Supercast

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is beloved in her classroom, on the basketball court, and in the community.

On this episode of the Supercast, we meet the West Jordan High School teacher and head girls' basketball coach, known as Coach Lei. Find out how this former West Jordan High student is changing lives and inspiring winning ways on and off the court.

We're here at West Jordan High School talking to legendary basketball coach Lei. I wanted to make you uncomfortable right from the start by calling you a legend.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah, you did a great job of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know you're very humble about your accomplishments, but I also know that I've heard a lot of positive about you just as people found out I was going to be talking with you today. You've made a really big impact in this community and that's something to be proud of.

Lei Lolohea:
Thank you, I appreciate that.

Anthony Godfrey:
I understand that you were a student at West Jordan High School as well.

Lei Lolohea:
I was, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your time as a student at West Jordan High.

Lei Lolohea:
Oh it was, I mean it wasn't as diverse as it is now but it was still probably the best three years of my life. I mean that's when Jim Birch,  Michael Kochevar they were VPs here. Anthony Godfrey:
Oh really?

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah, Argyle was our principal so I mean it is still a small world around here. I loved it, I loved it here at West Jordan.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've already mentioned some of the administrators that were here and Mr. Birch of course was back as principal and is retiring this year. Tell me about some of the other people that had an impact on you while you were a student here at West Jordan.

Lei Lolohea:
I mean George Hughes, he was my coach for a couple of years, and then Carlson Boudreaux became one of my head coaches when I was a senior. But I mean there were so many people. Dan Cowan, he was our athletic director back then as well and so I mean there's a lot. There's a lot. We also had like hall monitors, Gary Erickson, he's still here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, he is.

Lei Lolohea:
We had JoAnn, she was one of our main hall monitors back in those days too. And she had a big influence on the school as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
When did you know that you wanted to come back to West Jordan High School as a teacher and coach?

Lei Lolohea:
I think after my playing days were done, I knew that there was just more to what I can  give back with the sport, whether it was playing or coaching. I knew that I wanted to come back to my high school and help make an impact wherever I could.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how long have you been back at West Jordan now as a teacher?

Lei Lolohea:
This is seven years of teaching. This is my sixth year as a head coach. But I was also the assistant under Carlson Boudreaux for quite a few years.

Anthony Godfrey:
So even when you were preparing to be a teacher, you were an assistant coach.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah. And I think that was three, four years. That was like four years under Carlson Boudreaux. So I mean, I've put in some work here at the school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, no wonder people view you as the heart of West Jordan High School. It's exciting to talk to you about that. So tell me, when did you start playing basketball? And when did you realize that you maybe had some talent in the area?

Lei Lolohea:
Well, I was raised in California and so I've never really played organized basketball until I moved here to West Jordan. I moved here when we started high school. So I was just kind of just playing and I didn't really fully understand how basketball could change my life until I started in high school. So I started playing in high school. I knew that it was my way to go to college for a free bachelor's degree. But I also knew that it was– I was very passionate about it in high school. When I knew that, hey, I was a freshman playing against the big girls on the varsity team. And so I figured, you know, maybe this could be my ticket.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about your college experience as a player.

Lei Lolohea:
It was fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
On a scholarship.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah, yeah. So I got a scholarship to play at BYU Hawaii. And so I went over there, played for a couple of years, and then I transferred over to a small school out in Oregon

where I finished off with my bachelor's degree. And so then I was able to dabble with a little bit of playing in Germany. But all good things come to an end. And they say those who can't do anymore, coach. So that's what I hopped in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm so grateful that you're here and that you've chosen that path. There are very obvious ways that basketball has changed your life. But tell me about, as opposed to just the teams you've been on and the jobs that you've had, how has basketball impacted your life and what has it taught you about yourself?

Lei Lolohea:
Honestly, I think the game of basketball saved my life. It kind of saved the direction of it. And it was the best thing to ever happen for me to fall in love with the game and know that there is more to life than just basketball and how we can use that to help myself. It taught me hard work, dedication, accountability, time management. It taught me all this. But it also was something that I told myself, hey, I needed to be– I want to be a coach for girls that I needed when I was younger. And so I think that's where I wanted to change that whole, I'm not a basketball player anymore, I want to be a coach. And I think basketball is one way that I am able to connect with a lot of my players is because it's– besides the classroom, it's in the gym, and it's a whole different ballgame.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the rewards that you get as a coach for working with these girls?

Lei Lolohea:
The relationship, that's the biggest thing. Speaking with Lauryn Melton, she's one of the biggest role models of my life. And that's not just her, but there's so many girls that I know that I will have a long-lasting relationship with them. Not just with them, but with their family.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of things that you expect of the girls that are not directly related to basketball. That build that team and that family feel, and I think teach them a lot of life lessons that they'll carry with them. Tell me more about some of the projects that you've involved in.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah, we do a lot of community service. We do a lot of that. The biggest ones that we've done is our Monster Mash, our Halloween Monster Mash. It started off as like a trunk or treat kind of thing for the kids in the community, we give out free candy. We have them walk around and stuff. It just kept building year after year. Then we did our Easter egg hunt just recently. That was a big hit. It was great.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now the Easter egg hunt was out on the football field.

Lei Lolohea:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And eggs spread throughout the football field.

Lei Lolohea:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I understand it was quite a big event.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah, it was awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, tell me about the turnout from the community.

Lei Lolohea:
It was, you know, at first we're like, “oh, you know, are we gonna get people?” Just because it was, I think it was during like a break time. And so we were kind of nervous about that. But then, you know, also within our community, if you think about it, we have a lot of parents who have to work, you know, just with our social demographics. And so we also thought, okay, so we're going to throw this Easter egg on, but it's also going to be free eggs. You know, so everyone's going to get eggs. Everyone's going to have a good time. We also had community vendors come out and they were able to sell their stuff to the community, which was also a really great thing too. But the turnout was, to say the least, it was amazing. It blew me away.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Lei Lolohea:
And so...

Anthony Godfrey:
It's really exciting. And obviously, there's a need for it.

Lei Lolohea:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you do something like that and you see the turnout, that's very rewarding.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I also understand that you've done some things that are a little less glamorous, like having the girls wait until lunch is over and they clean the cafeteria.

Lei Lolohea:
We do, yes. But that's fine.

Anthony Godfrey:
You say we do.

Lei Lolohea:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're joining in on that.

Lei Lolohea:
Every once in a while. Yeah. But sometimes I like to hide in the corner and see who shows up and who doesn't. And there are consequences if you don't.

Anthony Godfrey:
I’ll bet there are. I believe they're called ladders.

Lei Lolohea:
Yes, it is. Or it's called a nice lecture from Coach Lei.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK, which I'm sure they want to avoid. They don’t want to let you down.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah. But I mean, just like little things like that, we help clean the commons and stuff. I preach a lot to our girls, like our gym area, before we even start practice and before we leave practice, that gym area is as clean as it can be. We always leave a place better than how we find it. And that's just the same here. It takes 10 minutes out of our day, out of our practice time, our class time, to help clean up the commons. But it's such a big deal to help with Nate, with our custodian. It's such a big deal because that takes 30 to 45 minutes away from them having to do that. And it's also a great lesson for our girls to learn that there's no one too high and there's no one too low to help. We help anyone and everyone, whether they're in the school, in the community, or in our own families. We help everyone.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. It's obvious that you're very intentional about creating a deep and broad and meaningful experience for these girls that's connected to community and connected to each other.

Lei Lolohea:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what are some of the lessons beyond basketball that you hope they take from the experience of being on your team?

Lei Lolohea:
I think the biggest one is that I hope that they just, the take away of just being a good human being. You know, just to be kind to anyone and everyone you come in contact with. But being a good human being is my biggest. Yeah, we're competitive. I mean, don't get us wrong. On that court, we are competitive.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, no. That goes without saying.

Lei Lolohea:
But it's also like, if we knock someone down, we're gonna be the first one to help them up on the court. Whether or not they take our hand, we're still gonna be the first one to help them up off the court. And I would hope and pray that that's probably the biggest lesson that I hope my kids take away from being part of this program is that, one, they become, or they are good human beings and I hope they realize that. And they move in every way, I hope they move with pure and genuine intentions. And just, I mean, just to love. And I, you know, and my girls know, my coaching staff knows, like everything. I am a tough love coach, but it is like we love them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, expecting a lot of them is the best way to show love.

