Supercast

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

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

Richard Birrell:
You're welcome. Thank you.

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

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
274 as of right now.

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

Richard Birrell:
114 of them.

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
We're nine right now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nine of you?

Richard Birrell:
Nine of us.

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

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Nine people.

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, that sounds extremely complicated.

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Right now? Just maintaining the fleet.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. You really cover the day.

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I see.

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

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

Richard Birrell:
I can take it right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

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

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

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
How much does a bus weigh?

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
23 years now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it was the inflatable building.

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Those are air horns.

Anthony Godfrey:
Those are serious air horns there.

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Some of the bus bays? Sure.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

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

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey Kelly, how are you doing?

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Nothing's rushed. Yep.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's walk over there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Whatever fits your seat in here.

Anthony Godfrey:

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

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
We keep her pretty busy in here.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hi Scott.

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

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

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

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

Scott:
Tires.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Have they shot up in price?

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

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

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
That's huge.

Richard Birrell:
That's extraordinary.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Scott:
That is extraordinary sometimes.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Day one.

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Nobody was hurt.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
11 kinds of school bus yellow?

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

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you start it up?

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

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
It doesn't work in here.

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

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

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

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

Richard Birrell:
Thank you. We do our best.

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

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Claire Burnham has a pretty amazing story to tell, one Claire and her family won't soon forget. On this episode of the Supercast, meet the Bingham High School sophomore, who is one of only 10 students in the nation selected to be a national youth storyteller at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. To make her story even more incredible, Claire was the opening act for professional storytellers at the festival, including the King of Storytelling, Master storyteller Donald Davis. Find out how Claire's love of storytelling began and how her talent blossomed thanks to one teacher in elementary school.

We're talking today with Claire Burnham, a sophomore at Bingham High School, and a champion storyteller. Thanks for talking with me today.

Claire Burnham:
Thank you for having me. This is very exciting.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, for me too. So tell me, Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, that's where you most recently performed, is that right?

Claire Burnham:
Yes, it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I think a lot of people may not understand that storytelling is actually a competitive event. Is that right?

Claire Burnham:
Very.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me a bit about how that works, first of all, and then let's talk about how you got into it.

Claire Burnham:
Well, the competitiveness for the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, I don't know the total number of youth in the country who did submit their audition tapes, but only 10 in the country were selected. So it was the best youth story tellers that they could possibly find. Which was very stressful when recording, knowing that this is me going up against some of the best of the best. But while we were there just before the festival and at the festival, there was no competitiveness between the 10 of us because we were just so excited to be there with people sharing similar passions and similar personalities. We had so much fun with each other and we just couldn't believe that we were with so many other talented people.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, tell me about some of those other talented people. There were 10 chosen from across the country. Where were some of them from?

Claire Burnham:
There were three from Texas. There was one from Florida and there was one from Arizona.

Anthony Godfrey:
Ah, interesting. So are there storytelling hotbeds in the country, like where there's a greater emphasis on it and you find more competition, or is it pretty much spread throughout the country?

Claire Burnham:
There is definitely a lot of concentration in the south. There are a lot of deep storytelling roots there. I believe the Appalachian, the Appalachian area. It's definitely where a sort of storytelling renaissance happened.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, so I would imagine that hanging out with nine other storytellers, there can be some really good conversations.

Claire Burnham:
Very long, in depth conversations, there were.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Without interrupting each other, because once you get on a story, you gotta let them get right to the end.

Claire Burnham:
Exactly. One of the starkest contrasts that I saw from before and after the storytelling festival was my conversations with my friends who are not storytellers. Because at the festival we would talk and we'd have a conversation. One of us would go on a tangent and tell a story, and then, so we would all listen and then we'd, one would be like, ‘Oh, that reminds me of this.’ And then she would tell a story and we would just tell stories and have long conversations. But when I got back I was like, ‘Why do all my friends give such short responses? I'm sure there was more to your experience in that. Tell me.’ They're like, ‘What are you doing, Claire?’

Anthony Godfrey:
So you get used to a deep level of detail that not all of your friends can provide.

Claire Burnham:
Definitely.

Anthony Godfrey:
And a narrative arc to the story as well.

