Cure for discouragement: winning Outstanding Educator of the Year award

Asa special education resource specialist, Judy Erkman has a caseload of 32 students with various physical and intellectual challenges.

“Teaching is hard,” Erkman said. “And I think a lot of people don’t realize the hard work that’s involved in it and how time consuming it is. And special ed is hard. There’s a ton of paperwork. I wish I had a secretary that could do all my paperwork for me. I don’t think people really realize, until they’re in it, what it entails.”

Erkman has been a teacher for 32 years and often feels discouraged.

“At the end of every year, I feel like I have failed,” she said. “I think part of it is me, and I think part of it is just a lot of times in teaching, you don’t see the successes. Sometimes you don’t see it until 10 years down the road, so it’s not always something that you see immediately.”

Occasionally, she hears an update about one of the students she taught in California from former colleagues. But often Erkman’s students move on without her ever knowing if she had any effect on them.

Erkman’s colleagues, students and their parents think Erkman is doing a great job and so nominated her for the Jordan District Outstanding Educator of the Year Award. She was selected by the Jordan Education Foundation as Blackridge Elementary School’s Outstanding Educator of the Year and as one of the top 15 finalists in Jordan School District.

“To be chosen among 3,800 teachers to be one of the finalists really speaks to what an incredible teacher she is,” Jordan District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey said.

Godfrey, along with other district administrators, and members of the Jordan Education Foundation and Board of Education, surprised each of the 68 winners—one from each school in Jordan District—with balloons, confetti, flowers and cheers from their students. Some schools held an assembly for the entire student body and staff to celebrate their winning teacher.

Jordan Education Foundation President Dawn Ramsey said it is a privilege to be able to read all the nominations that pour in each year. “It is really hard to narrow it down,” Ramsey said.

Out of the 68 winners, fifteen, including Erkman, were chosen as top winners, to receive $1,000 and to attend an appreciation banquet.

“I just feel very, very honored,” she said. “It was just really quite a surprise. It was something that I never ever thought would happen—the furthest thing from my mind.”

Erkman said she works closely with a team of teachers and aides and believes they are also deserving of the award. Many of them contributed to the nomination by sharing why they think she is an outstand-

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

ing teacher. Erkman received a copy of their comments to keep.

“It really touched me—it did my heart good,” she said. “It was very sweet and very special. This makes me feel like I’ve touched a lot of lives.”

Erkman said winning this award has given her an extra push to power through the end of this year and through next year, when she will retire. l

2023 Outstanding Educators of the Year (top winners are in bold)

Antelope Canyon Elementary School– Jennifer McNees

Aspen Elementary School – Nichole Moore

Bastian Elementary School – Reid Denison

Bingham High School – Andrea Call

Blackridge Elementary – Judy Erkman

Bluffdale Elementary School – RoyAnn Gregerson

Butterfield Canyon Elementary School – Carol Hoffer

Columbia Elementary School – Kathryn Shurtleff

Copper Canyon Elementary School– Marlene Shelley

Copper Hills High School – Kristen Oda

Copper Mountain Middle School – Keith Davis

Daybreak Elementary School – Carlynn Jones

Eastlake Elementary School – Bing Wang

Elk Meadows Elementary School – Holly Fjeldsted

Elk Ridge Middle School – Mollie Gonzales

Falcon Ridge Elementary School – Janet McCall

Foothills Elementary School – Huihui Chi (Lily)

