In this episode of From Classroom to Community, we explore the profound impact Southern Utah University-trained educators are having beyond the walls of their classrooms. Join us as we delve into the ways SUU graduates are shaping not just future generations of students, but also enriching the broader communities they serve.
Through compelling testimonials from school district leaders, we highlight the innovative teaching practices that SUU-trained teachers bring to the table, fostering inclusive, dynamic learning environments. From creative classroom strategies to community outreach initiatives, these educators are leading change and making a lasting difference.
Tune in to hear real-life examples of how SUU alumni are translating their training into actionable, community-driven solutions. Whether through partnership programs, mentorship opportunities, or leading school-wide initiatives, these educators are showing that the impact of great teaching extends far beyond the classroom.
Tony Pellegrini 0:00
Good morning, friends. SU, friends and scholars out there. Tony Pellegrini here with our next podcast of our series elevating the classroom a legacy and teacher preparation at SU. This is a podcast series that's dedicated to celebrating and exploring the century long tradition of teacher preparation at Southern Utah University. This series is going to highlight the vital relationship between pre service teachers and experienced master mentor teachers in K 12 schools by sharing stories and insights from both sides of the partnership, the podcast aims to underscore the impact of this collaboration on teaching and learning in Utah and beyond. We've got two wonderful guests with here today
we do as well. Have Laureen Graves, who's assisting and helping and supporting and leading this initiative as well. Laureen, can you take a moment just to introduce yourself?
Laureen Graves 0:51
Yes, I'm Laureen Graves, and I have the opportunity to work with all of our student teachers here at SUU and be on the front lines with them as they take that last step in getting their licensure. I also teach the secondary block and and other assorted classes throughout the year, and I've myself have been nearly 10 years in Missouri. I taught in a special education classroom, and so I love to bring that experience to my teaching and to my students. Thank you
Tony Pellegrini 1:25
so very much. And our valued guest, today, we have Blake Clark and Christine Giles from the George Washington Academy in St George Utah. Blake Christine, would you take a moment or two introduce yourselves? Please? Yeah,
Blake Clark 1:35
absolutely. Thanks Tony for having us. My name is Blake Clark and I'm the executive director at George Washington Academy, which is a k7 free public charter school. My experience really started here at Suu. I felt like I was raised at SUU since I was four, going to the elementary just down the street and walking here to sit in my mom's office and play with Legos and various things. I received my Bachelor's of elementary education here, as well as my master's in educational leadership, and I'm I'm so happy to be here, and
Christine Giles 2:06
I am Christine Giles. I'm the assistant director at GWA, and really have such a special place in my heart for Suu. As a graduate student here, I graduated just a couple of years ago in the master's program After years of experience in the classroom as a kindergarten teacher, I am fond of this university for many reasons, but most especially for the leadership and other important learning that came from my experience here.
Tony Pellegrini 2:37
Exciting. Thank you so very much for sharing with us, and we're just going to jump into the questions today. Laureen, would you be willing to start with the first question today for
Laureen Graves 2:47
you? Bet we want to start out talking about innovative teaching practices, and I know all of us here at SU as we are teaching and training our students, we we try to stay on top of the most current and relevant teaching practices. So can you share some specific examples of some innovative teaching practices implemented by SUU graduates that have positively impacted their schools and the wider community? Yeah, I
Blake Clark 3:13
feel like teaching goes beyond what it used to of a teacher standing in front of students and almost like this lecture based, sit and get and we're seeing students come out of SUU that they're creating more of a collaborative classroom where student voice is just as important as teacher voice. They're coming with the knowledge of the science of reading that Utah, we had to go through extensive training for our k3 teachers, and SUU is already bringing that knowledge base to us through the students, which has been amazing, but also the willingness to collaborate, not only with their students, but with each other. And I feel like when we're thinking of teaching, we only talk about the classroom management or the instructional techniques, but we forget really the foundation of making education successful is the collaboration piece. They're able to reflect they're able to look at student data, they're able to break apart standards that they feel like are the biggest need to knows, while being able to create assessments. This is something that su completely has an upper hand on compared to other universities, where they're almost just taught. We want you to follow the curriculum with fidelity. SUU does not provide that. It's really looking at standards and breaking them apart. I
Christine Giles 4:25
would agree with that. As a former reading specialist, I know Blake has also been a reading specialist, the foundations in reading is so critical, and you are training future teachers on how to give quality instruction so that we can help support the diverse students that are coming to the state of Utah to have those essential reading skills and to be reading on grade level by grade three that associated with the assessment focus. It's so important for educators to know how to give and and measure and evaluate assessments. And with the focus that this university places on that we are creating stronger teachers.