Lei Lolohea:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And given everything I've learned about the type of coach you are, it's no surprise that you've won the Gold Star Coach award from UHSAA. You were selected from all the 6A nominees. It's a statewide award and it's given to someone for inspiring students and for being a positive role model. It's chosen by the UHSAA Sportsmanship Committee and the way that you teach lifelong lessons to the girls on and off the court. I'm just thrilled for you that you're getting this honor. I understand that when you found out that you received this award, you got a hold of this trophy, trying to keep people from finding out that you had it and you took it up to your room. Is that true?

Lei Lolohea:
It is.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you stole the trophy.

Lei Lolohea:
Wait, wait, wait. It was in my box.

Anthony Godfrey:
That was yours. You took it and quietly took it to your room and the athletic director had to go up there when you were out of the room and steal it back so that it could actually be given to you in a proper ceremony. Is that all accurate?

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I admire your humility, but I'm glad that they were able to honor you. You're very deserving of this award and I'm very proud of what you're doing here at West Jordan.

Lei Lolohea:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey;
Stay with us. When we come back, we'll be on the basketball court where Coach Lei gives me a lesson in making a free throw.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at West Jordan High School with one of Coach Lei's former players who recently graduated. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your experience on Coach Lei's team.

Layrn Melton:
I'm Lauryn Melton. I've been playing with Coach Lei for seven years. I started when I was really young and just played throughout the summer with her. I really enjoyed my time here. I was a captain for three of my years and just loved being on that team.

Anthony Godfrey:
After three years as a captain, can you still remember back when you first met Coach Lei?

Lauryn Melton:
Yeah, she was just an assistant coach at a summer camp I came to, and I remember she was just always there for us and just knew how to help us. And I was scared of her, but--

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, there's a good healthy little dose of fear when you first start out in a new program, right?

Lauryn Melton:
Yeah, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what was it that you liked about Coach Lei right from the start?

Lauryn Melton:
Her energy and I just knew that she loved the game and could help me grow my love for the game.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things that you've learned from Coach Lei related to basketball specifically over the years? What are some of the skills, attitudes, and approaches that you've learned working with her?

Lauryn Melton:
I'd say just how much I can do. I doubt myself a lot and she was able to kind of just give me that confidence that I needed. Like I said, I didn't mention this before, but I have been a state champion for taking charges three years in a row and she helped me get there. I didn't have the confidence to do that until she motivated me.

Anthony Godfrey:
A state champion for taking charges?

Lauryn Melton:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me a little bit more about that.

Lauryn Melton:
Yeah, I mean, it's the dirty work. I don't think many people do it or know about it. I've had to tell people even what a charge is throughout my experiences. But it's the one thing I knew I could help my team with. I struggled on offense and stuff, and defense is definitely my game. So once I found that I could take a charge and hustled down that court for that few seconds to help my team get a stop or get us back in the game.

Anthony Godfrey:
So how many times have you hit the floor for your team?

Lauryn Melton:
Oh, a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I think that's one of the less glamorous aspects, as you call it, the dirty work. It's one of the less glamorous aspects of playing basketball, is that you take that charge, you set yourself, and you prevent the score.

Lauryn Melton:
Yeah, I definitely walked home with a few scrapes and bruises after every game. They call me the wall, so I kind of just stand there and know that no one else wants to do it, so someone has to.

Anthony Godfrey:
And has the skill of being the wall translated into other aspects of your life, like, hey, I know a difficult thing is coming my way, but I'm here to face it, and I'm ready to take it on.

Lauryn Melton:
Yeah, I'd say so. It's helped me know that I have support, because my teammates were always supporting me once I fell, whether they called the charge or not. They were always there to pick me up. It's the same in life. They are there to pick me up. If I go for something, it doesn't work out.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. I love that lesson. You talked about how Coach Lei helped you believe in yourself. Tell me more about that.

Lauryn Melton:
I'd say just even on and off the court. She's always been interested in our life away from it. Especially at school, she always makes sure we set time aside to do our schoolwork and excel in it and not just do average work. We always are good. We have a lot of 4.0 students on our team. And yeah, I feel like she's always just pushed us outside of basketball as well as in the gym.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it would be fair to say that well beyond basketball, you've achieved a lot of things you might not have otherwise because of Coach Lei's influence?

Lauryn Melton:
Yes, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
She shaped who you are.

Lauryn Melton:
Yes, our whole team. She's made us the women we are today.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's wonderful. Thanks very much for taking the time. Congratulations on a great career in basketball, especially here at West Jordan High School, and especially as the wall.

Lauryn Melton:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm going to think of you every time somebody takes one for the team.

Lauryn Melton:
Oh good. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're now in the West Jordan gym. I have a basketball in hand and Coach Lei and Lauryn are going to teach me a little bit about the game of basketball. So first of all, show me what a stance looks like when you're ready to take that charge. How do you stand? All right, shoulder width.

Lauryn Melton:
Just with my arms up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hands up. Give me, show me.

Lauryn Melton:
I just stare them down when they come all the way down.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, stare me down. I'm coming down. That is intimidating. I definitely want to stop. I want to, you stopped me in my tracks. Okay, very good. All right, what do you want to teach me? Passing, shooting, dribbling, dunking. I mean, I'm ready for anything.

Lei Lolohea:
If you want to dunk, we can dunk.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm ready for anything.

Lei Lolohea:

Let’s do shooting.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, some shooting.

Lei Lolohea:
Are you right-handed, left-handed?

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm left-handed.

Lei Lolohea:
You're left-handed? Okay, so you're just, you got the ball right on your fingertips.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Lei Lolohea:
And then when you shoot, you're gonna flick your wrist, but you're also gonna act like you're picking a cookie out of the cookie jar. That's how you're gonna end it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I do have some practice at picking cookies out of a cookie jar. So let's try that. Let's try that. Where do I want it? Do I want it kind of in front of my, right here? Okay.

Lei Lolohea:
Elbow tucked in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Elbow tucked in?

Lei Lolohea:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
This feels very, okay, let's try it, let's try it. I did not do what you told me to do with my wrist.

Lei Lolohea:
That's okay, are you aiming in the front of the room or the back of the rim?

Anthony Godfrey:
It's tough to tell, isn't it?

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let me try the back of the rim. Should I aim for the back of the rim.

Lei Lolohea:
Up to you, just a little softer touch.

Anthony Godfrey:
A little softer touch.

Lei Lolohea:
Yeah, elbow tucked in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Elbow tuck, okay.

Lei Lolohea:
You look like John Stockton right now. (laughing)

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that's the best backhanded compliment I've ever received. Okay, here we go, here we go.

Lei Lolohea:
That's a nice shot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that's a little better, but I didn't aim where I needed to aim. So let's try it again, let's try it again.

Lei Lolohea:
Don't forget, pick your cookie.

Anthony Godfrey:
But I put my elbow in this time without being told. Okay, pick the cookie. And I made it. I picked the cookie and I made it. That's awesome! I have improved my basketball game in 90 seconds under your Coach Lei. Thank you for that.

Lei Lolohea:
And stealing the cookies are out of the cookie jar.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Okay. Let me try it again. Let's see if I can bring that elbow in. Pick the cookie.

Lei Lolohea:
Oh, there you go.

Lei Lolohea:
Wow, that's two in a row. You're a natural. I think you lied about not being able to shoot.

Anthony Godfrey:
I did not lie. I was not sandbagging it. Okay. All right. Let's try. Let's try three in a row. Now I'm feeling pressure. Okay, man. Get right there. Lauryn, get right there and give me that menacing look. So that it's more,

Lei Lolohea:
I feel like we should do a wager.

Anthony Godfrey:
Seriously, she just turns it on. She's nice and sweet and kind and then bam, don't mess with me all of a sudden. All right, let's try it.

Lei Lolohea:
I say if you miss, I get your salary.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh no, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You stopped the recording before she said that, right? Okay. All right, thanks very much. It's great spending time with both of you. I appreciate it.

Lei Lolohea:
Thank you. Go Jags!

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. Heartfelt messages of appreciation were written by Bingham High School students and delivered to every single teacher at the school.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out why so many students jumped at the opportunity to tell teachers how much they care in a project that resulted in 3,300 personalized cards being delivered to classrooms and bringing some teachers to tears.

