Episode 49: Rock Canyon’s New Principal, Karen Brock

July 25th, 2024 /
Alexander Glaves /

Sup with the Sup

Episode 49: Rock Canyon's New Principal, Karen Brock

00:00 / 17:15

Welcome everyone to the next episode of Provo City School District’s What’s Up with the Sup’ podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau. Let’s go over our updates.

It is officially summer. Each of our schools have summer hours. If you need to visit with someone at your school, visit your school’s website for hours of operation, or you can contact our main district line and they will also have that information available for you.

If you are interested in hearing updates regarding the construction projects happening throughout the district, please visit the district website and click on the new construction newsletter, sign up link for complete updates during the summer, visit us on our website or on social media, and now onto our guest.

Wendy Dau: Welcome Karen. It’s so nice to have you on our show today. Thank you for visiting with us. So we get to know you a little bit better.

Karen Brock: No, thanks for having me. This is going to be fun.

Wendy Dau: So tell me how many years you’ve been in education and a little bit about your background.

Karen Brock: Well, it’s, do you have an hour? It’s, there’s a little bit to it. So this is my 36th year. I think if my math is correct, I started at Canyon Crest Elementary. I was an elementary teacher. My certification is in special ed and regular ed. And so I’ve been bouncing back and forth between special and regular ed. I’ve taught kindergarten, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth.

And I was also a resource coordinator for the school, special coordinator for the school. And then I went up to Washington state and taught for a couple of years. And, and in that setting, I was a fifth grade teacher, but we did a integrated model where a third of my class had some learning disability.

The rest of the class was just a regular setting. So we really integrated and we did a lot of that work across my career. I’ve, I’ve done a lot of integration and I’m just really believe in the power of having students where we really emphasize their strengths. So it’s been a fun journey. I also taught in England for a couple of years.

While, my family was living over there. I’ve been a classroom teacher for 15 years. And then in the middle of all that, I stopped and got an admin degree to be, my intention was to be a principal when I, when I started this journey. And then right after I got my admin degree, I visited Oxford, England, because a friend was there and my friend was like, you should do a PhD.

And I’m like, I don’t need a PhD, plus I’m a second grade teacher in Provo, Utah. They’re not going to let me come to Oxford. But you know what? But they did. I applied. They let me in and I ran over there. So I had, I had an amazing experience. I saw myself differently. I saw the world differently. And I just saw what research can do in an educational setting and how we can look carefully at any problem in education and grapple with it.

And so that has been a really fun turn in my career. Then from there, I, I’ve taught at universities. I, I was full time at BYU in their ed leadership department for about four years. I’ve also done adjunct at Syracuse and Lynn university and SUU and UVU. And I just, I really enjoy working with teachers on their next step, whatever that looks like for them.

So that’s been a real fun journey for me. In the middle of all that, I had little babies. And so I went, I moved to consulting and I worked with 18 schools to do school turnaround work. And then I did some work with high schools. I wrote a grant with Granite School District we wrote for like a couple million dollars where we did smaller learning communities at the high schools.

And so we created a school within a school. We had an engineering school. We had a nursing school. We had about five or six at Cypress High School and Granite High School. When Granite High School was a high school.

Wendy Dau: Which tells everybody a little bit how old we are, but that’s okay.

Karen Brock: That gets all good.

It’s all good. I worked at the state office in Utah. I was a data specialist for title one across the state and did some really interesting work there. Again, with school turnaround, we looked at a hundred of the most highly impacted schools across the state of Utah and really dug into what they needed to do school improvement wise, professional development wise to dig in.

and turn around and, um, that was a, I was in Whitehorse High School. I was, I was up at, up in Logan. I was all over the state over in Roosevelt. It was just, it was a great learning experience for me. When we moved to Washington state, I did some consulting there as well and was also worked at the state of Washington OSPI with school turnaround with high schools.