Claire Burnham:
Most of the time. Other times we just, because we were from different states, a lot of the things we talked about were how different things were in different states. Part of it was the climate, the girl from Florida, she went hiking and she was like, ‘Why is the air so thin here?’ We're like, ‘You good?’

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Because we don't have humidity like she does.

Claire Burnham:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
And we're higher than she is.

Claire Burnham:
Yes. The people from Texas, they were definitely like, ‘It is extremely dry here. This is the seventh time I have put on Chapstick today.’

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fun. So tell me more about the festival itself. What did you perform at the festival?

Claire Burnham:
I performed my original story called the Joys of Apples. So all of the storytellers, we each had one story. The youth tellers each had one story. And on Friday and Saturday mornings, we would go and there were about five or so tents. And so about half of the storytellers, they would go and perform their stories in the tents, and they would open for the professional storytellers. There were about 12 of the professionals. So we got to interact with them a little bit. So we would tell our stories and then the professionals would tell their stories. And then we would basically just have the rest of the day to go around the rest of the festival and listen to more of the stories. Because the professionals, they each had many, many stories because they were performing many times. And so sometimes you had to pick and choose like, ‘Oh, I really want to go see Donald Davis. But man, Tim Lowry is so good.’ And you there was equal opportunity to still see all the storytellers you wanted to. With the Youth Tellers, it was a little harder to schedule seeing them cuz some of us were performing at the same time, but we still got the chance to hear everyone's amazing stories.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I understand that you got to open for someone who's very well known in the storytelling world. Tell me about him.

Claire Burnham:
Yes, Donald Davis. Donald Davis is considered to be a sort of king of storytelling. I mentioned the renaissance of storytelling of sorts, in the Appalachians. And he was one of the main people, if not the main person who helped initiate that renaissance. So he is a masterful storyteller. He has an amazing southern accent and he's quite old. So he will tell stories from his childhood when things were just so different. And the way he tells it, it's exciting, it's funny, it's relatable. It most of the time has much deeper messages. So Donald Davis is quite the amazing storyteller, but I also have personal ties to him. When I was in third grade, he came to my school and he told us stories and he told us about storytelling. We got to ask all these questions. And I looked up at him and I was like, ‘Wow, I wanna do something like that.’ And so he was the person who initially helped start me on this journey of storytelling. To the point where I'm performing right alongside him in a national storytelling festival, which was, it was amazing! I need a better word than that. It was exhilarating!

Anthony Godfrey:
Amazing and exhilarating. That's pretty awesome and amazing that you came full circle to get to introduce the person who introduced you to storytelling.

Clarie Burnham:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, speaking of your early beginnings as a storyteller, we have Frankie Walton here who was your teacher at the time.

Claire Burnham:
Sixth grade teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
So she kept the ball rolling for you after you got this initial interest in storytelling. Is that right?

Claire Burnham:
Yes, and it is due to my teachers that I was given so many opportunities to start storytelling. I was in third grade when Donald Davis came to my school, and it was the fourth graders who will often write stories and then as they perform them, the teachers will choose the best ones. And then they went to kind of like a district competition so that they could showcase those stories. But me, as a third grader my teacher saw that I might be good at this, so she let me write a story and work with the fourth graders to give it. And then in fourth grade, obviously I was able to tell more stories. And my fifth grade teacher thought that that was great, so I could show the little fourth graders how it was done. And then my sixth grade teacher Mrs. Walton was able to give me the opportunity to do it again. So that was the last year that I was able to perform that particular district wide storytelling showcase. But the company that does it, Story Crossroads, I have worked with ever since.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's quite an origin story. Stay with us when we come back. Meet the teacher who inspired Claire's passion and success in storytelling.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Mrs. Walton, tell me a little bit about what you remember about Claire as a storyteller. Way back when.

Frankie Walton:
I think the thing that I remember most about Claire is her passion and her beautiful way that she expresses language. She was a fantastic writer, and so I knew right off the bat that she would be able to deliver her story in a way that would be meaningful to all of us. And I hadn't originally planned on doing the program of storytelling in my classroom, but when Claire came to me and said, ‘I really want to do this’, she ignited a fire in me to give an opportunity to my entire class to do it. And so I was grateful to Claire because she brought her passion to our entire class and to me as well. I'll never forget her standing up in the room, and on audio I can't give it justice, but she put her hands up in the air, kind of like jazz hands, and she just said, ‘Mind blown’. And in that moment, my mind was blown because I saw her talent and her passion and was so excited to see what she was going to do in the future with this talent.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that's what great teaching is all about. It's seeing that spark, seeing something in a student and providing those opportunities for them. So thank you for, for being that person for Claire. Tell me what was it like in the classroom? What benefits did you see for your students once you opened this up to your entire class?