We're talking with some students here at Bingham High School, some of our student officers, about the project of writing cards for teachers. Tell me about how this happened and how it felt to express gratitude to your teachers.

Student #1:
Well, we had some time during the day to do the climate survey, the climate change survey, and a couple other things, and then they said, if you wanna do a form for your teachers and just thank them for all they do, You can do that, it's optional, but I mean, if you wanna take some time to thank your teacher, go ahead. 

And so I think a lot of us took advantage of the opportunity to fill out that form and just thank some of our favorite teachers that we know truly care about us and just want the best for us. So I took some time to write some to some of my favorite teachers and ones that have helped me a lot throughout my years in high school. I'm a senior, I'm graduating soon, so I just wanted to thank them. I thought that was an awesome way. I'm glad the administration put that together. And yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
As a senior graduating, coming to the end of 13 years of public education, do you look back on teachers throughout your years and the impact that they've had?

Student #1:
Oh yes, for sure. Yeah, there are so many teachers, I mean, throughout elementary school and middle school, and now in high school that have really just been there for me and been there to help me. And when I've struggled, I just know that I could rely on them and they're always there to help.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things you remember writing your cards to teachers?

Student #2:
Just telling them that they made me excited to go to school and school hasn't always been the best atmosphere for me personally with learning and just friends, but teachers really make it a safe place to be and they want you to learn. And that is super important to me. And I've had a lot of teachers, I could say every teacher's had a really good atmosphere to help me learn and help me grow. And you can just tell that everyone at Bingham really, really cares about their students and want us to succeed and go on, and it's really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
I remember those classrooms too. Where you knew, I'm going to walk in this classroom and it's going to feel good. And there's going to be something engaging and interesting for me to do that's going to push me and move me to places I hadn't been. 

Student #2:
100%.Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about for you?

Student #3:
For me, I was just thanking my teachers for all they'd done. I wrote one to my choir teacher. I started singing choir at Bingham, so it was my first year I was scared.  And he helped me just fit in with the class and it was really welcoming and now I love choir and it's definitely one of my favorite classes. So my teachers, they're just so nice and I was just thanking them for all they do to make me feel safe at the school and help me develop my education further.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about you? Do you remember some of the things that you said?

Student #4:
Yeah, so I wrote a lot about personal interactions that I've had with the teachers and I think for me, personal interactions with them, like make it or break it. And treating my teachers like they're my friends, you know. I like treating them with respect, and they also treat me with respect. And I think I'm really grateful for that. So showing that and being able to reciprocate that in a letter and them being able to read it on my behalf is so cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Looking back on the year, are you able to see kind of the progression? Like you start out kind of wondering what's this class going to be about. And now you get to this totally different place. And really, to me, that's what's amazing is how the relationships form over the year. It's kind of imperceptible and then you look back and you realize just how far you've come.

Student #4:
I'd agree. I think that like, I don't know, I feel like at the beginning of the year you're a little nervous like going into the first day of school. It's like, oh I don't know what to expect. What's going to change and what's going to be different from last year? But I think you grow and develop as a human throughout, I don't know, this is my junior year so very big year for me, just a lot of decisions. And I think there's a lot of personal growth and I think teachers helped with that. They're coaching me along the way and like helping me become the person that I want to be. So, yeah.

Student #2:
I agree. I think that throughout the year the teachers can, their excitement for that subject and what they're teaching is contagious and it's really helped me know what I want to do. Like specifically my physics teacher, Mr. Fish. He is amazing and he just really cares about us learning and it's made me think about how I want to apply that to maybe my future career.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fantastic. Any other parting thoughts about your teachers?

Student #1:
I just, I personally think that the choice is up to them if they want to make the class super fun and engaging, or just do the bare minimum, and there are so many teachers that just, they want it to be engaging. They go out of their way, they take time outside of school to make school a place of learning, but also a place of fun. And with that, I think that me as a student, I like to give more respect to that, and I think a lot of other students do too.

Just because that's hard to put in that much effort and that much time to try and just make the class something fun and not something that will bore students. And with that, you know, it just makes me a lot more grateful to see all the hard work they're putting in. As a result, I just, I have a lot of respect for them. So yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.

Students:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's nice to meet all of you.

Stay with us when we come back. Jordan School District's Teacher of the Year received a stack of handwritten cards of appreciation from students. Find out what they said and Andrea Call’s reaction. 

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:
We're here at Bingham High School celebrating Andrea Call, the Teacher of the Year for Jordan School District. How do you feel Andrea?

Andrea Call:
I'm shocked, I'm honored. Yeah, I feel like I represent so many amazing teachers so I hope I can do well.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of amazing teachers out there and you are certainly one of them. There's a great teacher in every classroom in Jordan School District but I've been so excited to be able to be in yours and to see you teach. To see really the connection that you have with students it's really something. And the connection that you made with the adults who have been in the classroom as well. 

We were there for “Miner Tank” we did another Supercast episode about that. We just talked with some students about the project of writing thank you cards for teachers. So Andrea, as hard as it is to read things about yourself, would you mind pulling out a couple of the cards that you received? A couple of the thirty, I think it's thirty-three hundred cards that were written here at Bingham, and just read a couple of those for us if you would.

Andrea Call:
Okay.

“Hi Mrs. Call, I just wanted to thank you for believing in me. You were the first teacher since elementary school who had faith in me. So I thank you for that.”

“She is always there to talk to.”

“ She is kind. I love her style of teaching and the activities we do to tie in the lessons. She is my favorite teacher.”

“She is absolutely the best teacher at the school. She is a gem and a prize in our school community. She goes above and beyond for her students.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that feels pretty good. They're not even about me and it felt great to hear those cards.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, but I am sure that if we had another teacher here reading it would be the same because I do feel like most of the teachers at Jordan District really care about their students. We have such a unique group of teachers and staff that support and care about the students and so I feel like we could read hundreds of cards about everybody.

Anthony Godfrey:
Every student has a teacher of the year in their mind.

Andrea Call:
Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to the students who took the time to write these cards, voluntarily,  as part of their school day?

Andrea Call:
I feel like these thank-you notes are probably the greatest gift and greatest payment that you could possibly give a teacher. Because I just feel like hearing that you have made a difference, that you have actually impacted a student is the best thing for a teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what it was that made you want to become a teacher.

Andrea Call:
Oh gosh. I feel like I have always felt sort of a responsibility to, I don't know, help and serve those around me. Oh gosh. And I feel like being in education is probably the most impactful way to do that. And we, you know, being a teacher is one of those things like you don't know if you're doing it well, and it's not really until students kind of come back and sort of say to you a couple years later, like, you helped me, what you taught me has impacted me. And to me, that's what it's about. Is helping students just be good humans and recognize that they have another adult cheering for them.

I mean, I don't have to do that because you know your parents you kind of discount because you're like my mom and dad, they have to love me. But you know your teachers we really don't, we choose to. And so I think for me that is really impactful for my life, is choosing to love and serve.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have described very well that unique relationship between teacher and student. It doesn't have to happen. Just because you're in the same room at the same time doesn't mean there's automatically a connection. It's when teachers like you reach out and give of yourself and have that focus on service, and caring, connecting. 

And you're right. There is no number. There's no test. There's no analysis that provides you that type of feedback about the impact that you've had. Sometimes it's years later and it can sometimes be a student that in the moment didn't seem all that engaged with the class, necessarily.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, those are the best actually. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, exactly when you don't expect it. Tell me about some of the things that you've heard from students over the years.

Andrea Call:
I feel like most of it is you know, “you help me see the world in a different way.” “You help me, you know learn how to learn.” “You help me value myself and believe in myself.” That those are probably the most impactful, you know. And then I do enjoy the students that go to college and are like “you taught me everything I needed to know in marketing and so my class is easy” so that helps me.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who haven't had the chance to be in your classroom talk about the classes that you teach.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, I teach a lot of business classes so I teach Business Communications. I teach Business Leadership. I teach Marketing and then concurrent enrollment Marketing, and then the Entrepreneurship Academy and the school store so a lot of practical business classes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the entrepreneur class is the one that I was able to visit where we brought in business leaders who really helped mentor throughout the year students who have their own ideas and their own business projects. Tell me a little bit about that.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, that actually has been so fun because students have looked for like a problem that they see and then they've come up with a solution on how to fix it. Which is what an entrepreneur is. And then they've been able to develop that idea into businesses and have some guidance from people who have started businesses and been wildly successful. And even if they've decided that they don't want to continue the business, they've learned so many things just about being an entrepreneur or just being a person in business or having a job.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you've already referenced it, but there are lots of things that your students take away from your class that have nothing to do with business or marketing.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's problem solving, and I think from what I saw, I feel like it's a sense of efficacy that they know ‘Hey, if I apply myself and really try this I can do something I didn't think I could do.’

Andrea Call:
Yeah, absolutely. Honestly for me those soft skills, those real-world skills are probably more important than the content, you know, because you can Google the content.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, and those skills are going to apply to a wide range of circumstances throughout their lives.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, yeah for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about teachers in your life that have had an impact.

Andrea Call:
(laughs) - I mean, so many teachers in my life, and especially the ones who were able to believe in me when I couldn't believe in myself. I mean, there have been so many in so many different areas. I feel like, honestly, I have the attitude that most people that I come in contact with, I have something to learn from, and so honestly, there are so many.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you're interacting with as many high school students as you do, that's the perfect attitude to have. There's something to learn from everyone. I remember learning things from my students all the time.

Andrea Call:
Yeah, I learned so much from them. I actually learn more from them sometimes than I'm sure they learn from me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's a great concentration of humans that get to interact and learn from each other and make connections that just don't go away. So, any thoughts for those who may be considering being a teacher? Either adults who are thinking of coming to teaching or students who are thinking about pursuing it early on as a career?

Andrea Call:
Yeah, I mean, I feel like we desperately need more people who want to be teachers. And I think a lot of times we worry like, well, maybe we don't know the content area, but I think if you care about people, it's one of the best professions for you to be in. I'm not gonna lie, there's not a lot of money in it, But I do feel like there's a huge reward. So, and that matters. And at the end of your life, I feel like that may matter more.

Anthony Godfrey:
Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you for being our Teacher of the Year, Andrea, and for being an incredible educator.

Andrea Call:
Thanks.

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 time to reflect on memories that will last a lifetime while looking forward to the future.

On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with some members of the graduating class of 2023. Find out who inspired them to succeed and what's next as they make new memories in their journey beyond high school.

Introduce yourself and tell me about a teacher or adult that's been impactful for you at school.

Linda:
I'm Linda and I'm from Riverton High School. And a teacher that has been impactful for me through school. I'm so grateful because I had the opportunity to have so many great teachers in my life. I remember in third grade I had my teacher, Ms. Colgan, and even though we were homeless or the different things that we would struggle with, she was always so kind and always was so loving and it just always made my day brighter.

I remember one thing, she brought me snow boots for the winter because I had no snow boots. And I will never forget that moment because she showed her love and her kindness. At the high school, I've had so many great teachers, Ms. Elliot, Brett Nelson, and my wonderful counselor, Mr. Christensen. Having these great teachers, having them not judge me, and be there for me, and know that I'm capable of greater and my grades don't define me, my past doesn't define me, and that I'm going to grow into a great person. Just having them and their great example has helped me a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
He's taught you there's always that next step forward. I love that. That's great. What advice do you have for those who are entering high school or their senior year?

Linda:
I would say that life as well as high school is going to be what you make it. So I think oftentimes whatever life throws at us or whatever we go through like in middle school coming in, again like I said it won't define you. And if you want to have a fun time in high school, if you want to do all the things or want to grow or want to go into a certain career, just do the work to do that. Because anything in life is going to be work, it's just about how much you're willing to put into it.
High school is such a great thing and I say just work hard and get there because it's gonna flash by quicker than you know.  I remember someone saying that to me when I was in like sixth grade and I was like "ha ha ha, like you're funny" and now I'm like "Oh, ha ha, it wasn't funny. Just kidding.” But just be willing to put in the work because you can do great things. It's just about how much work you're willing to put into it. And anybody's capable of great things and you've got this.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. And just so you know, the time will go faster and faster. Take it from me.

Linda:
Okay. (laughing) Wow.

Anthony Godfrey:
Introduce yourself and tell me about a teacher or adult who's had an impact on you from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Graycee:
I'm Graycee and I'm from Mountain Ridge High School. I've had a few teachers who have impacted me throughout my high school experience. I've had Cambria Robertson and Shane Busdicker. They helped me a lot my sophomore year. You know, going through COVID it's kind of hard to figure out who you are as a person, a student, and trying to make friends while, you know, going in person for school, then switching to online, and Zoom all the time. And they really helped me to get confidence in myself and to understand that everything will be okay, even when it's hard just to know that you can always push through life.
And then my student government advisors, Richard Hoonakker and Shaila Keck, have taught me so much about leadership, dedication, motivation, time management, just all the skills that I feel like I need for a career path just to get through life in general. And I'm so grateful to them for their leadership to me and they're such a role model in my life. I'm just grateful that I had the opportunity to have them as my teachers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great teachers and great lessons. Tell me what advice do you have for students who are entering high school or entering their senior year?

Graycee:
I would say the most important thing is just, be yourself like everyone else is saying, but also put yourself out there and get involved, even if it's scary and uncomfortable. You can always grow when you push yourself past your comfort zone. And I've learned so much about myself doing student government or being on the cheer team. It's just something you wouldn't expect, but you're so grateful for the outcome afterwards because you're a completely different person after. And so without forgetting about your fears and all the doubts in your head, just stop being such a critic of yourself and just have fun and get to know people. Don't be afraid that you're being judged by other people. Just do you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great advice, thank you. Introduce yourself, tell us your name and the school you're graduating from, and then tell me a couple of things. A favorite teacher or adult that had an impact in your life from kindergarten to 12th grade, and then advice that you have for anyone who is either going to be a senior next year or starting high school next year.

Luseane:
Perfect, hello, my name is Luseane. I'm graduating from Valley High, and one teacher, or actually a couple teachers, from kindergarten up to senior year, I would wanna say number one, my mom, of course. She's a teacher, she was teaching at Syracuse Arts Academy, and she was my theater teacher, but I want to say thank you, Mom, for everything, I mean, giving me life, number one. And number two, letting me sneak into your class and get snacks during my other classes. Also, I want to say thank you to Billy Zumbrun, that's my counselor from Clearfield High. He helped me strive to be better in every aspect of life, to show up to class, to actually put an effort after my dad had passed.
And I also want to thank Crivello and Bany from Valley High that have given me a lot of opportunities to be myself and to make up a lot of credits whenever I have fallen short a little bit.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And what advice do you have for those who are entering high school or entering their senior year?

Luseane:
Honestly, I would say just to be yourself. There is no one else you can describe to be. You can look at your peers, and you can look at your friends, and foes because who knows? But look at everybody but also remember that you don't have to try to be anybody but yourself. You don't have to impress anybody to make friends. You don't have to be the best in your class or the funniest. Just live a little, you know what I'm saying?

Anthony Godfrey:
Be yourself, live a little.

Luseane:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you are the funniest, aren't you?

Luseane:
I mean, I don't know, I'm not gonna brag. (laughing)

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, thank you very much.
All right, introduce yourself and tell me about a teacher or adult who's had an impact on you, kindergarten through 12th grade.

Trevor:
I am Trevor and I am the valedictorian of Copper Hills High School. One thing about me is I ask a lot of questions and they're always really deep questions that are not exactly inside the school curriculum. So the best teachers for me are the ones that put in the effort and have the knowledge to answer all the questions I ask. So Ms. Messervy, my calculus teacher, and Ms. Edelman, my psychology teacher, probably some of the favorite teachers I've ever had. Another teacher I really like is Mr. Taylor, my choir teacher because he's always so fun and so engaging while still being able to effectively and quickly convey all the material to his large classes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So they've had a big impact on you.

Trevor:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what advice do you have for students who are just entering high school or entering their senior year?

Trevor:
So I have two pieces of advice. The first is that time is by far the most valuable resource you have, and you do not want to waste a second of it. Every second you have is a second that you'll never get back and you've got to do what you can with the time you've been given because it's going to go away very quickly.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have me regretting all that time I spent on TikTok this morning. (laughing)

Trevor:
That's why it's called TikTok.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's right.

Trevor:
Second piece of advice is to avoid apathy. Especially for all you seniors out there, as you go into your senior year, you're going to feel the urge to give up, to stop trying. But you've come this far and you cannot give up at this point. There is, you have so much potential and so much you can do with your life if you only continue to care.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. Great advice. Thank you.

Stay with us. Up next, we listen in on some graduation speeches from the Class of 2023.

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

Linda:
My name is Linda Curtis and I'm from Riverton High School. Good evening, class of 2023. I am honored to be here. Today marks one of the most significant milestones in our lives. Before we put on our big kid pants and step out onto the big world, I hope we all remember this important quote, "Don't forget where you came from and never lose sight of where you're going."

A few short years ago, I thought graduating high school would be impossible. Thankfully, through hard work, dedication, great teachers, and a wonderful counselor, shout out to Mr. Christensen, you're a G for real, I get to do so today.

My utmost gratitude, however, goes to my parents, Brian and Shay Curtis. Even though we found each other later in life when I was 16, I can say they have shaped me far more than I can put into words. I would not be the person I am standing before you today without them. I am so blessed to have their great example in my life and I thank God every day because I am so blessed. They have given me constant support, love and guidance. I went from believing I would never amount to anything to being able to look at myself in the mirror. I am who I am today because of their great example.

I can tell you firsthand what blowing off school and your core values will do to you and your future families. In the neighborhoods where I grew up and in my biological family, survival was the most important thing, not traditional education. No one really graduated high school in my neighborhood nor in my biological family. Most of my childhood friends have dropped out of high school, are in jail, turned to drugs and violence, sadly passed away, or just living to survive.

My GPA before I came to RHS was a 1.25. Through hard work, a home filled with love, and a caring neighborhood and community, I'm currently an A/B student. Mostly A, but English 1010 kicked me in the butt a little bit this year. And have raised my GPA from a 1.25 to 2.7. I'm really proud to say that I will be the first ever high school graduate in my biological family.

Trevor:
My name is Trevor Eldredge, and I am from Copper Hills High School. Ever since I was a kid, I thought of graduation as something far in the future. Something that wouldn't happen to me for a long, long time. Now, it still barely feels real. Like I'm still that kid, staring out into the future, wondering what it will hold.

And in a way, I still am that kid. We all are. In the same routine for a dozen years, we've had our lives fairly figured out up until this point. But now, it's time to look forward to a future that's rapidly becoming our present, and soon, our past.

Today is the first day of tomorrow, the first day of the rest of your life. Each one of us has spent tens of thousands of hours working, learning how to learn and how to succeed. It's time to put those skills to use in the next phase of our life.

No matter what you're doing with the next phase of your life, I challenge you to make it something incredible, to do the things that no one thinks are possible, and to achieve the things that no one thinks you can achieve. Every one of us is capable of that. The fact that you are all here is living proof of that fact.

Graycee:
My name is Graycee Wells and I am from Mountain Ridge High School and then for part of my speech I talk about COVID so I say although COVID impacted us all we have emerged from this experience stronger and more resilient than ever before. We came out on top, we learned to embrace change and each time we were challenged or encouraged setbacks, we were given the opportunity to turn the negatives into positives.

We learned to think critically, solve problems, and communicate more effectively. We learned to show people love and concern even if it wouldn't be in the same room together. We learned about loss and heartache and how to comfort those around us. And we learned how to have more gratitude for our teachers, staff, and one another. We have developed resilience, perseverance, and a strong work ethic. These are all qualities that will serve us no matter what path we choose to take.

Today I want to speak on making a positive impact on the world regardless of our circumstances, achievements, failures, or even a pandemic. Minor Myers Jr., who was the president of Illinois' Westland University, said, "Go into the world to do well, but most importantly, go into the world to do good."

Luseane:
My name is Luseane Burke and I'm from Valley High. And this is just a little excerpt from my graduation speech.

When I would bring home a report card, I would get in trouble if I had one A-minus. I was a 4.0 student through elementary and junior high. When I started high school, I kept my grades up for a while, but then my social life blurred my vision. My grades and attendance started to slip and COVID didn't help. I couldn't learn and exceed in my education attending school virtually. I attended Syracuse High and Clearfield High sophomore year, trying to find the best learning environment for myself.

Then the summer between my sophomore and junior year, I got off work and while walking to my car I got a call from my sister saying something was wrong with my dad. I was yelling the whole way home hoping he could hear me, mad that he didn't reach out to me. I soon after got a call from my stepmom stating that my dad passed away. That was by far the hardest thing I've had to go through my entire life because not only did I lose my father I lost my best friend, my protector, and my twin. 

Grief is nothing to play around with. I couldn't get out of bed. Depression started taking over my everyday life. I failed every class the entirety of my junior year due to my attendance. I felt like there was nothing to live for. My heart was ripped out of my chest and buried with my dad. Many of my friends' junior year asked me where I was and why I missed school. I told them I was sick, and really I couldn't fathom the idea of getting out of bed and living life as if nothing happened.

Summer was coming to an end and I was contemplating dropping out of school permanently to be with my family. I then remembered what my dad would want and what he would tell his kids to do. I toughened up, moved in with my auntie and uncle, and grandma, and started attending Valley High School.

As everyone here knows, this isn't the normal high school. We came to Valley for a reason, whether it be because you wanted to follow in your sibling's footsteps, the schedule or location was better for you, or this was your last option to graduate. I know many of us weren't planning on walking here, but I believe I can speak on behalf of our class and say thank you to the school for the many opportunities given to us to make up credits and help us be able to walk out of here with the diploma in our hands. 

My fellow graduates, take a look at where you've been, the sacrifices you've made to be here, and if no one else will say it, I want to say I'm proud of you for graduating and being here today because we all know this diploma wasn't easy to obtain. Celebrate this huge milestone in your life, but never forget where you came from or your journey. Be thankful, be happy, this is just the beginning.

Anthony Godfrey:
Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors. We wish you the very best.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is one of the most recognized morning radio hosts in the Salt Lake Valley. Amanda Dickson has been a staple on KSL NewsRadio in the mornings for nearly three decades doing what she loves, connecting with people and sharing stories.

On this episode of the Supercast, we hear about a newfound passion for the popular radio host. Amanda Dickson is now spending a lot of her time off-air in the classroom as a substitute teacher. Find out why she says students bring her such joy and why she believes kids in the classroom can do the same for others willing to try substitute teaching.

I'm here with Amanda Dickson, radio personality for KSL and substitute teacher extraordinaire for Jordan School District.

Amanda Dickson:
I don't know about that.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I'm actually in a classroom at Golden Fields where you've been substituting today.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes, I'm here in Miss Beck's class, her third-grade class and we had a really good day today.

Anthony Godfrey:
It looks like it's decorated for Hogwarts.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I don't know if it always is but the candles are floating in the air and pictures of children in robes are on the wall and it looks like a great environment.

Amanda Dickson:
Each group of tables is a different house like Slytherin, and this is Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor was particularly good today.

Anthony Godfrey:
No surprise there. That's how Gryffindor rolls. I have a lot of questions. So I assume that you interviewed me and others at Riverton High School not long ago, a few weeks ago, about just as part of your broadcasting out in the community. And that was a lot of fun. Everybody I talked with had a great time with that. I was amazed at how many things you can keep going all at the same time. You're talking to them, to the people on your earphones telling you what to do, you're connecting with me at the same time, you're looking at the screen, it's all happening in real-time. I suspect that prepares you very well to be a substitute.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh, that's brilliant. Yes, I think that doing, in fact, doing my show in particular, because we have to hit things at exactly the right time because people use us like a utility. So if they're not out the door by the time they hear three things, or traffic and weather, they know they're late, we have to be on time with those things. That makes us a little strange in the way we multitask because we're constantly looking at the clock and counting back in our heads, do we have enough time to do this? Will we hit at this precise time. I had a boss once that called me scatterbrained. I like to think of it more as multitasking.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's multitasking.

Amanda Dickson:
Multitasking, yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Lots of people think they can do it and can't do it. I sit in a lot of meetings where people think they can be looking at the screen and be very aware of what's happening all at the same time. They can't, but you absolutely can. I have witnessed it. And like I said, I'm sure that those skills are very helpful when you've got lots of children that you don't necessarily know that you're dropping in on. And that's the difficult part, is that you're dropping in on an established routine, established relationships among the kids, and then you're the new person. So tell me a little bit about what that's like.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh, it's wonderful. I feel like a grandparent Dr. Godfrey because I get to take them for the day and then I give them back. “So nice having them. Here you go.”

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a great way to describe it.