Fort Herriman Middle School – Madison Feist

Fox Hollow Elementary School – Ami Briscoe

Golden Fields Elementary School – Stephanie Lorenzana

Hayden Peak Elementary School – Rebecca Tucker

Heartland Elementary School – Haydee Carranza

Herriman Elementary – Kelly Grundy

Herriman High School – Kelli Nielsen

Hidden Valley Middle School – Annelise Baggett

JATC North – Kalin Organ

JATC South – Richard Clayton

Joel P. Jensen Middle School – Courtney Beesley

Jordan Hills Elementary School – Melissa Reynolds

Jordan Ridge Elementary School – Christine McIntyre

Kauri Sue Hamilton School – Joanna Larson

Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School – Christy Rand

Kings Peak Virtual High School – Cinthia McCoy

Majestic Elementary School– Lisa Blodgett

Midas Creek Elementary School – Kathleen LeBeau

Monte Vista Elementary School – Sarah Christine Matheson

Mountain Creek Middle School – Jodie Milad

Mountain Point Elementary School – AnneMarie Taggart

Mountain Ridge High School – Sarah LaFond

Mountain Shadows Elementary School– Janae Robinaugh

Oak Leaf Elementary School – Angela Alm

Oakcrest Elementary School– Kalomyra Shenk

Oquirrh Elementary School – Vicki Robinson

Oquirrh Hills Middle School – Halceyn Fobert

Ridge View Elementary School – Heidi Walker

River’s Edge School – Diane Malmborg

Riverside Elementary School – Kaelin Tumblin

Riverton Elementary School – Arnica Christensen

Riverton High School – Michaela Griffiths

Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School – Jenna Cherry

Rosamond Elementary School – Allyson Vietti

Rose Creek Elementary School – Elizabeth Shields

Silver Crest Elementary School – Lori Nelson

South Hills Middle School – Darren Seamons

South Jordan Elementary School – Diane Witt-Roper

South Jordan Middle School – Lindsey Morrill

South Valley School – Laurie Egan

Southland Elementary School – Melinda Davies

Sunset Ridge Middle School – Melanie Leavitt

Terra Linda Elementary School – Natalie Newbold

Valley High School – Jenny Witzel-Burke

Welby Elementary School – Allisun Cartier

West Hills Middle School – Charte Young

West Jordan Elementary School – Connor Sullivan

West Jordan High School – Natalie Nielsen

West Jordan Middle School – Kathy Howa

Westland Elementary School – Jason Lee

Westvale Elementary School – Shelby Blonquist

Advantage Arts Academy Arts Integration

Director Cindy Jahnsen has more engaging lesson ideas than you can shake a stick at, but she chose sticks and the steady beat method to introduce to teachers at their monthly training meeting. The method uses a steady four-count or eight-count beat to turn any information into an easy to remember rhythmic phrase.

“I wanted to show the teachers how they can incorporate it into their curriculum, because not all of them are music people, but they can keep that steady beat and feel how that cadence runs through the phrase,” she said. “It’s kind of fun, and I love how the teachers have just run with it.”

As an easy and versatile teaching tool, the steady beat method can be adapted to loud bucket drums or softly tapping fingers, but most teachers just stick with hands or drumsticks.

The steady beat method is off the beaten path for most schools, but it’s a big hit with teachers at Advantage Arts Academy, who follow an arts integration educational philosophy to bring music, drama and movement into nearly every lesson.

Kindergarten teacher Cassandra Bateman discovered that using the beat method makes learning and practicing sight words more fun and easier for her students. They love to tap their hands or percussion instruments as they spell their sight words or rehearse spelling rules in unison. She said it is easier to keep everyone on task because it’s so engaging.

“I love it because it kind of gives structure to their learning,” Bateman said. “And it makes them more engaged because they get to stay with you. They’re focused, and in order to be involved, they have to be focused.”

She began using the technique just a few months ago, but Bateman said it has already become the students’ favorite time of the day. They have responded so well, she is beginning to apply the method to math and science lessons, too.

“We do it multiple times a day,” Bateman said. “There’s times where we’ll just be sitting on the carpet and if something comes to my head, I’ll say, ‘let’s tap it out’ and then they’re just following along, repeating what I do.”

Upper grade teachers are also seeing measurable benefits, and are committed to stick with the program, as well. Fourth-grade teacher Jen Parks uses it to gamify lessons. As a review of prepositional phrases, the class tapped a steady beat as each student took four counts to think of an example of a prepositional phrase and share it with the class.

“It made them have to think faster, because they have to do it on beat,” Parks said. “They had to be ready and that helped them, I think, to put everything together, truly using