Frankie Walton:
For me, it was really easy to attach storytelling to our curriculum and to the core and the standards. Because storytelling is a way in which you can communicate an idea that opens up doors and windows to other people. And so I was able to see them go full circle with the written word into verbal communication. It was just an easy way to get students engaged and interested in something that they weren't necessarily engaged and interested in to start with.

Anthony Godfrey:
And storytelling is very natural for humans. We like to click into that mode of storytelling a lot and stories are compelling and can be persuasive and change our minds about things, but also make us test our own thinking as we're telling the story to someone else. So I think that's a great skill for sixth graders.

Frankie Walton:
Absolutely. Oftentimes they're shy, and nervous about their social standing and I saw many, many students blossom and just take it in a direction that all of a sudden, they became little humans with so much talent that I hadn't seen before. So it was a wonderful opportunity and I'm very blessed to be able to continue working through the Gifted and Talented department in providing this opportunity for all students in our district.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, tell me what that looks like.

Frankie Walton:
So we, in the Gifted and Talented department, sponsor the festival, or not festival, sponsor the Story Weavers competition each year in the spring. And any teacher in elementary grades 3-6 can participate. They just have their students write a story. Most often it's a tall tale or a fable or a fractured fairy tale, something along those lines. They put their little spin on a traditional story. And then the teacher provides the opportunity for the student to then perform that story and to practice that story. And we encourage them to perform it to each other, to other classes in the school, to parents, to anybody they can get their hands on to tell their story to. They have a class competition or a schoolwide competition, and then, the best speakers and storytellers are then invited to participate in a district showcase.

It's not really a competition. Everyone who participates is featured and celebrated, but we don't really compete for first, second, third. One of the things that's really helpful for our students is that we have adult judges there at our showcase, and those judges are always providing feedback to the students so that they can improve in their storytelling. And we are just so thrilled often to have our students showcase their talents and be able to do it in such a way that's beneficial to each of us, because we get to hear their stories and we laugh and we cry, and we just enjoy being with them and seeing how wonderful these young people truly are.

Claire Burnham:
I’ve got mine hanging on my walls. I look at them when I'm writing for school. I look at the feedback that I got when writing in school and I'm like, ‘Yeah, these judges thought that I was good so I can write this paper.’

Anthony Godfrey:
So the feedback continues to give you a boost and give you some confidence as you go into each new performance.

Claire Burnham:
Precisely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds as if Claire has created a lot of opportunities for many students years after she first got interested in storytelling.

Frankie Walton:
Absolutely. So many of our programs are designed in such a way that the students that are coming up behind them can look to them and see the good things that they do. And Claire has absolutely inspired many, many people.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's next for you and what do you see into the future as a storyteller?

Claire Burnham:
Well, being in the storytelling festival was absolutely a wonderful, incredible experience and I really hope that I can get to do it again. I'm actually already starting to brainstorm a little bit about what story I will use to audition with next time, because it is definitely something I wish to do again. But as for what is next, I plan on using the skills that I learned in my everyday life. Storytelling definitely makes even average life better. It's helped me to have better conversations with my friends. I'm pretty sure it will definitely help me to have the confidence and eloquence that I need in job interviews that I may have upcoming.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have no doubt of that. I think you'll do great.

Claire Burnham:
Thank you. Storytelling also can help with acting and acting helps with storytelling. Sure. I definitely love being an actress. That's one of the reasons why I use a lot of expression and movements in my storytelling.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have no doubt you're going to be very successful in whatever you choose and that this will help you because as you said, it's helpful in a lot of aspects of life and day to day life. Which brings me to talking with your mom, who's also here. We have Jet Burnham here to tell us what it's like having a child who can tell stories as well as Claire can.