Amanda Dickson:
Because I get to love them for a day and then I give them back to the teacher who is so responsible, so I get perfect instructions. I mean today was a perfect example. You do this for a half hour, this for 15 minutes, here's the instruction, these are the books. I mean, I'm given a perfect roadmap of what to do.

But you're right, if I don't connect with them, then it's a very long afternoon. So I have to find a way to connect with them. And sometimes it's just as simple as energy. If I listen to their reading enthusiastically, they'll come to where I am. But sometimes it's more difficult.

I had a great class today because these kids were obviously proud of their work, of their reading skill, of their writing skill, and they wanted to share it. And that's beautiful. And it's so different from the news if you'll forgive me for saying that. Because the news can be, as you well know, it can be very heavy and negative and at a distance. Substitute teaching is joyful and in-person and focused on the future and not on the past.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love the focus on the future that's exactly it and the impact that you have keeps rolling. You're building momentum with these kids with a positive interaction. Listening enthusiastically to their reading is a great example of that. And you know, this is not to downplay the difficulties of being in a classroom or being a substitute teacher. It's a very difficult job but you also have some degree of control over what the climate is for that classroom. How do I want it to feel? And you've described that. I want to connect with them. I want to be sure that they feel loved and that I'm connecting with them but then I'm also going through the instructions left by the teacher.

Amanda Dickson:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
That gives them a sense of comfort that those routines continue and they stay in place and the teacher's gone.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah because they'll try and get away with things as you well know.

Anthony Godfrey:
The news doesn't allow you to do that.

Amanda Dickson:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that comes at you and you have to deal with what's coming at you. But they do try to work it though. So what age do they try to work it the most?

Amanda Dickson:
Kindergarten on. I mean.

Anthony Godfrey:
All of the ages.

Amanda Dickson:
All of the ages in different ways. No junior high of course. It's junior high.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I was a middle school teacher so I do understand that at a deep level.

Amanda Dickson:
God bless you.

Anthony Godfrey:
I liked eighth graders. I know that is a rare person that loves eighth graders but I had a blast with eighth graders.

Amanda Dickson:
I have found many kids in middle school to love and classes to love, but those have also been some of the hardest experiences. Because I've been spoiled these 30-plus years at KSL that when I talk people listen to me. Until I went to middle school and then I realized this is a whole… They don't know who I am, they don't care who I am, they just want to see what they can get away with. And yet there are students of course there who are more shy and more studious. So how do you make, this is a question, how do you make it a good learning experience for those students who are applying themselves and address the difficulties, the behavioral issues at the same time?

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you ask an important question. It's a question that I think teachers have to ask themselves constantly throughout the day. It's part of the stress of being a teacher. And you've understood this for a long time. At the end of the day, you've made so many decisions about, "Should I talk to that child? Should I talk to this child? Should I allow them to do that? Should I not?” That by the end of the day, you have decision fatigue. You're worn out. There's a lot of energy that goes into that.

I think what you have to do is connect with kids that aren't outwardly begging for it because there's behavior that is meant to draw your attention. There are kids who will try to draw your attention in other ways, but there are kids who are quietly working and doing what they're asked to do, not doing things to outwardly reach out for your attention. And if you actively give it to them, then that is very meaningful to those students who are quietly just doing what they need to. It takes time to do that, it's hard to do.

Amanda Dickson:
And in so many of your elementary schools, the teachers have set up processes for that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Amanda Dickson:
You know, and told me specifically something very similar to what you said. You know, here are the marbles. Give them marbles when they're on task. Give them marbles when they're reading. Or give the class a point, or take it away. So that reward structure is, it's structured in elementary school. In middle school, not as much, but yeah, that's good advice. I'll use that.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you're right, the feedback structure, however that is, is really important to students. It's important to the teacher because it kind of allows everyone to feel engaged no matter what's happening. And then you get to focus on the content because you don't have to be worried about whether people are feeling like they belong in the class or whether they're connected with the adult in the classroom.

When I visit classrooms for Outstanding Educator awards, we visit every school every year. So all 68 schools, we stop and we have a group from the Foundation and I like to play around with the kids and have fun. And one of the things that really gets the teacher's attention is if I notice what their reward structure is. I see the box of, you know, bucks, the teacher bucks that get handed out or whatever rewards or treats. But I really admire how teachers structure their classroom for maximum belonging and maximum teaching. I'm continually impressed as I see that.

Amanda Dickson:
Me too.

Anthony Godfrey:
Even though I've been in education for three decades, it's amazing what they do.

Amanda Dickson:
I mean like in this classroom, you can see the love.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can.

Amanda Dickson:
If you never met this teacher and never met her students, the walls are filled with their names and their likenesses, and their accomplishments. And the books are organized by mystery, adventure, history, biography. But this is not unlike all the classrooms I'm in. It's a version of love in color.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's such a great way of putting it. And as I look around, I see evidence of love. I didn't notice it the first. Like, wow, they've got potion bottles.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And action figures and it really is a great way of describing it.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, how long have you been substituting?

Amanda Dickson:
This is my first year.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is your first year.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
It feels like you've been doing it for a long time.

Amanda Dickson:
I wish I had.

Anthony Godfrey:
You understand it so well, you've just connected with this job.

Amanda Dickson:
I love it so much more than I anticipated. I had had people, and I'm embarrassed to say this now, but I had had people tell me, "You're not gonna like this, you shouldn't do it. You're gonna hate substitute teaching, what are you thinking?” But we had stories at the beginning of the year about how there weren't enough substitute teachers. And I get done with work like 11, 11:30, and I thought, well, would I ever be able to do this?

So I contacted the District Office and I went through the training and I take every afternoon that's offered that I can get because it's so joyful. Mostly in elementary, but I do some middle and some high school. And those can be joyful on different levels too, as you know.

So I started this year and I found it challenging. I look forward to it. When I leave KSL and I value that job, I don't mean to say anything, I value that job very much, but I feel like I come into a place where my spirit almost belongs more, that it's a chance to, goodness, I'm emotional about it, but it's a chance to be with, my kids are mostly grown. My youngest is 16, my oldest is 34, and I miss kids of this age, I miss that light. I had four girls present today to the class with their poster and they were so good and so nervous and so creative and I miss that.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is a beautiful thing to get to see kids in action, to watch them learning, and to see them grow. It's what drew me to education.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah, I bet.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm so glad you found it so fulfilling and felt such a close connection to it.

Amanda Dickson:
I recommend it. If anyone out there is thinking about substituting, do not listen to the naysayers. Go and be in a classroom yourself. And I bet for every person, it would be different as to which age they connect with more or which subject matter. For me, it's elementary school, but there are lots of good middle school and high school classes too. I've had the chance to be in journalism classes in high schools and English. I was an English major in college. So for me, anytime I get to teach language arts, I'm happy. So there's--

Anthony Godfrey:
That was me. I was a language arts teacher.

Amanda Dickson:
Oh, were you? I mean, I love reading. I love reading and I love talking about books and I love reading the students' writing about books and their criticism of books and it just brings everything to life.

Anthony Godfrey:
You get to know a lot of people this way. You get to know a lot of people with KSL. You're always interviewing new people. If you'd kept track, I'm sure it's in the many thousands of people that you've spoken with. But it's so fun to see kids at this stage of their life. And like I said, to see them grow and to see the third-grade version of them doing their very best and learning what they can and becoming who they're going to be.

Amanda Dickson:
Yeah, I look at them sometimes and I think, I wonder, you know, but we have no way of knowing, of course, because it's like going to a high school reunion and the person who you thought was gonna be all that, you know, is not all that, you never, who knows? So even when I have a kid who's challenging, I think you never know. This kid could be the governor someday. I mean, I need to pay attention to this kid. He's very boisterous, he's very outspoken, he has complete confidence that he deserves the floor. (laughing) He deserves the floor at any given moment. Maybe he's a politician.

Anthony Godfrey:
See, that's the trick, is that you see this version of them and you have to imagine every possible version of them in the future so that the way that we interact with them doesn't limit in their mind what they're able to do.

Amanda Dickson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us, more with Amanda Dickson when we come back. And learn how you too can become a substitute teacher in Jordan School District.

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:
What have you learned about teachers as a substitute?

Amanda Dickson:
I had no idea how hard they worked. I thought they worked hard. I was way off. I mean, think about how hard I work in the four hours I'm in the classroom, but they leave all their papers to be graded the next day by the teacher who filled out an entire list of what I was to do. So when she comes in tomorrow, she has to not only have her whole lesson plan do that whole day, but then grade everything we did the day before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, they prepared everything for you. They'll grade everything afterwards.