Laureen Graves 5:06
I love that that's so good to hear and we do. We really push that student centered classroom where students feel empowered in the classroom, and we also push that, you know, an inclusive classroom that's safe and full of respect and connection, and then that teachers are collaborating with each other and then taking that assessment data and analyzing it and really trying to tweak their teaching to meet every learner. So thank you for those those ideas. I appreciate that.
Tony Pellegrini 5:36
That is wonderful, and I wanted to follow up with as leaders, your leaders in in your charter school, you follow the direction of your board. What are some of the things, the strengths and qualities that you've seen over the last few years in your SUU teachers that you've hired, and maybe even some that you've seen in your block settings and situations where we brought them into your onto your campus, the SU teachers that you've seen, what are some of the common themes or standout stories from their testimonies that you have
Christine Giles 6:06
Tony, what I have noted as we've worked with SUU students at GWA is they are coming to us very comfortable and confident working alongside master teachers. They are taught the value of self reflection and observation, and they know how to take good notes from an observation and then work hard to implement those strategies in their own practice,
Blake Clark 6:31
where they're coming from a university too that's constantly promoting continual learning and continuing education. We see that mindset with the teachers that enter the profession where I feel like new teachers are sort of apprehensive to share their ideas, especially in a collaborative meeting or in a faculty training when they're sitting next to someone that has many more years of experience. Suu, teachers are coming in, like Christine said, with the confidence to say, My Voice Matters in these conversations, but also I'm giving something that maybe the experienced teacher doesn't have, and together, we can really create some success. I
Tony Pellegrini 7:06
had a wonderful opportunity. Yesterday, I get the opportunity to visit with each student, teacher and mentor teacher virtually through zoom, those kinds of things in our program. And yesterday we had Cassidy and her mentor teacher, Cassie, or the mentor teacher, shared with me, my goodness, I've learned so much from Cassie, I have to ask her, I'm learning right along these student teachers. So what I hear you saying is, really our teachers, our student teachers, as they come into your situations, really are able to contribute to PLCs, to instruction, to the team, attitude and aspect from even the first day that they come in. Yeah,
Blake Clark 7:44
and education isn't a system that every year you can do the same thing. And Christina and I have spent years talking about this and reading research around instructional agility, and I feel like that is one of the strengths of Suu, that when they see a concern in the classroom with student learning, or they see a road bump, of, I'm going to need to re teach this a different way, incorporating different strategies. They embrace those changes with confidence, where sometimes very experienced teachers are just like, oh, the curriculum comes back to that. I'm just going to keep going. Or by the end of the year, I think they'll receive this su teachers really pause in the moment. They create this instructional agility to really intervene or extend the learning in the moment. That's
Tony Pellegrini 8:30
exciting. And I love the metaphor of being agile. It's almost like they're football players or basketball players. They can they know how to respond immediately to that, to that assessment, that they're the formative assessment that they're reviewing as they teach from day to day.