So I feel like I packed a lot into those, into those years. I love every aspect of education. There’s so much that can be done. And, um, public education is I think the heart of our nation. 80 percent of our children in America go to more than 80, probably like more. Closer to 90 percent of our children in America go to public schools and we’re doing a great job and good things are happening for students and innovative educators and thoughtful people are sitting in our classrooms.

I just love to sit in the back of the classroom and watch a good teacher teach. I mean, I calculated I’ve been in 5,000 classrooms, observing in 5,000 classrooms over my career and I learned something. Every time I go in, it’s just magical when a good teacher is connecting with kids. It’s my favorite thing in life.

Wendy Dau: It’s irreplaceable to see. There’s very little that’s going to help a child so much as when they’re with a teacher that just loves what they do, loves the kids, knows how to engage them and gets them to move along that continuum of learning.

Karen Brock: And when you watch a teacher see every child in their classroom, you really see them and know how they tick.

That’s just magic.

Wendy Dau: It is magical. I love that phrase. You’re also a published author. So tell us a little bit about that because it’s pretty exciting.

Karen Brock: I published a book this year and I’m working on my second book.

Wendy Dau: Oh my gosh. I don’t even know how you have all the time or the energy. My goodness.

Karen Brock: It’s been really fun.

Well, my kids moved out.

Wendy Dau: Now you have a lot more time.

Karen Brock: There’s that. I’m an empty nester for the first time. I have been working with coaching for probably 20 years, just the instructional coaching across all different aspects of education. And I have seen that when we coach, and when we do it really with the intent and focus in on a skill or a strategy that a teacher wants to implement, a coach can be the difference between trying something once and changing what you’re doing and with coaching, we really can take a great idea and something a teacher kind of wants to try and kind of wants to do, or we know that the research is really powerful on this strategy or that strategy, but but there’s a gap between knowing the strategy and then really feeling like it’s in your tool belt.

And so I’ve been working with coaching in Provo, but across my career, I’ve done a lot of work with coaching and really believe the power of an instructional coach partnering with a teacher and investing in that teacher in a non supervisory way and a non evaluative way. And in that work, I partnered with Dr. Margarita Calderon, who has been been a national expert on the second language space and how we can more effectively really implement strategies that we know work that can make a difference and students can quickly get the language. 85 percent of teachers have very little or no training and more than 70 percent of teachers are saying, I don’t know what to do when there’s a second language learner in my classroom.

So we have students who are not becoming proficient in English language and not proficient in academic language for years beyond what it really should be. And coaching, the teacher can add some tools in their tool belt that will make a difference. Just their whole classroom becomes a more engaging and more conversational and dialogical kind of classroom.

And so I just really wanted to marry those two topics. That’s what the book is. It really talks about, this is our issue. We’ve got a lot of second language learners and they’re not learning fast enough. And we can coach teachers so that they’re very comfortable adding some more strategies within their classroom.

Wendy Dau: And it’s interesting too that as I’ve gone on listening tours, um, and talked with faculties, one of the number one things that they talk about is they talk about, I need more help in how to support our multilingual learners. There isn’t enough time sometimes, right? And just like, the impact that that can have on a student if we’re helping teachers with the right strategies.

Because they want to be effective and they want to do what’s best for kids. You see that just across the board, so.

Karen Brock: Well, and when I came across the research showing that the strategies that we would use for second language learners accelerate everybody’s learning.

Wendy Dau: Yes, they do.

Karen Brock: So it’s. It’s not a, okay, teacher, step aside from what you were planning on doing, come over here and do this.

It’s teaching vocabulary a little more deeply before you read something that has the vocabulary in it. We all should be doing that. It’s giving some background information before your students go about reading it. Well, AP students need that as much as a struggling reader does and someone who doesn’t have academic language skills.

And then in between, before you read, after you read, you talk about it and you talk about it a lot and you get some really diverse opinions about what you’ve read. And then that all adds up, too, so that you can write about it. And writing is really the pinnacle of the comprehension test. So do we know what we’re talking about only if we can really write it?