Amanda Dickson:
Right, I did nothing. I'm exhausted.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're experiencing only the real-time in front of the kids part.

Amanda Dickson:
The easiest part. Their workload is outrageous. And their love is enormous.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Amanda Dickson:
And their patience with we parents who are not supportive sometimes, their patience is like some kind of biblical thing. Frankly, Superintendent, I know one of my children has been a real challenge for his teachers. And I'm now going to go find their emails and write an apology email to each and every one of them because It's it takes an emotional toll on these teachers that they're not compensated for.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, there is an emotional toll it takes tremendous energy and you're right, teachers work very, very hard. No matter how hard you think they work you’re undershooting it.

Amanda Dickson:
It's hard. Yeah, because just thinking about what to cover, especially in elementary school when you're covering all these different subjects, what kind of an assignment will I give them that will bring them to life? That will engage them? That can't come straight out of a book. What do I have to teach them? What are the standards that I have to make? How can I make those two things jive? How can I give them enough work to challenge them but not leave them in the dust?

Anthony Godfrey:
You describe it very well.

Amanda Dickson:
Oy vey Maria. I gave myself a headache just saying it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's stressful talking about that work, much less doing it. The difficult part of it also is that teachers love their kids and they feel this responsibility. And just like you described, you want to be at your best, you want to be providing the best for students, and it's messy, it's chaotic. Kids' needs vary, and they vary from day to day. And meeting those needs and being at your very best is a very difficult thing, and it's a difficult thing to sustain day in and day out throughout the school year.

Amanda Dickson:
Why has the respect for teachers, or do you agree with the statement that the respect for teachers has gone down in some cases and why?

Anthony Godfrey:
That is very puzzling to me because…

Amanda Dickson:
They were the heroes during the pandemic.

Anthony Godfrey:
They were the heroes during the pandemic.

Amanda Dickson:
We stand outside holding signs, thank you. And two years later what happened?

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm afraid that teachers have been placed in the center of a lot of debates that don't have a lot to do with the classroom directly.

Amanda Dickson:
I agree.

Anthony Godfrey:
And our teachers need to be championed at every turn. You are someone who walks the talk on that.

Amanda Dickson:
You know what I loved seeing, and I saw it today, is the support that the teachers give each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Amanda Dickson:
I saw the third-grade teachers hanging out by the door right before we were going to get the kids from recess, just swapping stories and offering words of encouragement. And it made me think when was the last time I did that for my coworkers at KSL? I mean when was the last time I just hung out with them and told them, "Wow, what you did there was awesome and you really put a lot of effort into that. And I'm sorry if that wasn't appreciated because I appreciated it.” When was the last time I said the kind of things I heard your third graders, your third grade teachers saying today. That was beautiful. I'm glad they have each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that description. It's something I've experienced personally as a teacher and that I've been able to observe over the years and it's a unique culture. People who come from outside of education marvel at that because you don't see that everywhere.

Amanda Dickson:
No, you don't.

Anthony Godfrey:
What advice do you have for those who might be thinking about being a substitute? We always need more help.

Amanda Dickson:
If you can love children, you can do this job. I mean, you don't need to be an expert in-- I've taught science classes and math classes. YouTube is my friend. If I know what the subject is in advance, I'll go YouTube a little bit and get up to speed on something. But as long as you can come with an open mind and don't expect perfection, you're new. They're awkward around you. Imagine if it was your first day with a new person. They've had a woman or a man that they've trusted for months and months, and who's this stranger? So be patient with them when they're boisterous. They don't mean to be disrespectful. This is not about you. This is about them. So if you can go with an open mind and an open heart, you'll get so much love in return. And I have not been blessed with grandchildren yet. I hope I am someday, kids, if you're listening. But until then, I'm going to borrow your kids, Dr. Godfrey, and love them if that's OK.

Anthony Godfrey:
You can have them anytime. We're so grateful that you choose to sub. And I'm very appreciative of the energy you bring to it and the love for our students. So thank you very much for your time today and for everything you're doing to support our teachers and our students.

Amanda Dickson:
Thank you for what you do too, Dr. Godfrey, and for all your teachers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. If you want to find joy in substitute teaching with a flexible work schedule in our elementary or secondary schools, Visit employment.jordandistrict.org.

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 looked like a scene straight out of an old movie. We're talking about World War II Day at West Jordan High School.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out why history teacher Alyse Almond is so passionate about preserving American military history. She's giving students a real-life history lesson, with the help of World War II historians, hoping to connect today's students to the stories of those who served our country and sacrificed so much.

We're here with social studies teacher, Alyse Almond at West Jordan High School. And I'm finally getting to see this tradition of World War II Day. Tell me a little bit about this.

Alyse Almond:
So World War II Day started about eight years ago here at West Jordan High School. Me and my friends, we are the Utah Military History Group and we do living history from World War I through Vietnam. And our passion is World War II, so we wanted to bring the history to the students in a very tangible way.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's obvious you're doing that. I see vehicles, it feels like I'm on a MASH episode, I know that's the wrong era, but this particular ambulance gives me that feel. We've got uniforms, it looks like we've got all kinds of materials from the time period. So, and several vehicles that are probably getting the attention of people driving by, wondering if there's a military takeover of West Jordan High School. So can you talk me through what we've got out here.

Alyse Almond:
Yeah. So we have a World War II 1945 CCKW, which is a truck made by GMC.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's walk over there.

Alyse Almond:
It was built in 1945. So this is Layne Schoenfeld and this is his 1945 GMCCKW.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your CCKW, Layne.

Layne Schoenfeld:
Well, one of the most common vehicles used during World War II, it was used to transport troops and material. It was the backbone of the Red Ball Express. I don't know if anybody's familiar with the Red Ball Express but that was basically a supply route from the beaches in Normandy, France, up deeper into Europe and on into Germany, supplying the troops the front line.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the state it was in before you refurbished it.

Layne Schoenfeld:
It was a rust bucket. It had been sitting outside for 20 years, just filling up full of leaves and dirt and the water raining on it. So it was all rusty and it was missing a few pieces here and there.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's pretty amazing. How long did this restoration take you?

Layne Schoenfeld:
I'm ashamed to say it took me 15 years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, that's something that you just chip away at over time.

Layne Schoenfeld:
Yeah, life got in the way a couple of times.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's pretty exciting that West Jordan High School is the first event. How does it feel to have it out in the public now?

Layne Schoenfeld:
It feels good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Layne Schoenfeld:
It feels good.

Anthony Godfrey:
What got you interested in World War II initially?

Layne Schoenfeld:
My father was a World War II veteran,  and him telling me a few stories.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for sharing it with the students here at West Jordan High School.

Layne Schoenfeld:
You're welcome. It's a pleasure and an honor. And hopefully, the students learned a little something and we can keep history alive. That's what this is all about.

Alyse Almond:
We also have two World War II Jeeps here. One is a 1942 Willys and one is a 1944 Willys. These are both quarter-ton all-utility vehicles that were used in World War II. And then here we actually have, this is a weapons carrier and this is Dave Vuyk.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Dave.

Dave Vuyk:
How are you?

Alyse Almond:
And this is his vehicle and have you-

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this vehicle.

Dave Vuyk:
It's a 1944 Dodge weapon carrier. It's a three-quarter ton. This is a copy of the original build card that went through the factory with this truck.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. So do you turn some heads when you're driving this down the road?

Dave Vuyk:
Yeah, for sure. And people love it. I think people find it fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
You might not beat people off the line.

Dave Vuyk:
Oh, we don't, yeah. No, we don't beat people off the line. My son Schyler, who's in here, he had Miss Almond for history. Kind of got the bug. And I have a little bit of it, but I'm not into the uniforms and some of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Between you and Miss Almond, he's hooked, huh?

Dave Vuyk:
Oh, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you for sharing this with West Jordan High School.

Dave Vuyk:
We love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So exciting.

Dave Vuyk:
This is fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Dave Vuyk:
And you know, a little bit of education is fun.

Alyse Almond:
So this is Brent Fordham. He is our medic in our living history group and this is his medic display and ambulance.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Brent. How are you?

Brent Fordham:
Good.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is, you have not only the ambulance behind you, which looks incredible, but you've also got all kinds of first aid kits it looks like, and first aid materials. So this is everything a combat medic would have carried. Tell me, can you walk me through this?

