Episode Details

Superintendent:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today we hear the inspiring story of one Jordan School District educator, who says her passion for teaching has actually grown during these unprecedented times. Rae Boren is an American Sign lLanguage teacher at Copper Hills High School. And she was recently recognized as an Outstanding Educator of the Year for Jordan School District. We'll visit her ASL virtual classroom. But first let's hear from Rae Boren, someone whose enthusiasm for the job during distance learning is keeping students engaged and finding success. Right. Thanks for coming on the Supercast.

Rae:
Oh my goodness, Superintendent Godfrey. I'm honored to be here with you today. Thank you for having me on the podcast.

Superintendent:
Well, it's my pleasure to have you today. Rae is one of the teachers who was honored by the Jordan Education Foundation. We did that by Zoom meetings and she's one of our very few teachers of the year. And it's really exciting to get to talk with you. Our Zoom meeting was so fun. You had all kinds of fans on that zoom meeting, faculty members, students. They love you atCopper Hills. That's for sure.

Rae:
Well, I feel very blessed. I have surrounded myself with really good people. And I feel very blessed to be there. I've been there my entire duration that I've been teaching and it really is a home for me there. I have my own little corner, my own little home. And like I said, I'm surrounded by amazing Grizzlies there.

Superintendent:
Being surrounded by good people is the only way I survive. And it's the only way to fly. So tell us about your role at Copper Hills. How long have you taught here? You've taught here your whole career?

Rae:
Yes I have. This is my 20th year at Copper Hills High School. And I have done a few different positions over the years, but I have consistently been one of the American Sign Language teachers there. And I'm a part of the World Language Department there, and this year I actually took on a new role. I also have had the opportunity to mentor our new first-year teachers this year. And that has helped me grow immensely, as well to having the opportunity to work with our teachers coming right fresh out of college and into the teaching field. So that's been a new position for me this year.

Superintendent:
Wha have you learned working with our newest teachers?

Rae:
First off, they come in with such passion and with such desire. They're ready to just delve in. They're ready to make their impact, make a mark. And I love seeing their enthusiasm to be open to feedback. I think sometimes as we progress, we get a little bit more like I've got this down. And I love that our new teachers are just so open to feedback and open to collaborating. That helps me as an educator just to see their openness and that mindset, and being able to collaborate with people with different content areas. I think you could always come away with new strategies and it's been phenomenal working with them.

Superintendent:
That's exciting. You put off a lot of energy and passion yourself, and so I'm sure that you're a great match with all those new teachers. Tell me, what is it that makes you so passionate about teaching?

Rae:
I think I finally have narrowed it down that I love to see growth. It fulfills me in a way that a lot of other things don't, and so seeing growth in my students, seeing growth in my new teachers, seeing growth in myself because