Jet Burnham:
It's very entertaining. When I ask her about school, it's not a,’ it was fine.’ I get a, I don't know, 40 minute explanation of what she said and what he did and what it smelled like and what it sounded like. Yeah. Her descriptions are long and detailed.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think there are a lot of parents who would really like to hear that kind of report on the school day instead of one word and a nod.

Jet Burnham:
That's true. I have other kids who only give me that, but I only have so many hours in the day, so sometimes I ask her for the five minute version instead of the 50 minute version.

Claire Burnham:
And that is when I learned to talk very fast.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yes. So she limits your time. You still try to get all the information in. If you can.

Claire Burnham:
You can't just cut down the intricate day to day life of what exactly happened in Secondary Math Honors III.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, just a heads up, we are going to have to edit some of this interview either that or make it a three parter.

Claire Burnham:
I'm good with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Which I appreciate because it's very nice to talk with someone who can speak to a topic so easily. Any advice for those who are considering looking at storytelling as a hobby?

Claire Burnham:
Many people look at storytelling and think, ‘Oh, I could never do that’. At the festival, there were people who came up to me, they were like, ‘Wow, that was so amazing. I could never do that.’ And I just think you are telling a sort of story right now. Storytelling. It's looking at life and yes, embellishing a little, just being able to talk about it. Whether that's your own life or the life of some fictional character or the life of some tortoise and some hare. One of my favorite quotes that I heard at the Storytelling Festival, and it has stuck with me ever since I heard it, was that we need more storytelling because stories turn people into human beings. And if you just want to tell a story, do it, tell a story. It doesn't matter if you trip up on your words a little, that makes it even better. It adds more human layers to the story.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thanks for spending the time and congratulations on the medal that you're wearing from the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. And I know you have lots of great stories in your future.

Claire Burnham:
Thank you so much.

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

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He is a kind, compassionate, and caring special education teacher by day. However, when he's not in the classroom, this teacher is in the weight room defying normal human strength with his deadlifting abilities. On this episode of the Supercast, meet Sheldon Russell, an incredible teacher and world record holder in deadlift weightlifting. Find out how Sheldon has defied the odds in life and is inspiring others around him every day.

We’re here at West Jordan High School with Sheldon Russell to talk about a world record that he holds. Sheldon, thanks for taking time.

Sheldon Russel:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now first, let's talk about you as a teacher and educator in Jordan District. Tell us a bit about your career.

Sheldon Russell:
Well, I've been all over the place and I did some administration for a while, did teaching special ed, and I decided to go back to doing what I love, special ed. I'm a lot older than I look. I've got a few years left and I thought I'd finish doing what I love to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. And tell us about your current teaching assignment.

Sheldon Russell:
I teach Life Skills at West Jordan High School. High school students with intellectual disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities. It can be challenging, but it's fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's hard to come by Life Skills teachers. Explain to those who may not know what a Life Skills class is, what's involved.

Sheldon Russell:
We work on a lot of functional skills. So there's kids that may need help with reading or writing or math. My students need help in all facets of their life. So they will have some sort of dependence on people for the remainder of their life. Our job is to help them become as independent as possible. Some kids, we're working on writing numbers, other kids were working on finishing their math homework. But we deal with students with autism, down syndrome. We have kids with physical disabilities and impairments, hearing impairments, vision impairments. It's kind of a challenge, but like I said, I enjoy it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how many students are served in this support classroom?

Sheldon Russell:
Okay, so we have 24 students in our support classroom and we have two teachers in there and we have some assistants that help us out as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a really important program. And you have peer tutors I assume as well.

Sheldon Russell:
We do. Peer tutors come and help throughout the day, and they do a journal each week, and it's interesting reading what they write. And I've found this in my life, not only in my life, but I've noticed it with these kids. I'm an educator, but I get paid to learn every day. Working with kids like this gives you a lot of perspective on what life is really all about. So yes, I'm an educator, but I consider myself a professional student right now because I'm taught about life and perspective every day.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's true for the peer tutors that get to be part of your class as well. It's a really important program. Yes, the peer tutors are there to help the students who are in the support classroom and need the help, but I think they learn a lot about life, a lot of perspective. And develop some deep friendships themselves.

