. Sandy City has the Explorer program.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
So if they want to be a police officer, if they want to do crime scenes, it's a great way to start.

Anthony Godfrey:
Good. Tell me what do you observe as you are working with students? You see some different approaches I assume.

Jody Skog:
I think they have the way they look at things is really interesting but they're on the right path. Fingerprints, DNA, the females are a little bit more methodical than the boys are. It's kind of fun to watch because the girls are really slow and really think it out and the guys are just like.

Anthony Godfrey:
Running through, huh?

Jody Skog:
Running through.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's crank it out. Do you ever get to enjoy any crime shows or any movies at all or are you just able to point out all the things that are wrong?

Jody Skog:
I laugh at them. Right. I'm like, we can't solve a crime in 24 hours.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there anybody who does it right? Is there a show where you say this show is really pretty close to authentic?

Jody Skog:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
[LAUGHTER] So there's nothing out there.

Jody Skog:
No. But I get a kick out of them. I love them all.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I can keep watching them in my ignorant state and enjoy them because I don't know better.

Jody Skog:
It’s fun. Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Jody Skog:
So our labs are getting faster and faster, where a rape would take a couple of years to solve. And now we're getting the results back in a couple of months. So technology is increasing.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's an aspect of the new technology that might surprise people?

Jody Skog:
They're getting manpower, before they used to have like one expert.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jody Skog:
And so we're getting more and more people that are loving forensics and they're getting, getting educated. So the field is growing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, hopefully, the students here today can help create a pipeline for some other, some other great folks to come help out.

Jody Skog:
We need smart people.

Anthony Godfrey:
So Kelan you're here solving crime with your friends, right?

Kelan:
Yes, correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I see your shirt says Bingham Medical Forensics with a bloody B under a magnifying glass. I like the logo.

Kelan:
I do too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this class and this experience.

Kelan:
Well, we go through a lot of things, such as bone analysis and blood work, and we study some of the body, the body features, and anatomy, we really cover a whole lot in this class. It's really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
And have you been looking forward to this field experience?

Kelan:
I'm really interested in the medical field. I don't know what I wanna do, but yeah, this really intrigues my interest. I'm really intrigued.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's allowed you to learn some about the human body and sometimes it may be from a dark perspective, you know, the bad things that can happen and how you can detect how it happened and maybe who did it. So I like that you know that you wanna go in the medical field, but you're open to which direction that'll take you.

Kelan:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's great to talk with you and I'm glad you're having such a good experience in the class and good luck with whatever medical career you pursue.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They didn't hesitate to come to the rescue when a Jordan School District teacher found herself in a serious situation while driving along Bangerter Highway on her way to work.

On this episode of the Supercast, meet Trevor Bradley and Sean Vick, ground crew employees in Jordan School District's Facility Services Department. Find out how the two men saved the stranded teacher with a small child in the car, fearing for her safety on the side of the road. And listen in to find out what happens when we bring the three together for a sweet reunion.

We're headed down the hallway at Foothills Elementary to Mariah Nilson's classroom to surprise her with Trevor and Sean. Here we go.

Hey there, how are you?

Mariah Nilson:
Good.

Anthony Godfrey:
We just wanted to come talk with you this morning, interrupt your class a little bit with a couple of people I think you know.

Mariah Nilson:
Oh, yes, hi.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know, you're backing away from me.

Mariah Nilson:
Sorry, I'm just like really caught off guard, but yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
We talked to your principal, she said you could take a surprise.

Mariah Nilson:
Oh, yes, so that is good. Is this why, okay, I like said hi to you in the hallway, and I was like, wait, that's really weird that you're here, but that was really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you did see them, okay. Can you tell me what happened, kind of talk me through that morning?

Mariah Nilson:
Sure, so it was last week and my daughter and I were on our way to Foothills. We were on Bangerter and something had happened and my tire completely blew. But like did not just die, like it really died, like multiple pieces are flying everywhere, it was really dead.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what was the sound like? How did it feel when that happened?

Mariah Nilson:
It was this huge boom and then my car started swerving and I like freaked out. And then my daughter, she's one and a half and she started screaming. And I didn't really know what was going on. I was like, something is happening. Am I losing control of my car? And so it was very scary. And I started-- like, I put my hazards on, started pulling over all these things. And in my head, I'm like, I don't know how to change this. I don't know how to do anything. I wasn't even sure if it was the tire. I just knew something was wrong. I'm not a very big car person. And so I pulled over. And little did I know that these two lovely gentlemen, they pulled over right behind me. They saw it blow, the pieces flying everywhere and came over and pulled right next into an empty parking lot with me and changed it. Which was super helpful because I was able to tend to my daughter who was very scared still from the sound and then they were able to help me. And again, I didn't know how to do anything and they just immediately took it. They're like, “Oh, we got it. You help your daughter. We'll help you and make sure that you are safe.” So that was really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's very fortunate that these two were behind you instead of me, because I would not have been much help. So did it surprise you that it was a couple of Jordan School District employees that happened to be behind you?