Laureen Graves 8:48
I love that. I love that term instructional agility. I just did an observation this morning, and we tend, as teachers, to kind of that we have our go to, you know, our solutions that we go to each time, and I say there are so many evidence based practices out there, do a little more research. And even now with AI, it's amazing, if you have to know right your students and what's best for them. But we can, if we give detailed data and ask for evidence based practice, some UDL, some PBS, whatever, and, and it will give specific ways. And, and she, you know, she was very open to trying some different things. And, and that's what most of our student teachers are they the feedback I get a lot is I want them to tell me more that they're saying. I'm doing a great job, but I want to do more. I want to know more. So feedback is really critical. And you mentioned Christine working with those masters and her teachers. And sometimes, as I'm making these placements, I just I, I mean, let's be honest, it's a big ask. It's it. Sometimes it feels like we're asking for favors, but I love meeting some of these mentor teachers, and they are so excited to have them in our classrooms and to help them on their teaching journey. And so we are so grateful for schools like yours that welcome our students in for a week at a time, and all of them at once. So you guys go above and beyond, but we are really grateful for other schools throughout the state of Utah. I know I take secondary students. We just went to Clearfield High School up in Davis County, and they made this incredible experience. I'm taking them this spring to Monument Valley. And we're just so grateful for schools that open up their schools to, you know, all of our students to learn alongside these master mentor
Christine Giles 10:47
teachers. I I love that. I love that you said that I think of these SUU teachers coming into our school, they are enhancing our PLC, right? They are coming into our school and we are benefiting truly, just as much as they are. We love to as they join our collaborative meetings. I remember specifically this last time that you had your students at our school, we had a second grade teacher come up to me and say, My goodness, I just learned such a great behavior technique from my su student that I've implemented, and it's going to work and it's exactly what the student needed. So there is something to be said about inviting a young, new educator into your classroom. As a teacher myself, I found myself inspired and wanting to be the very best I could be, as I showcased practices, as I collaborated, as I planned. I think it's definitely a two way. Oh,
Laureen Graves 11:45
thank you for that, that that does my heart good. We truly want it to be a win win for, you know, for both. So as we move on to kind of some community contributions, in what ways have su trained teachers uniquely contributed to their communities, and how does their training influence their approach to community engagement?
Blake Clark 12:07
Yeah, I think the community aspect of a school is vital that you understand the impact a school has, because teachers are really community leaders, and the parents see them as such, the students see them as such. And you see that when a student finds their teacher in the grocery store, and it's they're either avoiding them at all costs because they're nervous, and it's like this awkward feeling, I thought you lived at the school, but then also it's like, oh my gosh, this is amazing, the influence that a teacher can have on a whole entire family. You see su students as they start and come in, they are willing to immediately engage the parents as part of the community of the school environment. And I think sometimes we're a little bit apprehensive of how are the parents going to react, especially as a new teacher, are they going to see me as having the same value as the experienced teacher that maybe their older siblings have. But I think SUU students are coming to us saying, how do I engage with parents? What can I do? What positive things can I reach out to parents about how often should I do that? It's constantly something that that we're talking about, and they're coming with the skills to do so. I think
Christine Giles 13:17
that SUU has a very strong commitment to serving those that are under privileged, and you give your students a unique opportunity to spend time teaching in rural and suburban and urban districts, which creates a very well rounded educator. And I, like I said, I deeply appreciate how you focus on those in our midst that that need more they need more attention for language, they need more attention for equality, and you are building educators to see those needs and to address them. I'm
Tony Pellegrini 13:55
very impressed with the observations that you've made. I've always kind of kept in my back pocket the saying, good schools make good neighbors, and we're are a part of the neighborhood. We're essential to the neighborhood. We build the neighborhood and the community in which we are engaged and that we try to pass that perspective, that observation, along to our learners as they go out, that you're a valuable asset to the local community in which you're going to be participating. So whether it's at the grocery store or whether it's in the park with your kids or doing a field trip to the library, you're building value and community contact that's so essential to help our communities grow, whether it's those that that have or those that need some more, we can provide those resources to all. I
Laureen Graves 14:39
love to hear that you know, the reaching out to parents and pulling them into the classroom, in whatever aspect, you know, bringing that into the classroom. But I also love, I'm constantly talking to them about real world application as we extend our classroom out into the community and have learning opportunities out in the community. And they're taking these skills, they're. Learning in the Classroom and seeing where those skills might lead to as a career. You know, even little first and second graders. I mean, that's very applicable for middle school, high school, but I think we can take them out and say, Hey, this is where you're going to use those math skills or those reading skills. So we build that relevance as we extend our classrooms out into the community. I
