Education
Alpine School District administrators focus on every “one”
The annual Alpine School District Administrator Conference took place Wednesday – Thursday, August 1 and 2, at Willowcreek Middle School. The theme for the 2018-2019 school year was unveiled, “Every One Matters,” and administrators participated in classes and presentations related to that theme.
“This conference really kicks off the new school year for the 240 administrators in Alpine School District who have been working all year long,” said Kimberly Bird, Assistant to the Superintendent of Alpine School District. “Every year we base our theme on what we see going on in our district. It’s something the administrators can connect to throughout the year. We separated the word “every one” to emphasize that we want to capture and connect with every individual child.”
Administrators and teachers in Alpine School District (ASD) have all noticed there are high levels of stress and anxiety in children these days. “We want to make sure there is a caring team of adults who interact with each student every day,” continued Bird. ASD administrators were encouraged to read the book The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves, a book put out by the Arbinger Institute that teaches individuals and organizations to change their thinking from self-centered goals and objectives to thinking outwardly and finding greater success.
“We want every child who comes through the doors of their school to know that the administrators and teachers know their name and something about them. We want them to see that we aren’t just interested in how fast they can read or whether or not they can do this or that math problem. Our ultimate goal is to have kids perform and function at their best and to get to that we need to really know them,” explained Kimberly Bird.
Keynote speakers during the ASD Administrator Conference included Utah’s Lieutenant Governor, Spencer Cox; Kim Lear, a genealogist and founder of Inlay Insights who researches generational patterns and demographic and cultural shifts; ASD Board President John Burton; ASD Superintendent Sam Jarman; and Jeanette Bennett, founder and editor of Utah Valley Magazine, BusinessQ and Utah Valley Bride.
Throughout the coming school year, the Alpine School District leadership will be on the lookout for people they can celebrate who have performed acts of kindness. Superintendent Sam Jarman included in his keynote address a resource teacher and a bus driver from ASD who helped a little girl, Izzie, last year by doing her hair every morning before she got on the bus. The two women weren’t expecting to be recognized, they just observed a child in need and acted. Jarman introduced the women and used their example of kindness as one the administrators should strive for at their schools.
Every school in the Alpine School District will have the same sign in their lobby with the theme “Every One Matters” to remind eacn person who comes in to watch for ways to help and show kindness to one another this school year.