Mariah Nilson:
Yeah, that was really cool, a happy coincidence, because I didn't realize until they pulled off that they had a Jordan District vehicle, and then I had my badge on, and that was the first thing that Scott said, is he goes, "Oh, you work for the district too.” And I was like, "Yeah." So then we realized that they are the ones that mowed the lawn here at Foothills, just like a happy coincidence. Like we're like coworkers, but we didn't know it. So that was cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're not just three of the 9,000 employees in Jordan School District who happen to run into each other, but you have this Foothills connection as well.

Mariah Nilson:
Yeah. So that was kind of cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
So they changed the tire. How did it feel driving away?

Mariah Nilson:
So there's another thing my spare tire was flat and I didn't know that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Mariah Nilson:
And then when they changed it, they said it was flat. So they followed me to the nearest gas station and then they filled my spare tire with air like completely by themselves. They did all of it, which was really nice because again, I don't know how to do that either. And they made sure that my daughter and I were safe. And I think that was the biggest thing. Cause I was like a nervous wreck. I was really like freaking out and my daughter was still upset. She ended up crying for like almost an hour afterwards at the babysitter. She was really scared.

But like they made sure that my daughter and I were safe and that we could get back to Foothills safely. They even showed me like a side road so I didn't have to get back on Bangerter because I was scared of Bangerter at that point. That my car had gone crazy. But they just went out of their way to make sure that my daughter and I were safe, which was really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing. Now, let's get to know you guys. Introduce yourselves.

Sean Vick:
I'm Sean Vick, work on the grounds.

Trevor Bradley:
Trevor Bradley, yep on the grounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so tell me about your experience that day. Who was driving?

Trevor Bradley:
I was driving. Yeah, we just kind of were heading off to go do some work at South Tech. And we saw, you know, the car in front of us, she's just, the tire was kind of shaking a little bit and we could smell it kind of burning at first. Yeah, and then we're like, “oh, I hope she pulls off.” And then it, you know, completely, we just tore right off the rim. And then the tire's rolling down the road. So she pulled off the exit and we just kind of followed her. We had no idea she was an employee. We're like, “well, let's see if they need some help.” We want to help them out if they need it, and then we just pulled over. She got out and I saw the badge and I was like, “Oh, you're a district employee.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's pretty cool. That's amazing. And that's a good reminder. It's that you pulled over for whoever was in trouble ahead of you. It wasn't because they're a Jordan District employee.

Trevor Bradley:
No, yeah, definitely not.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're driving around a lot as a part of your job. Have you seen this type of thing happen before? Have you helped other people in the past or have you not encountered something like this?

Trevor Bradley:
This is my first time.

Sean Vick:
Yeah, I haven't. This is my first time also.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So tell me about the experience from your perspective.

Sean Vick:
Well, like Trevor said, we were just driving down the road and I could see the tire was smoking and thought, what's going on with her tire? I didn’t know it was her, but.

Anthony Godfrey:
Which is kind of a bad sign for those listening.

Sean Vick:
Right. That's not a good thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
If your tire is smoking, unless you're a drag racer. Then you’re ok.

Sean Vick:
Right, yeah. And that's when, like he said, pieces started flying off of the tire and then the outer shell rolled off the side of the road and thought, uh-oh, we just thought we'd follow her and make sure that everything was okay. And Trevor's like, “Should we help her?” And I'm like, “Yeah, we better help her.” So that's what we did. We just went in there and it was kind of like a NASCAR pit crew, you know. I just went in the back of her trunk and took out the jack and gave it to Trevor and he immediately knew what to do, over there and started jacking up the car and I got the spare tire, brought it out to him, he took the old tire off, I gave him the new one, he put it on while I put the spare tire back into the trunk and closed it up. I tried to soothe her daughter a little bit because she was a little frightened and was crying but it was just really fast, five minutes and we were done and got her on her way and that was it. We were just glad that we could be there to help her.

Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's pretty remarkable because I'm afraid we're moving as a society away from connecting to each other and away from helping each other and thinking, “oh, it's a stranger, I'm sure they can call AAA. I'm sure they have somebody they can call” rather than diving in to help in the moment. So I'm really impressed and proud that two Jordan District employees on the job are gonna pull over and help whoever needs them.

Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, definitely.

Sean Vick:
That's why we're here.

Anthony Godfrey:
As you thought back on this, how have you felt about these two?

Mariah Nilson:
I've just been really grateful for them. When I got to school, I was like, I'm sure you're curious on how I figured out who you were. So you told me your first names, but I didn't see your badges. I just saw your first names. And I talked to my secretary and you know secretaries are really good at getting information. So I told her I was like, “hey, like this crazy thing just happened. I would love to be able to reach out and like to thank them and to like tell their boss or somebody that they did a really good thing for me today.” Because it was again like as soon as I got out, I was like I don't know how I'm gonna get to work. I don't know how to change anything. I'm on my own. I don't know how to do this. So I figured out who they were, my secretary gave me their bosses emails, so I sent this like big email to their bosses and just said like these are amazing men and I'm very grateful for them. And I still am, even like a week later. And I will forever be grateful for them 'cause they helped me when I needed it and when my daughter needed it. And that was really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm really glad you tracked them down and took the time to write that email. That's how we found out about it. And I couldn't wait to meet you and to meet them and to talk about this.

