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Community Volunteers, The Secret to Celebrating JSD “Outstanding Educators”
Description
They are the quiet, but fiercely passionate force behind celebrating 68 Outstanding Educators in Jordan School District every year.
On this episode of the Supercast, meet the caring community volunteers who are part of the Jordan Education Foundation, making it possible to recognize and reward teachers who rise to the top. Teachers in every one of our schools, who are often brought to tears when total strangers show up to thank them for their tireless work in the classroom.
Audio Transcription
[MUSIC]Jenna Miller:
Being a part of this Bus Day, going around to different schools and celebrating outstanding educators means a lot. You actually get to learn about what these outstanding educators are doing in their classroom, the impact they're having.
Laura Klarman:
We saw the mayors involved, they would come to their local schools. I love seeing again that community support is so important.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are the quiet but fiercely passionate force behind celebrating 68 Outstanding Educators in Jordan School District every year. On this episode of the Supercast, meet the caring community volunteers who are part of the Jordan Education Foundation, the group that makes it possible to recognize and reward teachers who rise to the top. They reward teachers in every one of our schools, teachers who are often brought to tears when total strangers show up to thank them for their tireless work in the classroom.
Anthony Godfrey:
We are on the bus today celebrating Outstanding Educators with the Jordan Education Foundation. We're talking now with Jordan Education Foundation President Jenna Miller. Jenna, thanks for taking a few minutes with us.
Jenna Miller:
So glad to be here, so glad to be on the bus today.
Anthony Godfrey:
So for those who do not know what Bus Day is or even Outstanding Educator Awards, would you please describe what this program and what this day is all about?
Jenna Miller:
Yes, I would love to. So the Jordan Education Foundation, each year we have the opportunity to recognize outstanding educators in every school in our District. There's one day in particular where we join together and ride on the yellow school bus as a [Jordan Education] Foundation Board with a great driver. We have the chance to visit the top 12 or 14 teachers that were nominated for Outstanding Educator for the entire District.
Anthony Godfrey:
There's an award for an educator at every one of our 68 schools and for 14 of them, they receive $1,000 and an invitation to the banquet. It's just for every educator, this just means the world. All of them get a sign for their yard and a sign for the school so that everyone knows what an amazing educator they are, along with a lot of other really cool prizes. So the Foundation does an incredible job of putting together a really fun package for every teacher. You've done this for a long time. Talk to me about the impact of giving these awards.
Jenna Miller:
Well, it's always a pleasure to be able to go out and visit all 68 schools every year to see the things that they are doing, to recognize Outstanding Educators. As a Foundation, we have the chance to read nominations that principals and staff and students and parents and peers put together. So, we actually get to learn about what these Outstanding Educators are doing in their classroom, the impact they're having with their school and with students in terms of their testing and the impact that they're having each and every year through their nominations.
Anthony Godfrey:
We get to see the families come, families are invited to supporting their teachers, talk about that.
Jenna Miller:
Yes, this is the best. So all of these visits are kept as a surpris