And it doesn’t have to be a ten-page paper. It can be a quick exit ticket, but we need to be able to take that process all the way through. We never ask a student to write when we haven’t read and we haven’t talked about it and we don’t know the vocabulary. And so that cycle is great for every classroom and it turns it into a talking classroom where kids are having academic conversations with each other.

And that’s what we all want. That’s when it becomes a fun conversation, a fun classroom.

Wendy Dau: I think when you can see a classroom where students are producing language on their own and producing all of the learning rather than just kind of receiving all of that learning, it’s when it completely changes their level of understanding and just their engagement overall. They’re just excited. It’s a different feel.

Karen Brock: And when it’s an accelerated classroom where everybody is, you know, speaking English and in a kindergarten classroom where they’re using the right vocabulary when they’re talking about the clouds. Could that be cuter? But also it’s, it’s really, you really realize, wow, a five year old with the right vocabulary background can talk at really high levels.

Wendy Dau: Yes.

Karen Brock: And the thing that I don’t know why I didn’t realize this, but until you have a word for it, you can’t have the thought, which that has just blown my mind that we have to give people words. And even if you know the name of a plant part in Spanish, but you don’t know it yet in English. You transfer much more quickly.

Wendy Dau: That’s right.

Oh, well, I just think, I think it’s great that you have all of this experience, both as an educator, you have an experience in how to train teachers. And I think the vision that you’ve had for coaching has helped us to expand that district wide to provide that support for teachers. We’re pretty excited about that.

And that’s a lot of that is attributed to how you’re seeing how you’ve been seeing the value that those coaches can have to support teachers with all types of learners. So I’m excited.

Karen Brock: I just can’t, I can’t say enough how proud I am of Provo for putting the right supports in for teachers.

Coaching is really going to help every teacher, and I’m just, I’m so thrilled and I’m so proud of Provo for making that move.

Wendy Dau: Well, thank you. And I’m just excited because we had the beginnings of that model because of the efforts that you put forth. So we’re excited about extending that so everybody gets that opportunity.

Tell us what you’re most nervous about going into being an elementary principal at Rock Canyon.

Karen Brock: There are so many moving pieces.

Wendy Dau: Yes, there are.

Karen Brock: I’ve had seven or eight principals over my career. I know what it means from my definition to be a good principal, and I need to hear it from everybody at the school and the community.

What does a good principal mean? And it’s going to be different for everyone. And I want to honor the community. It’s a fantastic community with such a really involved community, I want to honor that and I want to contribute in a way that is next step Rock Canyon. So the thing that I am worried about is just how many pieces there are.

And it’s, it’s one thing when you are a classroom teacher within a month, you know, your kids, well, I need to learn 500 kids names and I’m terrible with names. And then they’re parent’s names too. I just, I’m excited to jump in. I love people. So it’ll be, it’ll be fun for me, but I know that I’m behind the game because I, I don’t know. I don’t know the community yet.

Wendy Dau: There’s always stress as we move into a new position, but great opportunity for growth. What are you most excited about?

Karen Brock: Being in the classrooms. I’ve been, I’ve been at district office for nine years and I’ve snuck into classrooms as much as I can, but now it’s my job. So, I’m very excited about being in the classroom and taking part and taking an active part of the school day and supporting teachers.

It’s the teacher that is the, you have one third grade teacher in your life. It’s the teacher that makes a difference and I want to make sure that the teachers are supported and that depth of experience is happening for every child.

Wendy Dau: I noticed when I went over to Rock Canyon towards the end of the school year, and we were kind of walking around the school, you had already been in, I think, almost every single person’s classroom.

And you’re like, you got to go check out this teacher. This teacher is amazing. Go check out this teacher. Like you already knew what was going on. And I was so impressed by the fact that you had already immersed yourself into the school and getting to know the teachers and their strengths. And so that you can draw on that and continue to propel Rock Canyon forward.

It is an exceptional school and I hope our parents know how much you really do walk the walk. You are not just a person who says, Oh yeah, you should be in classrooms and then we see you in your office. That is not the kind of educator that, that you are. So,

Karen Brock: They’ll probably be saying, yeah. Can you go now?

Wendy Dau: Can you please stop being in my classroom?

Karen Brock: And I have a pretty unique situation at Rock Canyon because we have good teachers. We’ve got deep experience and it is a good school and so, and we’ve got such a depth of experience and background and they know their stuff and they are learners.

Wendy Dau: That’s good.

Karen Brock: At Rock Canyon.

Wendy Dau: And they’re very passionate about their work and sometimes when, uh, individuals think of sometimes veteran teachers can be tired and that’s, those are never, that is not Rock Canyon at all.

Karen Brock: No, no. Rock Canyon is a goldmine.

Wendy Dau: What would you like the community to know about you that maybe they wouldn’t know by looking at a resume or any of those kinds of things?

Karen Brock: I really enjoy getting to know people. I really enjoy knowing people, knowing their story. I’m excited to just get to know the community and, and cheer on the community and be part of that.

In terms of who I am, I love to travel. I just, I just got back. I just got back from a great trip. We’re all very jealous of your traveling adventures. And, um, we lived in England for a little bit for my husband’s job and we got to travel very cheaply all over the place. So we’ve been all over Europe and there are many parts of the world I still haven’t been to, but I have come to absolutely love stamping my passport and you know, they have stopped stamping passports in many countries and it makes me very upset because I like to fill my passport.

Wendy Dau: You’re one of those that needs extra pages in your passport.

Karen Brock: Yes. And I, and it, I mean, it’s like a gold star on my forehead. I just want that stamp and I’ll, but anyway, so that’s a little sad for me. I love to read. I love everything books. I have eight sisters. I always say I have a sister for every mood. Um, I adore my sisters.

And so it’s really been a blessing to have. I have three adorable, very intelligent children, and a very supportive husband, and um, I’m very fortunate. I have a really good life. My dad is turning 90 this year.

Wendy Dau: Oh my gosh, your dad’s about the same age as my dad, yeah.

Karen Brock: And he is as active as your dad is. I mean, he’s going and traveling, and they’re just constantly going, they’re planning a trip to Mexico in January.

I’m so blessed to have parents who are active and involved.

Wendy Dau: You love the adventure. Your family loves the adventure, obviously. What vision do you have for Rock Canyon? What would you like to see happen with the school under your leadership?

Karen Brock: I am really interested in pursuing STEM. I think the school is primed for that.

I know that the community loves the STEM that’s happened thus far, and I want to keep going with that and I’m going to just keep searching funding to, to continue to expand that and to give every teacher the opportunity to do more with science and engineering, particularly. So that’s, that’s something I want to jump right on very quickly.

Like I said, it’s something that we’ve had a STEM room, we’ve got a STEM committee. Parents have said, ooh, with all the different cuts and the changes, are we losing STEM? And I, we’re reorganizing STEM, but I don’t want to lose that. And I want to really continue to expand that.

Wendy Dau: Well, and it’s, and it’s such an important skill set if the kids are developing that at young ages, they’ll continue to pursue that as they get older. Whereas if we don’t expose them until they’re older, then other things have already taken their interest. Right. And so-

Karen Brock: My goal is that we can legitimately say in the next year or two, we do STEM every day here. That’s what I want to be able to say.

And I, and I think we can, I think that’s doable.

Wendy Dau: Well, thank you so much for spending a few minutes talking with us. I’m so excited to have you at Rock Canyon and I can’t wait for the community to get to know you better and recognize what a great principal they are about to have.

Karen Brock: All right. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Wendy Dau: Thank you everyone for joining me for this week’s episode of What’s Up With The Sup’. As always, all episodes will be posted on the district website, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcasts. If you have any topics or questions you would like us to discuss on the podcast, please email us at podcast@provo.edu. Join me next week for an all new episode. Have a great week, everyone.