Tony Pellegrini 15:22
wanted to follow up with a question, both of you have had experience, a long term experience with SUU educators. This is not a this this year or the last year. It's gone really, probably even for decades. How did the teaching methods and community involvement of the SU graduates that you involve affect the students, academic successes and personal growth. Are there some measurable outcomes that illustrate that impact that you see in your learners from the long term impact that our students have on yours? Yeah,
Blake Clark 15:52
I think SUU students are coming with the most current research, and they're coming with the best practices that we're seeing make a massive effect on student learning. Now I remember about 10 years ago when technology was really being pushed, of like, try to use technology in every lesson. Well, current research says, When applicable, do not force technology on a lesson that really shouldn't have it, but really focus on collaboration. And it's like I mentioned earlier, the sit and get model of education is gone. Students have to have a voice in the learning and breaking down, Laureen, like you said, the four walls of the classroom to build a community collaboration to really promote this learning. And I feel like su students are coming with those tools, with that mindset of these four walls really don't mean much. It is also going beyond that, because I see community and I see best practices where, for years in education, teachers were able to work in isolation in their classroom, and they almost ran their own small business in their room. They didn't want anyone to come into their small business to see what they were selling or what that would look like now that doesn't exist in education. You cannot be successful in isolation. So understanding, when I enter this career, I'm going to have a team. I want to know who's supporting me and with what, whether it's administration, instructional coaches, team members, a mentor. We want to make sure that our teachers feel safe in that collaborative group. We want them to make sure that they feel safe in the community, because we've seen the recent data of teacher retention, and when you really nail down the data pieces, sometimes it comes to support the most recent data, though that's come out of teacher attention, is teachers not feeling empowered to make a difference. So when we think about that, we want to get this new teacher into a career and set them up for success, and they have that empowerment instilled in them because of the SUU program. But then how do we perpetuate that to year five and year 10 and year 15, when sometimes the career is waning on us, but they still feel empowered. And I feel like SUU students are set up for success. With that, I
Christine Giles 18:04
agree something that I've noted is when you hire an SUU graduate, you are getting a well, experienced educator in your classroom. And it's because at this university, you do not hesitate in getting them into the classroom early on in their education. They have not just a semester as a student teacher. They are in observing, reflecting, working alongside master teachers. There's there's a trajectory that's going to bring them success. It's going to bring them confidence as they take on their first role. So I would say, because of the way that the program is set up. It benefits student learning and measurable outcomes in the end. And the second thing that I've noticed your block advisors, they are highly collaborative, and they spend a lot of time when they come to our school to observe your students at Suu, they they want to collaborate with Blake and I. They want to know what trends are hitting, and they want to make sure that they're providing the right kind of up to the minute education to their students. For example, Blake and I have been working with your block advisors on assessments and just understanding their important role, and then with your side of research and our side of practical on the boots. So to say, I think we make a great team for these students.
Tony Pellegrini 19:30
I love that focus on team. I think that's absolutely essential, and part of the conversation that we've had as well too through these
Laureen Graves 19:38
yes, we've kind of touched on this. But have you seen any specific ways the SUU graduates have successfully partnered with local organizations or businesses to enhance those educational initiatives and community programs?
Blake Clark 19:52
Yeah, I'm thinking of my experience when I graduated from my undergrad with the block advisors at that time. They said, Blake, I think that you should come work at Cedar mountain science camp. And there was many SUU graduates. All SUU graduates really leading that massive organization that provides hands on learning these collaborative experience for hundreds of students throughout the summer. But it goes even beyond that, because I feel like when you define community, you don't define it from August until May. You're constantly thinking, how do we build this community? How do we do home visits as a title one school? How do we bridge that gap with parents to say we're here for you year round, even though our doors may be open from here to here, we still want you to reach out, and we're still part of this community with you. I think that su students are just with the confidence they have, they're not afraid to reach out to communities to say, will you sponsor our STEM night, we have a new robotics team. Would your business be interested in sponsoring the shirts for that? And I think reaching out to these businesses has really helped create this collaboration between school and business truly building that community aspect of our school,
Laureen Graves 21:04
excellent love that
Tony Pellegrini 21:06
we want to wrap up with your words of wisdom, your words of advice for our educators. We're going to pass this podcast out to previous students, and we'd like to know what advice you would give our current and prospective su students about maximizing their influence within their communities once they do graduate, what practices should they adopt to become an effective, community oriented educator?