Sheldon Russell:
Absolutely. I see some kids that have their own challenges as peer tutors themselves, but they come in our room and it brings out the best in them, and they learn a lot about life. And this is my little plug for anyone who wants to go into special education. I tell all my peer tutors. It's a good field to be in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, absolutely. And wonderful things happen in our support classrooms in Jordan District. We've done a couple of Supercast episodes in support classrooms, so thank you for filling that role and taking care of those kids that need it the very most.

Sheldon Russell:
You're welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's talk about your hobby. It's hard to call it a hobby when you have reached these types of heights with a world record. How did you get started in weightlifting and when?

Sheldon Russell:
I was seven years old. My mother started dating my stepfather and he was actually a body building promoter.

Anthony Godfrey:

A Body building promoter?

Sheldon Russell:
Yes, he was back in the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
You were seven and what did he tell you? It's too late almost, but let's see if we can get you started?

Sheldon Russell:
Yeah, kind of. Actually, everyone was a big Arnold Schwarzenegger fan back in the early eighties. And I watched Conan the Barbarian and I thought he was the coolest guy in the world. I even grew my hair out long when I was in the fifth grade and my dad called me Little Arnold. So I picked up a weight at seven years old and then I never stopped.

Anthony Godfrey:
And he was here to pump you up?

Sheldon Russell:
Exactly. That's right.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. You picked up, what size weight did you pick up when you were seven?

Sheldon Russell:
When I was seven, I had a little hollow bar with little five pound cement plates on each side. And my dad put me through a little exercise routine and then I just, once I hit about 15, I started going heavy. And I've done it for 40 years now. So I did powerlifting. I don't know if you remember those days.

Anthony Godfrey:
I do.

Sheldon Russell:
I do powerlifting. Excuse me, bodybuilding. And I got sick of eating chicken, broccoli and brown rice six or seven times a day. So I was always strong and I always thought I'd compete in the bench press. But I had a friend who got me into, he says, ‘Hey, come, come pull with me.’ And I go and pull with him and the first time we pull together, I pull 600 pounds. He says, ‘Hey, you should compete.’ And then the rest is history. I've been competing solid for three years straight now, and we've done quite a bit. There's more than one world record, but.

Anthony Godfrey:
More than one world record. I was selling you short. Tell me exactly what is a deadlift? It sounds like zombies are involved. But what is, what is an actual deadlift?

Sheldon Russell:
Well, you feel like you're gonna die when you lift it for sure. But you basically go down to the ground and you basically straight arms, and pull the weight up and stand up with it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So these are the guys who lean over or crouch down, pull up the weights and you just have to stand with the weight. And then you drop it to the ground.

Sheldon Russell:
You do not drop it to the ground.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't drop to the ground.

Sheldon Russell:
You can while you're training.

Anthony Godfrey:
I always drop it to the ground when I'm deadlifting.

Sheldon Russell:
You don't drop it to the ground or the lift doesn't count. So you have to put it back down on the ground. So you pull it up, wait for the judge to wave his hand down, and then you put it down on the ground.

Anthony Godfrey:
So he has to show that you got it high enough.

Sheldon Russell:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
For long enough. And then you set it back down. So tell me, is putting it back down harder than it looks?

Sheldon Russell:
After you've strained yourself? Sometimes, yes. The first time I ever deadlifted 700 pounds was in training and I tweaked my back doing it, but it was still awesome. But I tweaked it, putting it down on the ground.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, when you demonstrated that just now you had one hand facing back and one hand facing forward, is that how you lift?

Sheldon Russell:
That's called a mixed grip and I do lift that way. There's people that do double overhand and then they do a hook grip where they take their index figure and hold it over their thumb. That's extremely painful. And I have short thumbs, so I don't do it. I can't do it that way.

Anthony Godfrey:
That doesn't sound like a good idea at all.

Sheldon Russell:
Well, there's people that are good at hook grippers and I am not one of them. I'm mixed grip all the way, which also leads to a bunch of fun injuries as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, so that's a deadlift. Now tell me, how much have you lifted for each of your world records and in what category were you competing?

Sheldon Russell:
Okay, so currently I hold 37 records all together between State…

Anthony Godfrey:
37 records?!

Sheldon Russell:
Yes, in three years of competing. 37 State, National, and World records. So I hold three World records. There's an open federation, that is a non-tested federation, that means anyone can compete in it. I did 700 pounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
700 even?

Sheldon Russell:
700 even. And in the same competition I also got two additional world records at FitCon. Which were 700 pounds again, in the open division, so that's all ages, and the 45 to 49 age division. Now it's kind of neat because they do a little ranking system on openpowerlifting.org, and right now I'm gonna try and be humble here, but I'm ranked among all drug tested lifters number one in the world.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Right now?

Sheldon Russell:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow! That's amazing. That’s really cool.

Sheldon Russell:
It's okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more with Sheldon Russell.

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:
When did you realize that you were really good at this? Not just that you liked it, but that you had the potential to hold a world record or three and to really compete?

Sheldon Russell:
Well, I was always really strong. I just never considered it, really considered powerlifting. It was when I went with my friend that one day and he taught me. I used to be able to just casually pull 600 pounds off the ground, but my form was atrocious. I was using straps, which help you hold onto the bar. It was when I learned the techniques a little bit more and then immediately thought, ‘Wow, I could make some noise.’ And then in the first competition, I do 600 pounds and we get three state records there in the USPA. And then I thought, ‘Okay, here we go. Now it's gonna be fun.’ And then a few months later I did 655, and then I fought forever to get to the 700 pound club because it doesn't count unless you do it on the platform. So that's kind of cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
So do you do bench press and deadlift, or is it only deadlift at this point that you're focused on?

Sheldon Russell:
The full power in a competition is squat, bench and deadlift. So you could do the full power, which is bench press, squat and deadlift, or you could do push pull would be bench and deadlift, or you can just do bench or deadlift. I've benched and deadlifted in a meet. I wanna do a full power, but I'm too old and it hurts, so I do the best I can. So one day I will do one. I'll probably be really conservative with my numbers, at least on squat. And then we'll see what happens. But I have benched in competition. I have some records in bench in the APF and AAPF, but it's still, it's not like pulling.

I would be considered a deadlift specialist. So when, when guys get older, they usually veer away from full power. One of my friends I train with is a bench press specialist. Another one I train with is also a deadlift specialist. We're just too old, we sit all day. It's an all day event if you do full power. I can go at 2:00 and pull and be done at 6 or 7 and go home.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I know you're a comic book fan. Yes. And as a deadlifter, you must connect with some superheroes or super villains. Are you a Hulk guy? Are you a Thing guy? Because you know, those guys can probably lift about 700 as well.

Sheldon Russell:
Well, I think you know the answer to that question.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell the people, tell the people.

Sheldon Russell:
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Man of Steel. Ever since I was a little boy it was Superman. I do like the Hulk. I do like all sorts of comics, but my favorite is Superman.

Anthony Godfrey:
There is something about Superman. Well, you ought to consider Cosplay because as a lifter like that, I mean you've the muscles for it. Have you considered that?

Sheldon Russell:
Yeah, but I also have the stomach. I could be The Blob. I've got the power lifting stomach. I could be The Blob as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's a very unique talent and skill and I wonder whether that's something that has helped you connect with students over the years?

Sheldon Russell:
Yeah, a little bit. When I taught at the middle school, West Jordan Middle, I think the internet was in its infancy at that point. But I did teach an after school weightlifting class. The important thing for me is that if I'm working with a kid and we're weightlifting, I do like to mention that lifting weights is a good metaphor for life. Okay. I didn't have the best situation growing up and I had a hard time, but this was one of the things that pulled me out. So if I'm having a difficult life, I go and lift a bunch of weight. I always made the connection. I tell this to students too. If you can lift that weight, what means you can't do this or that? What makes you think you can't pass that exam if you just lifted the weight you did? So I think it translates to other areas of life. And I tried to tell this to students that I have worked with. Because when you're there, it's just you and the weight and nothing else. And it's just pure determination. And that's what I love about the deadlift because out of all lifts, it's very basic and it's true grit that helps you get that weight off the ground. And good form. But that doesn't sound as cool as true grit.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, pure grit with a little bit of form. That's a good combination.

Sheldon Russell:
It would also avoid injury. So there you go.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. We were in the gym before. We're now in the weight room and Sheldon is pulling, pulling up plates. Is that what you call 'em?

Sheldon Russell:
Year, 45 pound plates.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know it's surprising, but I haven't done a lot of deadlifting in my life. Okay. Wow. It sounds very medieval in here.

Sheldon Russell:
It does. This will change it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So now you do 700 in competition. How much do you do to warm up to do 700 in competition?

Sheldon Russell:
One plate, two plates, three plates, four plates, five plates, six plates. Then usually I open up around 630. Then I went to about 670. Then I go to 700. But my goal is to be able to do what I can actually do in a competition. I've pulled 735 pounds in training. So it's a lot different when I'm competing though.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right, right. So each of these plates weighs how much?

Sheldon Russell:
45 pounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
How much does the bar weigh?

Sheldon Russell:
45 pounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
The bar is 45 pounds?

Russell Sheldon:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I thought maybe I could do the bar. Okay. All right. Let's see. You, you have more plates to put on to get to 700?

Sheldon Russell:
Yeah. Do you want me to demonstrate the lift?

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's do a mild lift and avoid any workers' compensation, shall we?

Sheldon Russell:
Yes, let's do a mild lift.

Anthony Godfrey:
And these are the clips, right?

Sheldon Russell:
Yes. That hold the weight on. You want to make sure that you like my shirt deadlifts build character.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. Okay. What is the lingo associated with lifting here? Those are plates. Those are clips.

Sheldon Russell:
Plates. Clips. Barbell. This isn't even a real deadlift bar, this is a regular barbell. I use a Texas deadlift bar that bends really well. It's about $400.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so it does bend in the middle.

Sheldon Russell:
It does bend a little bit. It has some give to it. My wife's gonna listen to this later and I'm sorry, the bar did cost $400. It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Anthony Godfrey:
Exactly. So okay, well we're gonna step back and take a look here.

Sheldon Russell:
Okay. So if you've noticed, you wanna wear either like, I'll train barefoot sometimes, or there's like slippers called deadlift slippers. You want to have a shoe that is close to the ground as possible so you can clamp into the ground and then if you can't, so you can dig into the ground. You don't want cushion on your feet cause you want a stable base. So I'm gonna walk up right to the bar. Okay. Make sure your weight is on your heels and you want as much as possible to be as close to the bar as possible. Then I'm gonna grab and cinch in, make sure my arms are even. So I'm gonna grab and wrap around and then I'm gonna go up. Okay. Then they'll say down, put it down. The most important thing, you keep that weight next to you and like you're almost standing up from a sitting position. You don't want your back to round and you want your head up so as to avoid that back rounding injury. I've seen some pretty bad form. I've even had that pretty bad form. That wasn't the greatest form of the world, but I've come miles since I started.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Great. It's impressive just to see the technique that you applied. Have you ever lifted a car off of someone that was trapped underneath? Cuz it seems like you could.

Sheldon Russell:
No. but I have done car deadlift before. Those are fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have done a car deadlift? So how does one go about a car deadlift?

Sheldon Russell:
They put a little contraption underneath it with handlebars and then you just go to it and pull it up an do reps.

Anthony Godfrey:
What kind of car did you lift?

Sheldon Russell:
I can't remember. It was a white car. It was a mid-sized sedan.

Anthony Godfrey:
After you've lifted a car, everything probably goes white. Okay. As you load this, I'm struck by the fact that you have to walk all the way up and down through the weight room to get enough weight on this bar to hit 700 pounds.

Sheldon Russell:
Yeah. Well, a little sacrifice. The worst part is putting the weight back when you're done.

The whole idea of this is a determination sport. I think you learn a lot of life lessons in a weight room because it's just you and the iron and your grit, your determination and your consistency, which makes it key.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's just you and the iron. I like that. And I'm sure that it teaches kids and adults alike that there's something that you didn't think you could do and you can build up to it, and you can work hard, and overcome things, and accomplish things that you never imagined.

Sheldon Russell:
Yes, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you so much for taking the time. It's fascinating. I'm really excited that I know a world record holder in power lifting and I just, I think it's incredible. So it's great to spend time with you and good luck with everything this year.

Sheldon Russell:
Well, thank you. And if you ever want a deadlift, I'll train you.

Anthony Godfrey:
When I'm ready for the next thing. That's, that's, I don't even know what to say. I'll just say, Yeah. When I'm ready, you'll hear from me.

Sheldon Russell:
Okay.

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