You know, my motto for the district has been, ‘Be curious, be intentional, be united’. And this just epitomizes being united, being someone who's gonna reach out and help. And then on your end, you're gonna make sure that you find out who they are so you can thank them. That's the amazing part, it's like, you know their first names and that's it, and they just kind of disappear into the day and everyone goes about their work. But that's a lasting impact. I'm sure it's something you won't forget.

Mariah Nelson:
No, definitely not.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hopefully it's something your daughter will forget.

Mariah Nelson:
Yes, hopefully so. I would like her to not remember this.

Anthony Godfrey
(laughing) Well, that's remarkable. Thank you for everything you guys have done to support her, like I said, it just, this gives me fuel for a long time. It doesn't surprise me. That's the type of people we have in Jordan District, but it's really exciting to hear about and to meet all of you.

Stay with us. When we come back more with our kind employees taking care of one another.

Break:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families, free of charge. You can take a class called Blues Busters for children feeling sad or worried. Just Breathe is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District school psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me a little bit about your time in the district and the job that you do.

Trevor Bradley:
I've been with the district for about two and a half years now so kind of a newer employee, been on the grounds crew the whole time. You know, we kind of just take care of you know, in the summer times we take care of the lawns and all the landscaping and wintertime we’re out there keeping the parking lots cleared and salted.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's been a pretty smooth year this year?

Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, oh yeah. Not much to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nobody watches the weather like you guys do.

Sean Vick:
Oh yeah, just tons of snow.

Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, nobody does.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you work some long and some early hours.

Trevor Bradley:
Oh yeah, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
In fact, tell me about that.

Trevor Bradley:
Lots of 2:00 a.m.’s this year, 3:00 a.m. and long hours. 14, 15 hour days.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, no, I know. We've relied on you guys more this year than ever before. And people think grounds crew, and they don't realize the wide range of jobs that you have and the things we rely on you to do. Really, safety is at the center of what you're doing too. Now tell me about your time in the district.

Sean Vick:
Well, I've been with the district for 27 years. I left for a few years, went to Arizona, and then came back recently. And I was fortunate to get back on at the district. I was in custodial prior to this, but I thoroughly enjoy the place and I was able to get on the grounds with what a great crew, you know, with Easton as our supervisor. It's good teammates and everything. I love the job. And I love being able to go out and help and, like you said, make the schools safe for all the students and teachers and parents.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I really appreciate it. Your jobs are essential. We just, we honestly can't function without you. And I'll bet you were missing Arizona this winter.

Sean Vick:
I surely am. I am.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're glad to have you back and, and we're glad to have you joined Jordan a couple of years ago. Anything about being on grounds crew that people might misunderstand about the job or not realize is part of the job?

Sean Vick:
Your school's not the only school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, that’s true.

Sean Vick:
Because a lot of people would like to have their lawn mowed first, you know, or their parking lot plowed first and somebody's got to be last, unfortunately. So people get a little upset and, you know apprehensive, when are they gonna be here?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Sean Vick:
So, we try our best to get there as quick as we can.

Anthony Godfrey:
Honestly, I think we've got the best crews in the state and I talked to a lot of superintendents. We really do. Dedicated people like you who take the job very seriously, love the job.

Sean Vick:
Love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's and it's obvious that you love doing what you do. So, thank you for that. And tell me about your career in Jordan.

Mariah Nilson:
This is my seventh year teaching and my fourth year in Jordan. And I've been at Foothills the whole time under Cherie so she's been great.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what grade do you teach?

Mariah Nilson:
I am currently teaching second. I've kind of bounced around a little bit. I've taught fifth and sixth and now I'm in second.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how are you feeling about the younger kids compared with the older?

Mariah Nilson:
I love them. I love all kids. I've realized like finding there's like fun things in each grade but second grade is really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's great. Well, I admire the work that each of you is responsible for in the district and the hard work that you put into it, the early mornings, the late nights, and just thank you for being a part of Jordan and for being such great people.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a fun before-school program fostering curiosity and creativity in students at Eastlake Elementary School. On this episode of the Supercast, we hear from members of the “Young Poets Society” and have them read some of their original works. It is a society sparking a strong passion and appreciation for reading and writing poetry.

We're here with the “Young Poets Society” at Eastlake Elementary School. Tell me your name and what grade you're in.

Ellie:
My name's Ellie and I'm in fifth grade.

Shayla:
My name's Shayla and I'm in sixth.

Jennah:
My name is Jennah and I'm in sixth.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what is it that you love about poetry? Why did you want to be part of this group?

Ellie:
I think writing poetry is just really fun. It's kind of calming. Yeah.

Shayla:
Yeah, I agree with Ellie and it's like a nice way to get your emotions out without getting angry or sad at something.

Jennah:
I also like how you can, when you read it, it kind of just flows out of your mouth, kind of soothingly.

Anthony Godfrey:
The best poems do. Now do you guys read and write poetry as a part of this group? Tell me a little bit about what activities you're involved in with this group.