Blake Clark 21:30
Yeah, I get a chance to speak and associate with solution tree, which is the largest educational publisher and professional development provider in North America, and in their research, they came up with the three big ideas. And when we talk about professional learning communities, teachers tend to focus on the four questions, what do we want our students to know? How are we going to know? What are we going to do if they don't respond? Et cetera. But really, under that is the foundation of these three big ideas, where they have to focus on learning. Gone are the days that teachers can just focus on teaching. We really have to make sure that students have learned something from this, but then building this collaborative culture, like I said, with businesses after school, programs, their grade level team, where at our school, we do everything in our power to eliminate the organizational chart and the hierarchy that a principal is superior to the custodian, because everyone at our school, the 136 employees, has a knowledge source that's going to help these students. And the last of the three big ideas is being results oriented. If what you're doing isn't getting the results that you want for students, for families, for communication, then really you're going to need to be either instructionally agile. Classroom management is going to have to shift, but also our way of communication. So I'd say for all future teachers and current teachers, if your focus is on those three big ideas, you really can't go wrong with what you're doing in the classroom. Yeah, I
Christine Giles 23:00
would say that something that we need to do as educational leaders is to continually remove barriers for new students, for new teachers in the industry, we need to make sure that they are getting the kind of support we need. In particular, if you look at our landscape right now, with mental health being a focus, how can we as educational leaders provide mental health support to our new teachers and old teachers like and how can we look at the whole being as not only being a teacher, but truly a leader in the community? Because that's what we're talking about right here. We're talking about creating and cultivating a strong teacher, but also the impact on the community is invaluable. I loved this in the SUU graduate program, I felt that I was 50% learning how to be a good administrator, and 50% learning how to build my stakeholders, to unite my community, to outreach, to make the world a better place. And I think that that focus is essential if we're going to continue to grow this industry and keep and retain these this excellent talent that you have created,
Tony Pellegrini 24:14
we have to use this metaphor earlier today. But it's just like when we get on the airplane and we they say, you know, you please put the mask on yourself. Do not put the mask on your children first. That may be your first initial but you've got to take care of yourself in order to take care of your children and the community and the stakeholders. They're so essential to the to the organization that we have. And Christine
Blake Clark 24:33
and I talk about this often, is you go to these conferences and they give out swag bags that teachers turn into, like their their grading, their curriculum bags that they're going to take home. And I'm actually against that, because I feel like it's promoting going across the boundary. This is a career. It is not our whole entire life at school. I'm Mr. Clark, and very few people know me. As Blake outside the school, and that's intentional, that when I leave the building, my emails are off, I'm not even thinking about school, and I think teachers, right from the get go, have to create that boundary of I'm gonna give 100% to my career, but when I'm done with my career for that day and hop in my car now I'm a human that has needs that need to be taken care of so that we can ensure that our kids are taken care of the next day.
Christine Giles 25:23
I would say one more thing, Blake and I talk about this a lot as well. For some reason in education, over many years, I've been in a big urban district as a teacher, it was always so predominantly measured by how many years you've been in education, that seemed to be the way we would introduce ourselves first. Let me tell you how many years I've been in the classroom. I think we need to stop that dialog, because truly, those who are most recent graduates have so much, so much to offer, so much to refine our practices. Every voice matters. So if you are graduating this year, or if you've been in the in the schools for 10 your your ideas matter. We need you. We need young, ambitious, technology savvy educators, and the young generation is bringing that to us. Thank
Laureen Graves 26:18
you. That is so valuable. I love. You know that that focus on learning that you said, and that removing barriers. And you know, we're moving from those classrooms of maybe passive observers to very active, you know, active learners. And I think as we focus on the whole child, the mental health part in we're teaching respect. We're teaching so we're focusing on the whole child, not just the content. We are expanding the potential of every student. And it's exciting to to see what what we can do in education and with great people like you in schools where we're going to go far. So we thank you so much for everything you've shared today and for what you're doing on the daily. And that work life balance is so important because we want to be able to stay in this profession. We want our students to be able to, as they graduate, stay teachers for many, many, many years, and find a lot of joy in doing so. And that comes by having that healthy work life balance. So in conclusion, here at our podcast at elevating the K 12 classroom a legacy of teacher preparation at SUU, we not only honor the long standing tradition of excellence at Southern Utah University, but also want to shed light on the powerful connections that shape the future of education through engaging content and compelling stories, the podcast will provide valuable insights into the transformative journey of pre service teachers and their mentors and principals and like you and celebrating the shared commitment to fostering educational excellence. So thank you so much for being here.
Tony Pellegrini 27:59
Thank you. We appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye.