Utah Charter School Conversations Utah Association of Public Charter Schools

Join our conversation with Jared Ferguson, Executive Director, at Athenian eAcademy. Athenian has six campuses in Tremonton, Delta, Ephraim, Nephi, Richfield, and Ballard in addition to a blended program that combines home learning with school supports.
 
Jared believes in the importance of each person at school from students to parents, and support staff to teachers. Athenian strives to provide differentiated learning for their multi-grade classrooms to meet each student at their level. Teacher training is targeted to be meaningful and highly pertinent. Jared believes in building trust and sees lack of trust as one of the big problems in education. To combat that, he values each person's perspective and advocates for using agency to be deliberate in interactions with others. 

A former high school biology teacher, with a particular interest in entomology, Jared makes time to visit each campus and give a presentation on insects that is a highlight for students, and for him. Listen to learn more about this school that caters to rural Utah.
The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Join Royce Van Tassell, Executive Director, Utah Association of Public Charter Schools as we discuss what bills passed, what was discussed, and how much money we'll get for education in the coming year. Please take a look at the summary document on our website HERE. You can also see all the updates during the session on our website at https://www.utahcharters.org/legislative-updates.  Some key bills discussed include the following (link to bill):
HB 221, Student teacher stipendsHB 105, Classroom supplies reimbursementsHB 173, Teacher bonusesHB 29, Sensitive materials HB 303, Classroom neutralityHB 182, Student survey requirementsHB 499, Adjusts training requirements for educatorsHB 413, Mental health screener notification requirementsHB 84, School safety amendmentsHB 415, Curricular and co-curricular feesWe have also provided a detailed HB 84, School Safety Amendments, summary document HERE.
The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Meet the delightful and experienced Lani Rounds, Principal at Bridge Elementary in Roy, UT. A long-time educator, Lani has worked with multiple charter schools in leadership positions, but began in education as a SPED teacher. Designing Bridge Elementary after Special Education principles of personalized learning, her school is active, "sometimes noisy," and full of enthusiastic professionals. Her teachers receive 16 hours/week toward PPCD (preparation, professional development, collaboration, and data analysis) to deliver personalized learning plans for every child.  Learn about this method of education, integrating specialities into math and language arts, and how a "no desk" environment supports it all.

Lani describes the "happy clicker" she uses to highlight the good things happening around her and how it has helped students as well. (about minute 34). 

Lani also mentions the "ARL" route to her teaching after work as a berry picker at Sacco Fruits (age 10) to the IRS (for 13 years!) and as an IT professional testing software. ARL is an Alternate Route to Licensure used for years by the State to train teachers who were entering teaching outside a teacher preparation program at a university. The current route for teacher training is the APPEL (Alternate Pathway to Professional Educator License) program.
The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

In this double episode (!) we get two interviews-first with Marie Steffenson, Associate Executive Director, State Charter School Board. Marie has extensive experience with Utah's charter schools as a teacher, instructional coach, and school director. Her desire to build relationships and support charter schools comes through. We discuss what an authorizer does, what supportive authorization looks like, and the organization of the SCSB.

In our second interview (beginning at 35:00), we meet Dr. Paul Kremer, Executive Director, State Charter School Board. Dr. Kremer joined the SCSB in October 2023 from broad experience with charter schools in Arizona. Dr. Kremer seeks to fulfill the SCSB strategic plan to better serve the charter schools the SCSB authorizes. We discuss the great things going on in Utah's charter schools and how to make things even better.

State Charter School Board Website: https://www.utahscsb.org/
State Charter School Board Strategic Plan: file:///Users/ginajames/Downloads/SCSB%20Strategic%20Plan%20221208.pdf From May 11, 2023 SCSB Board Meeting
The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

This episode covers items pertinent to public charter schools coming up in the Utah State Legislature session. Royce Van Tassell, Executive Director, UAPCS, is right in the center of conversations with lawmakers and let's us know what to watch for. The 45 day session runs from January 16, 2024-March 1, 2024.

We discuss the following items:
Governor's Budget RecommendationsHB 29, Rep. Ivory,  sensitive materials billHB 84, Rep. Wilcox,  school safety amendmentsHB 182, Rep. Lisonbee, student survey amendmentsTeacher empowerment billCharter school law updatesThe Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Join the discussion with Brittany Luck, Principal, Uintah River High School, and Ronee Wopsock Pawwinnee, Ute Indian Tribe Education Director to talk about Uintah River High School. This public charter school is located on Ute tribal land in Fort Duchesne, UT.  The school serves 80 students, most with tribal affiliation (506 students refer to federally funded appropriations for American Indian and Alaskan Native students). The school is designed to foster cultural appreciation by teaching the Ute language and participating in tribal celebrations. They also are sensitive to tribal customs and individualize student learning to be sure that education works within traditions. A close relationship with the Ute Indian Education Department ensures that ensures that the charter school and tribal council work together to deliver an environment of supportive education geared toward lifelong learning.



The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.