Shayla:
Mainly we write poems but occasionally we read the poems to understand how we write them so we can do it better and more effective.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're learning from other authors. How about for you? What are the activities that stand out for you from this group?

Jennah:
I like how sometimes even when we will write poetry but there's also a ton of different kinds of poetry. Like we'll do blackout poetry where we just color in some of the other words and you can read the words that aren't colored in and it forms a poem.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you start with a poem and then black out some of the words to make make your own creation. Is that how that works?

Jennah:
Yeah pretty much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay how about for you? What are some of your favorite activities with this group?

Ellie:
We used a colored pencil on black paper and we wrote down personification.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about personification.

Ellie:
We used onomatopoeias. We also make things that aren't like people or animals have like people like things I guess.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can any of you remember some examples of when you wrote something that involved personification or read something?

Ellie:
Like the flowers danced in the breeze.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice. Flowers don't actually dance but that's a great image. I love the sound of that. We also have Piper Wise here, the media assistant, who started all of this. Tell me why did you want to start the “Young Poets Society”?

Piper Wise:
When I was in fifth grade, a long long time ago, kids, I had a teacher that started a poetry group. And I was very shy, which no one believes these days but it was a great way for me to express myself, and I loved words ever since. And talking with Mrs. Blockburger and Mrs. Burr about how fun that was, we just decided wouldn't it be fun if we started one here? We thought maybe we'd have a couple of kids, but we have 25 kids and they're all very different from each other. So it's cool to see all different interest types and all different groups of kids coming together and learning about the power of words and taking that power for themselves because these kids have a lot to say.

Anthony Godfrey:
I was super impressed coming in early, early to school to read poetry and to write poetry. As a former language arts teacher my heart skips a beat when I see this. It's really exciting. So you were pretty surprised at the turnout it sounds like.

Piper Wise:
Yes, yes it's way bigger than we thought it would be and we love it. It's the best part of the day when we have poetry first. When we have our “Young Poets Society” at the beginning of the day because these kids are just so good and kind and smart and funny. And I don't think you guys realize how much we love it and I'm glad that you guys do too.

Anthony Godfrey:
I was impressed at how quickly students were connecting with the poetry. And I love that the discussions are structured in a way that pulls out their personal reaction to it. Have you been surprised by some of the reactions over time as you've met as young poets?

Piper Wise:
Yeah, and some of the stuff they write as well. I mean, working in the library, you get to know students because of what they read, but you can get even more knowledge about them and their souls and their hearts and their desires and their fears and their hopes and by what they write. So it's really interesting how we can give one cue, one assignment, and then everybody's poems are so different. And we're learning all different types of poems so they can see, if I don't like this type, I can try this type and there's no wrong poem. Nothing they write down is wrong. So that's really encouraging too. I think they're just free to write whatever they need to.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's true. It is nice to start the day knowing you're going to be right no matter what.

Piper Wise:
Right, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And with poetry, as you've described, you learn more about the world around you, you learn more about other people, but you also learn more about yourself, and you test your own emotions and your own needs and interests. So, and that was evident. That was on display. It's really, really impressive to see this group.

Piper Wise:
They're a really good group.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does it make you feel to know that you've inspired these students to love poetry the way they do?

Piper Wise:
It makes my heart three times bigger. I just, I feel so proud of these kids and I think they're wonderful and it gives me hope for the future as someone looking backwards. As an adult looking backwards, I just think the world's gonna be okay with these guys in charge because they have a lot figured out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did it take a little while for you to feel comfortable in the group sharing your emotional reaction to poetry?

Students:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So over time as you get used to the group a little bit, is that a little bit easier?

Shayla:
Yeah, because you know these people aren't gonna judge you over it.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about expressing your emotions through poetry? Was that difficult at first or is that something that came naturally?

Ellie:
I think it really just depends on the person.

Shayla:
Yeah, because for me it came a little bit more naturally because sometimes it's harder for me to display emotions other ways so going through poetry is a fun and easy way. And when you come to like these you gain new friends.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there's a deeper connection with others and that allows you to express yourself in ways that you might not have otherwise.

Piper Wise:
We work to make the library a safe place this should be the most peaceful safest place in the school in my opinion. I'm biased but that's okay and so it makes me happy to know that kids can come in here and feel safe writing things also. So I like that too.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. Thank you for everything that you're doing to make that possible.

Piper Wise:
You're welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here now with Aliya and Bennett. Aliya, tell me what you love about this poetry group.

Aliya:
I love that everybody can just access their feelings without being shy and the teachers are wonderful. And I just love doing poetry every other Wednesday. It's just a great group and I love the things we do together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did it take a little bit of time to warm up to feeling comfortable sharing those feelings?

Aliya:
I mean it didn’t take long because I know most of these people here. I mean they're all great and the teachers, Miss Burr was my fifth-grade teacher and Miss Wise and Miss Blockburger were and are our library teachers, so it didn't really take long for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
And have you gotten to know the other students in the group well over time as you've met as young poets?

Aliya:
I mean yeah, we've sat together sometimes and we've talked together we've got to know each other a little bit.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about for you Bennett? What do you love about being here?