Brent Fordham:
A lot of what you see is just like an assortment of like random bandages. A medic’s sole purpose, they weren't licensed doctors, so they really just did like band-aid work just get them stable enough to get them to an actual hospital.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is it that got you interested in the medic aspect of World War II?

Brent Fordham:
Well, I've always been into history. My dad did reenacting when I was a kid, and I've just always kind of been drawn to the medical stuff. I don't really know why. I mean, as a kid, I wanted to be a paramedic.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you very much for bringing all this here and for allowing students the chance to interact with this. I have no doubt that this will have a lasting impact on them.

Brent Fordham:
I hope it does, that's why we do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at the board with lots of photos and bios, it looks like, from various veterans of World War II. Tell me about this board.

Alyse Almond:
So we do-- this is an honorarium for the family members of our faculty and staff who served in World War II. So I send out a message to all of our faculty and staff. And last year and this year, they sent me back their stories and their photographs of their family member veterans.

So like up in the corner, we actually have Principal Birch's dad, who was a World War II, he was in the Army Air Corps in World War II and he was on a B-17 and he was actually shot down over Germany on one of his missions and he became a POW. And he was a POW for six months during World War II.

And then we have the stories of like our, the woman who runs our Jag Stash here, her dad, was also in World War II. He was in the Army. He served on Okinawa. And so we have his story.

We also have the story of my great-uncles on here. We have the stories of one of our science teachers here, actually. Her great-grandpa, when she sent me his name, all she had was his name, that he died and where he died, and the name of his family, so his wife and his kids. They didn't know anything else. And I actually ended up researching him and finding out what regiment he was with, what division he was with, and what happened to him and when he was killed in action.

Anthony Godfrey:
So she didn't know all of this and you were able to uncover some facts about his life.

Alyse Almond:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, this really ties it to the faculty as well. Again, another way of adding dimension to history and to make it personal.

Stay with us when we come back, more on World War II Day, and we'll hear from a student who came back to West Jordan after graduating to show off his own collection and express appreciation for his experience in Ms. Almond's class.

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:
We're here with some of the students at West Jordan High School that have been able to be part of World War II Day. Tell me your name.

Brayden:
Brayden.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me a little bit about your experience.

Brayden:
It's been really exciting to see all the vehicles and all the stuff. I've had family members that served, so that's why I took the class. And my great grandfather was a pilot, so they let me hold the aviator stuff. So it was really good to see what he would have worn and what he would have done.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things that you've learned that might have surprised you in this class?

Brayden:
How brutal the war was in the Pacific, because I feel like most of the time we think of the war in Europe and not in the Pacific. And also the other countries that were involved besides the United States and most of the European countries, like Brazil and Mexico.

Anthony Godfrey:
How about you? Tell me your name and some of the things you've learned from the class.

Joseph:
My name is Joseph and it's been an absolute amazing time being part of the class. I was largely and vaguely into World War II beforehand and I loved World War II and studying it, but this class has opened up so many more opportunities to learn. It's shown me stories about men on the front, it's shown me stories about how different things were, how Miss Almond usually brings in these uniforms. You get to see what did they wear, what were they working with, and it's more focused on the individual rather than the whole entire aspect of World War II. So it's been an amazing experience taking her class.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's true when you think about it as individual humans going through this it's very different from just talking about it in broad terms.

Joseph:
It went from tactical to more with the person instead.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah exactly. Tell me your name and a little bit of your experience in the class.

Tiernan:
My name is Tiernan. My experience with the class is great. It's always easier to learn with a teacher who is very enthusiastic about the topic like Miss Almond is. Something I learned in the class that I didn't know before was how pervasive it was, not just in the battlefield or in the military branches but also everything in each of these countries just on a civilian level was also in aid of the war effort.

Anthony Godfrey:
Citizens were a key component of war effort. Tell me your name and some of the things that stood out for you in the class.

Peter:
My name is Peter, but I go by Pidge. And I've always had a love for strategic battles and tactical warfare, and I study World War I on the side. I learned a lot about Italy and their involvement, the blitzkrieg that went into the Balkans and Greece. I've also learned a lot about the Pacific and the brutality of Japanese imperialism.

We look at war through a iso commander.  We see the battles. We see these casualty numbers from official reports, but when you look down at the average day-to-day life, when you go down to the civilian level, you see the mass amount of destruction, the massive amounts of sort of these atrocities that happened and sort of this realization that War is a lot more grimace than we think it is because we are never exposed to the sort of nitty-gritty of it.

Alyse Almond:
So this is Schyler Vuyk and he is actually a West Jordan High School alum. You graduated in 2019? And then after he graduated he joined our living history group. His focus is on the Coast Guard and the Merchant Marine because his great-grandfather was in the Coast Guard.

Anthony Godfrey:
So wow, this is a whole different set of artifacts. Tell me a little bit about what you have here.

Schyler Vuyk:
Well, we have an assortment of both personal objects and objects that they would have used on the ship anywhere between combat or if they had some time off. These are some objects that would have been privately purchased.

Anthony Godfrey:
This looks like a little kit that folds up together with playing cards. Is that what that is?

Schyler Vuyk:
Yeah, so it's playing cards, you have checkers, you have dice, and then this is a recent purchase. This is a wallet and the calendar was never used. This is fresh.

Anthony Godfrey:
Calendar for 1943.

Schyler Vuyk:
It was never used. It was bought by a gentleman on eBay. He said he bought it and then never used it. It sat in his house for years and he never used it and he sold it. And then this one I have not a whole lot of information on him unfortunately but this is him, this is Bob Sherman and then here's another picture of him. He would have, it looked like he served in every single theater during the merchant marine, well he served in the merchant marine during World War II.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have photos from him and you have a case, is this a case of his medals.

Schyler Vuyk:
These are all of his medals, yes. And then what's interesting is this medal is actually a Russian medal, this top one right here. This is actually a 1985 Russian Jubilee medal. And from what I can gather, just by having a Russian medal is that he most likely would have supplied, he would have done what they called the Murmansk Run, which was when they had shipping boats transport shipping and stuff to the Soviet Union through the Arctic Circle, literally going over Finland and Sweden to get to Russia through like below zero temperatures and stuff like that. And some of them earned Russian medals if they were in Soviet waters that shot down planes. And then I believe what would have probably happened is he probably was invited back because some merchant marine and some Navy men were invited back to Russia if they participated and supplying the Soviet Union and I believe he was given that when he probably visited in 1985.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have moved your collection in all kinds of different directions I love seeing the personal effects and these personal medals it really reminds you that they were individuals that were involved in this. Now tell me about these uniforms that you have here.

Schyler Vuyk:
These are Alyse's uniforms but I could probably talk a little bit about them. This is a Navy wave uniform. This would have been something they would have worn anywhere that they went on duty and I think this was also used for ceremonial like funerals dances and stuff like that. They would have been able to wear something like this.

Alyse Almond:
That is their dress uniform.

Schyler Vuyk:
Their dress uniform.

Alyse Almond:
And it was actually a big part of what they used to entice women into the military in World War II was we're gonna give you a lot of clothes and they're gonna look really good on you. And so the guy who actually designed the waves uniform, he was a well known New York fashion designer and then he sold his pattern for that uniform to the Navy for a dollar to support the war efforts.

Anthony Godfrey:
His contribution.

Alyse Almond:
Yep and so this uniform would be one that would be worn for official purposes and then the one that's actually behind it which is a gray dress with a beret that one was a dress that the Navy nurse were issued and they would wear that if they were not on duty and they were say going out with friends or going to a dance or other places.

Anthony Godfrey:
So between Ms. Almond and your dad and your family history you've become a serious history buff.

Schyler Vuyk:
I think that's a perfect observation to say.

Anthony Godfrey:
A lot of effort by a lot of people from the community and it's a tremendous experience for students to get some hands-on connection to the war. Tell me what do you hope students take away from this experience.

Alyse Almond:
I hope that students walk away from this day understanding that history is not just something that you read about in a book. That history is something that actually happened and that individuals lived those experiences. And when you can see and interact with the artifacts and the uniforms that those men and women used, I think it brings it alive for these students and it makes it something that is not just two-dimensional.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you very much for the time today and for creating such an incredible, immersive experience and unforgettable experience for our students.

Alyse Almond:
Thank you.

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