September 2023 Monthly Recap

The start of the school year is always a hectic time, so this month's recap is going to review everything that has happened so far with this new cohort. They hit the ground running with our summer convening in July, then the Show Up for Teachers conference. The podcast team got to work on the newest season of the Teacher Fellows Podcast and the editorial team has been helping the newest cohort get published. It's been very excited to see all the work that this cohort has already done. We can't wait to see what they do next!

Quick July Recap

7/20: We held our final capstone event for Cohort 3 where they shared their learning with educational stakeholders. It was bittersweet - we got to celebrate all the work they've done as a cohort, but it also signified the end of their time with the Fellows.

7/30: John Brumbaugh was published in the Deseret News, check out his work "Opinion: Why students need laughter in the classroom"

As a 10-year veteran of the classroom, my favorite part of every school day is laughing with students. I know that there is a time and place for laughter in a classroom. Laughter allows students to feel comfortable interacting with people they don’t know and try hard academic tasks.

7/31: Teacher Fellow leader Lauren Merkley was published in Larry Ferlazzo's Classroom Q & A Blog: "Don’t Waste Instructional Time at the Beginning of the Year"

Educators often invest time in procedures during the first week. Procedures are important; they indeed help class run smoothly. Investing in building belonging, however, gives a classroom a beating, collective heart.

Quick August Recap

8/1: The Teacher Fellows were awarded the Honors in Education award for best educational nonprofit from Utah Business, Deseret News, and the First Lady's Show Up Initiative.

Four Fellows were also recognized for their work in education: Ryan Rarick, Ross Rogers, Georgiana Simpson, and Kayla Towner.

8/15: Ryan Rarick was featured on the Fox13 News talking about his new CTE focused school: "Brand new St. George technical school prepares high school students for careers"

8/16: John Arthur, NBCT was on the City Cast podcast talking about how new education laws will play out in the classrooms this fall. Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-new-laws-will-play-out-in-classrooms-this-fall/id1599782608?i=1000624640857

8/18: Sarah Nichols was published in the The Salt Lake Tribune with her letter "Teachers need students — and their families — to be engaged"

If students are healthy, I need them to come to school. If they are at school, I need them to come to class. If they come to class, I need them to be mentally present and engaged.

8/23: Co-Director John Arthur, NBCT was on KUTV 2News / KMYU talking about teachers affording school supplies "Utah teachers go above and beyond to ensure classrooms have essential supplies" at the start of the year.

8/28: John Brumbaugh was published again in the The Salt Lake Tribune "Utah students and teachers should focus on relationship-building"

I believe the most important practice at the start of the school year is fostering and improving student-teacher relations. If a student has a teacher that cares about them, then the student will be more likely to succeed in the class. Further, if a teacher knows that students enjoy their class, the teacher will be more likely to attempt complicated high impact teaching strategies.

8/28: Fatai Tuifua graduated with her Masters in Education Leadership from Weber State University. Congrats on your accomplishment Fatai!

8/28: Emily Willson was also published in the The Salt Lake Tribune "How I helped a student who ‘would rather scrub toilets’ than read" where she shared a sweet story of how she helped a student learn to read.

The system was not perfect, and neither was this teacher. However, I could not wait for someone else, a new program or more funding to make a difference. I needed to help this little girl now.

Quick September Recap

9/10: Several Fellows were at the IncludEd United Conference at Westminster University. It was a great day of learning on how to include all learners in your community.

9/18: Co-Director John Arthur, NBCT was featured on the Follett Software blog about how he uses book clubs in his 6th grade class at his Title 1 elementary school in Salt Lake City.

I teach sixth grade in a Title I elementary school that was in school turnaround for a decade, meaning my colleagues and I doggedly implemented fluency and comprehension strategies in our classrooms that, by design, sacrificed our children’s love of reading for a chance at exiting turnaround. So, of course, we didn’t.

To find out what he did to change attitudes around reading, check out the post "For the Love of REELy Great Books" and watch the corresponding webinar "Enrich Learning with Book Clubs in the Classroom and Library"

9/28: Several alumni and current Fellows are participating in Utah Education Network 2023 Tech Leaders Network. Participants will acquire strategies and knowledge related to best practices in leadership, coaching, and supporting educators, students, and administrators in their schools.

Congrats to Kelli Cannon , Kelsi Flint , Kelbie Jackson , Natalie Kay Johnson , and Emma Moss for their selection to participate in this awesome group.

9/29: Kelbie Jackson was published in the The Salt Lake Tribune with her op-ed "A warning from a Utah teacher - The power we have as adults on the students we teach is beyond our realization."

In order to build positive relationships with my students, I committed to doing three things consistently: learn about their interests and share my own, be authentic and have fun in class, and believe that all my students can do great things.

Congratulations to all of our Fellows for the awesome work they are doing in their school communities. Thanks for joining us for this quick recap and we encourage you to come back to future updates!