Bennett:
Because I like doing poetry and it's fun. Ms. Burr is my fifth-grade teacher and so it's pretty fun and I just like it a ton.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's pretty fun and I like it a ton. See you just rhyme naturally. The poetry just flows from you Bennett. Tell me what is it that you like most? Is it reading or writing poetry?

Bennett:
I like writing poetry.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. What were some of the poems you've written? Tell me about them.

Bennett:
I wrote a shamrock. I wrote a letter tree.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sorry.

Bennett:
A letter tree.

Anthony Godfrey:
A letter tree? Tell me about a letter tree.

Bennett:
It's where, I'm pretty sure it's where like, so there's the first two lines rhyme, the first two words.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Bennett:
And then the next two lines, they rhyme, and then the last rhyme rhymes with the first two lines.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. Do you kind of like the structure where there are rules that you have to follow and make the imagery and make your words fit the rules?

Bennett:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I kind of like that too. There are forms of poetry that I've really liked over the years where you have to use the same words kind of in different order and kind of move things around. How about you Daphne, what have you loved about being in this group?

Daphne:
I love this group because I'm not much of a reader, but the words just naturally flow in me. So I've always just, I mean I joined late in the year so I just really enjoy this.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you like Shel Silverstein's “Invitation” this morning?

Daphne:
It really gave inviting you to a warm fire and talk about books and fantasy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Any poems that are favorites of yours, Aliya?

Aliya:
I really love the whole book Where The Sidewalk Ends. I feel like that book just has a bunch of good ones.

Anthony Godfrey:
And sometimes there's a little surprise in the poem that I really like. What other poetry do you like.

Aliya:
I love, I love poetry that's funny, but I also love poetry that makes, that's quite literal and like not sad but like it has like a true meaning that's what I like.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm so impressed that you guys have delved into this. What do your parents think of the fact that you want to come early for a poetry group?

Aliya:
My mom, she likes it. She thinks it's pretty cool and my dad thinks it too. They think it's like cool and I think they think that it's good for my mind and soul.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it's a great way to start the day. How about you Bennett?

Bennett:
I think they like it because I used to like not be involved in anything and now I'm involved in a ton of things and I really like it. And I think my parents like it too.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it's fantastic. I'm really impressed with you and the whole group. And who knows? I may have to just stop by and start my day this way again because it's pretty awesome.
Stay with us. When we come back our young budding poets share some of their original works.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you have some poetry that you've written that you can read for me? Any of you.

Shayla:
That’s why we brought our folders. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Sounds good, Shayla. How about let's start with you? Tell me before you read it, can you tell me a little bit about this poem and what you were hoping to accomplish with it?

Shayla:
I just wanted to write a funny poem about leprechauns.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, and who doesn't?

Shayla:
I know.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, so let's hear it.

Shayla:
They travel from town to town,
they are green and wear a black crown.
To be small is to be
able to see
all the people frown.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice, I like it. They seem impish in this poem. Okay, let's hear yours.

Ellie:
Okay, this is an onomatopoeia poem.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Ellie:
In a big winter city, I hear children play,
yell, squill, giggle, laugh, cry.
In a big winter city, I hear people walking in the snow,
crunch, crush, slush, splish, splash.
In a big winter city, I hear a band play music,
ooh, mmm, blah, whistle, tap, ring.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me, for those who are listening, what does onomatopoeia mean?

Ellie:
Just sounds that sound like, that sound like what they mean.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, exactly. So can you read, let's go back through that and tell me some of the examples of words that sound like they're meaning.

Ellie:
There was crunch.

Anthony Godfrey:
Crunch. You can just hear the snow. Crunch.

Ellie:
Yeah. Splish splash. There was ooh and mmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
All packaged neatly in a poem that flows really well and makes the most of those sounds. I think that's really cool. Do you have one that you can read for us as well?

Jennah:
This is one of my first onomatopoeia poems.
The bird in the forest, a little bird jumps, thud.
In a forest, a little bird squawks, squawk.
In a forest a little bird flies, swoosh swoosh
In a forest a little bird lands on a tree, creak creak.
In a forest a little branch goes crack, crack, crack.

Anthony Godrey:
Very cool. What are some of your favorite words in there?

Jennah:
I liked it when you can use swoosh and crack because it really shows how the way it's moving.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's great in the poem even when you say swoosh and crack you can just you can really hear the meaning of the word. That's awesome. Do you guys notice words in a different way now that you've been reading poetry and writing it? Are there some words that kind of leap out at you as having a particularly interesting sound or interesting meaning?

Jennah:
Hope.

Anthony Godfrey:
No?

Jennah:
I like hope.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hope. Tell me about the word hope.

Jennah:
Because it really shows like if something's sad you can really you can go read a poem with hope or something, like with the bird poem, that one. With the bird is hope, that one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you been reading and writing poetry for a while now? Was it before this year or did you just start this year?

Shayla:
Before. I started writing them when around I was nine, because I was encouraged by one of my teachers at my old school to write a poem about basically anything. So one of my first poems was about fire, because that was when we were getting a lot of fires and smoke from the California and Oregon fires.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Shayla:
So yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And do you remember feeling like that lit a spark for your poetry love?

Shayla:
Metaphorically and literally.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, very well done, thank you, yes. And how about for you, when did you first start loving poetry?

Ellie:
It was last year. I just thought it sounded fun, so I decided to join Poets Society.

Anthony Godfrey:
What does it mean to you that the adults in the building here are so willing to spend their time and create this experience for you?

Jennah:
Honestly, I think it's really nice of them though because a lot of us are actually really annoying sometimes, so to be fair.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does the poetry make you less annoying?

Jennah:
Yeah, probably.

Anthony Godfrey:
One more benefit of poetry.

Shayla:
I also think it helps to give them a break from the rest of our classes. That can sometimes be a bit of a handful.

Anthony Godfrey:
So this is a good reward for them to get to spend some time talking about poetry.

Shayla:
It's also a good reward for me so I can get a break from them.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's good for everybody. It's good for me. I actually feel energized getting to hear those discussions. We were going to hold this interview and I just couldn't resist. I keep looking through the window like, "Hey, there's some other poems that I'm missing out there. How about for you? What do you think?

Ellie:
I just really like it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. That's the best endorsement you can you can give. What would you say to students who might hear this and think about starting one of their own or other adults who might want to start this up at their elementary school?

Piper Wise:
I would say do it. It's worth your time. It's worth every second you spend extra working on things and working on lessons because as you feel the reward is giant and it's a feeling is the reward and it's it's really good. What would you say if someone's thinking about being part of something like this.

Shayla:
Yeah I mean if you don't like it you don't have to come but if you do it's another thing that you get to love.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well thanks for spending time talking with me about your poetry and most of all thanks for spending time on poetry. Sitting together, writing, reading, and just having this great experience that I'm sure you'll never forget.

Students:
Thank you.

Shayla:
Thank you for coming.

Piper Wise:
Thank you.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are a valuable resource for families dealing with complicated challenges, including stress, depression, anxiety, and even suicide. On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with the Cook Center for Human Connection to find out how they are helping families access some of the very best programs available in fostering strong mental health. They are a force for good in the community and Jordan School District is a partner, hoping to help families in need of life-saving and life-improving services.

We’re here with Anne Brown, the President and CEO of the Cook Center for Human Connection. Anne, thanks for joining us.

Anne Brown:
Thank you, Dr. Godfrey, for having me.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm looking forward to talking with you about some of the resources that are offered to our parents and employees through the Cook Center. And I know that we recently had a representative come and speak with school community council chairs at our district-wide school community council meeting. And they were really enthusiastic to hear about some of the things that are being offered. We've emailed the information out before and we've shared it on our website, but I thought this would be a good chance for us to sit down and talk a little bit more about all the great things that parents have access to, to help them with their kids.

Anne Brown:
Yeah, absolutely. We are happy to be providing these services to you. We have two things. One thing is on your website, there's a little circle medallion that is called parentguidance.org. Parentguidance.org is a place for parents to go and be able to find information when they might be dealing with difficult parts of parenting. Things like my child struggling with anxiety or depression, or perhaps their child is cutting, or they could even be experiencing some suicide ideation.

There's courses that are directed specifically for parents that are struggling with these needs and every course is done by a licensed therapist or a psychologist or a psychiatrist. So it's kind of like finding that friend that you could really get some great advice from when you're struggling with something that might be very difficult in your family. So that's available on your website for any family in your district to access, to be able to have. And that's done through a grant from the Cook Center, we make it available to any school district anywhere in the country.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that is really like having a very informed professional friend that can help you with some very specific concerns.

Anne Brown:
Absolutely, yes. And in addition, it's not all about just the problems of parenting. There's also courses on there, there's one called Parenting with a Purpose, and that just, you know, one of the things I always talk about is that not every parent has had child development courses. So you're an educator, I'm an educator by trade. I've had child development courses, but perhaps if you were a young mother, you maybe never had an opportunity to have a child development course. But also, if you're a Harvard MBA, you may not have ever had an opportunity to have a child development course. So it really, it really stretches the gamut. Every parent can always use a little tune-up. So this is things like the tone of voice that you use, how to set boundaries, how to just be more present for your child. That's some of the parenting with the purpose things.

We also have courses on there that are things like how to understand the emotional development of your child at certain ages because as kids go through different stages, their emotions change. What's going on with a child who's five to eleven years old may be very different than a child who's nineteen to twenty years old. And so we have courses at these different stages in their life. I think there's a whole series that's five or six courses, to help parents kind of level set and know, you know, what are emotions you should be concerned about and what are emotions that are just present because that's the age that the child is.

So we have, you know, not everything is about negative things that are happening in your life as a parent. Some things are just about the normal every day and how can you help and understand more. And then also on parent guidance, there are courses that are kind of self-help for the parents, so how to calm your anxious mind, how to rewrite self-beliefs, how to find everyday happiness. Just some of those kind of things, just to kind of help with your mindfulness and helping you find peace in your own life. So it's a really nice collection of resources, and everything is designed specifically to be talking to you as a parent.

Anthony Godfrey:
I really like that it's private, that it's anonymous, and it's on demand.

Anne Brown:
In their home.

Anthony Godfrey:
In their home. So you can really choose how you want to engage and I would really encourage anybody listening to take a look because there's a long list of options. Options you probably wouldn't think about even as you mentioned some of the offerings. It's just something you might not think there would be specific help for. And really, it's nice to be able to access information that is well vetted, comes from an expert, because when you're just searching randomly online for help with certain problems, you don't know whether you can trust that source. And this is a trustworthy source.

Anne Brown:
It is. And also, when you're looking online, it may not be directed to you as a parent.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Anne Brown:
And so this is directed to you. What we say is that at Cook Center, we help educators, which is you, Dr.Godfrey, help parents, help their children. And we're very specific with that because we know where families are is in the schools. Parents are in the schools, kids are in the schools, and families are more likely to access resources when they're available from schools. But parents may not be quite ready, given whatever situation they're dealing with at home, they may not be quite ready to go ask for help. So having this privately on demand in their home makes a big difference, but having it available through their school website makes it accessible to everyone in your district.

Anthony Godfrey:
And as we've talked about ways to help parents and to help employees, one of the obstacles is not wanting to ask for help, not wanting to lose the anonymity. And that's what I love is that you can engage with parentguidance.org at the level that you'd like.

Anne Brown:
Yes, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's pull it up really quick and let's just take a look at some of the topics that are available. Okay, so I'm clicking on courses at parentguidance.org. I mean the splash page is, Are You Worried About Your Child? And we all are to some degree or another. We're just worried about making sure that we're doing the very best we can for our child. Here are a few of them.

Connect with your child by parenting with purpose.

Helping your child when they're bullied.

What parents need to know about suicide prevention.

Understanding your child's emotional development, like you said, five to ten years, eleven to fourteen years.

Protecting our children by staying aware and involved.

Social media, everyday happiness, stopping the yo-yo food cycle. I don't know what that is, but I'm probably on it.

Finding yourself when you're feeling lost.

How to let go of your deepest regrets.

These are some great topics and it's so nice to have all this accessible right here. So I hope that anyone listening will take a look and I'm sure there's something for everybody here. You can also look at the library by topic.

Fatigue, resentment, school, business, frustration, technology, teenager, parenting tips, grief and loss. It's a wide range of topics that you can just click and access and it's really remarkable that this has been pulled together. It's very generous of the Cook Center to make this available.

Anne Brown:
And you can also build your own playlists through different topics. So if you're the parent of a young child, I believe there's a preschool section that you can click on and then it will build all of the courses that might have to do with preschool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I just tried that out. Tap on depression, tap on exhaustion, and it just pulls up a list of relevant classes. It's fantastic.

Anne Brown:
And every class is about an hour long, but they're separated into about five-minute segments. So a family could or a parent could sit down and listen to the whole course start to finish, but they may just have one section that they really want to focus on and be able to click right to that section so they don't have to watch the whole thing at once if they don't want to.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, find out how families can benefit from the parent coaching offered by the Cook Center for Human Connection.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Jordan School District has contracted with the Cook Center to provide parent coaching and we have quite a number of families who are using that. And the families who've signed up have continued to use it once they've started. Tell us about what is involved there and what's available to families.

Anne Brown:
Yeah, so family coaching is available to any family in the Jordan School District. It’s made available through the school district, through the Cook Center. And how Family Coaching works is right on parentguidance.org you can go to a section called Parent Coaching. You fill out what's called a confidential questionnaire. That questionnaire goes directly to our therapy team. It is HIPAA protected. It's completely anonymous. It doesn't get reported back to the district. No one has access to your information other than the coach that you'll be working with.

Within 24 hours, a family will be contacted by the coach, and that coach can provide up to a half an hour a week of service to any family in the Jordan District. You just identified that you're from Jordan. And we've had about 80 families access this over the past year, and they have received about 2,900 sessions to support the families in the Jordan School District.

The coaches work with the families on whatever they're struggling with at the moment. Some families stay in for a month and some families stay in for a year, and that's fine. They get access to an app, and that app gives them communication access to their coach. So it's not a crisis line. It's definitely a preventative line, but if they need to get in contact with their coach, they have a way to do that through this app, and the coach will contact them within 24 hours. And then the coaches work on the family schedule, and just, you know, work forward from there to help them with whatever their needs are.

Anthony Godfrey:
And like you said, this is, this is not an emergency access, the sort of program. This is a program to help provide coaching and support to families who may be going through some difficulties.

Anne Brown:
Yes, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So they don't have to be severe difficulties. It's just, “Hey, I need to talk with someone about how best to approach this particular situation.”

Anne Brown:
Absolutely and we've had everything, you know, we've had everything from families that are going through divorce to we've had young families say, "How do I get my child to use an inside voice.” So the inside voice one might be, you know, you have one coaching session but the family who's going through a divorce, you know, the coach might be by their side for the, you know for six or nine months or even further.

And then you know we've had some severe ones and if it's too severe we ask them to reach out to the 988 lifeline and you know get that crisis intervention when they need it. But for the most part, we're helping families just be stronger, helping parents be stronger parents and feel more confident in their parenting. It's not therapy. We're very clear about this is not therapy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Anne Brown:
It's coaching to be able to help the—it's just like if you were a ski racer, you're going to have a coach that's going to help you go faster, help you become a better ski racer. This is just the same thing. You have a coach that helps you know some of those tricks of parenting that can help you be a stronger parent.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I think it's important that you emphasize coach. Everybody has a coach. The best players have a coach. You're always trying to get better. You're always trying to tweak your game and increase your abilities. And parenting is not a specific science, so having someone to bounce things off of and get some coaching is a big help.

So that's the other thing about it, is it's anonymous, but it's for a wide range of purposes. And there are the preset classes, there's the individual coaching. I'm just thrilled that we have this range of options available from the Cook Center for Parents.

Anne Brown;
Thank you, and we are so happy to be your partner in your mental health journey for your families. Thank you for having us.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the evolution of the Cook Center. You've been with them from the start.

Anne Brown:
I have.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it's a remarkable story, and a lot of people will be interested to know that it's based in Utah, started right here.

Anne Brown:
It was, just started down the road in Utah. So the Cook Center for Human Connection, we're a nonprofit, we're focused on mental health and suicide prevention, as we've been talking about. We were started by Greg and Julie Cook. Greg is one of the founders of doTERRA Essential Oils. And Greg and Julie have had the opportunity now to consider how to give back to their community.

One of the first places that they decided to give back was many people on this call probably know, but there will be a new primary children's medical center built in Lehi, Utah, and they were approached to be the first donors to that. So they donated $10 million to bring Primary Children's Medical Center to Utah County. And when they did that, they wanted to give anonymously and the people who were doing the fundraising said, "Please don't, because when you are public about your donation, that provides a halo effect and will bring others to the table to help donate.” So their $10 million donation has now helped spur $450 million that's helping build that, will be the amount needed to build that hospital.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Anne Brown:
And why that story plays into mental health is when Greg and Julie made that donation, they were asked to direct it into something so it could have been, you know, emergency room or cardiac or, you know, pediatric orthopedics or something like that. But they were given a chart and it had this little teeny, teeny, tiny sliver and they said, "Well, what's that one?” And they said, "That's behavioral health. That's the hardest place to get funding.” This was 2018, so this was before the pandemic. And they just, from that, they reflected back on early in their marriage when a young boy who was 11 years old in their neighborhood died by suicide. And they thought, "How can that be the hardest place to get funding when this is happening in our state?”

At about that same time, a report came back on Utah Mental Health from the Kemp Gardner Institute and it talked about how the fact that 60% of people in this state that need mental health services can't find them, and also in most states in the country, suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10-year-olds to 24-year-olds, but in Utah it's the first leading cause of death. All of those things came together at once, this donation to the hospital, this reliving of this young boy dying by suicide in their neighborhood and them being involved in that moment because the father was out of town and Greg had to help the mother at that time. And then this report coming out and finding out that Behavioral Health is the hardest place to get funding, and they said, "Wow, this is the cause that we need to put our resources behind.”

So they went beyond just that initial donation and created the Cook Center, brought me in as their first employee, my background is all in schools and education and working with superintendents as well as Ed Tech. And we just did some research and discovered that there is a real marrying point that we can provide these resources to parents, get more people on the team of mental health, provide more access to mental health through our parentguidance.org and through the coaching through schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Anne Brown:
Reduce stigma, because if we're talking about it with families, we're reducing the stigma. And you know, we were just able to bring together this whole plan. And interestingly enough, our U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, he didn't come on the scene until 2020, but when you look at the things that he's laid out, it's like what needs to happen. He talks about we need more people, we need more access, we need to support schools, and we need to reduce stigma. And we're doing that. And so, you know, we know we're on the right track to be helping in this space.

So at the Cook Center we do two things. We give and we serve. So a lot of what we've talked about right now is the things that we do to serve.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Anne Brown:
Parentguidance.org and My Life is Worth Living. We also have a grants program. Our first year we funded about 60 Hope Squads around the country. Last year we funded about twenty schools with a program called Choose Kindness that helps schools change to a culture of kindness. And this year we're really proud that we funded twenty-six calm rooms around the country. One of those schools was here in Jordan. I think it was Bingham High School, correct?

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it was, yes.

Anne Brown:
And so, you know, super proud to be supporting. I know we did five schools in the state of Utah and then nationally with the other twenty or so grants that we funded, there were about 14 other states represented.

Anthony Godfrey:
It makes a big difference. We've seen a huge decrease in referrals to the office, especially at the elementary level.

Anne Brown:
Yes, really proud of both the things that we do to serve schools and the things that we do to be able to give to schools. And it's all made possible through the generous donations of the Cook family to the foundation.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's great to have you as a partner and it's a great complement to the school psychologists, and counselors, and teachers, and other social workers, other professionals that we have at the schools. This is an important component to that overall plan of helping support students, families, parents, and employees. So, thank you for being an important part of that.

Anne Brown:
Thank you. Thanks for allowing us to be part of it.

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.