第 74 集：重溫一年級教師

24 1 月, 2025 /
斯宾塞-图伊内 /

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第 74 集：重溫一年級教師

00:00 / 17:14

Episode 74: Revisiting 1st-Year Elementary Edgemont Teachers Janessa Castaneda and Cecilia Amezquita

Wendy Dau: Welcome everyone to the next episode of Provo City School District’s What’s Up With The ‘Sup podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau. For our episode this week, we decided to drop by Edgemont Elementary School to check in with our first year teachers. I visited with fifth grade teacher Janessa Castaneda and kindergarten teacher Cecilia Amezquita about how the year is going and what they have learned.

但在听取他们的意见之前，我们先来看看最新情况。

The next school board meeting will be on Tuesday, January 28th.
- The Study Session will take place in boardroom one and the business meeting will be in the PDC.
  - The Study Session will begin at 5:15 PM and the full business meeting will begin at 6:00 PM.
    - The agenda will be placed on the district website the day prior.

The 2025 Utah legislative session has begun.
- In each week’s videocast, I will update you about the most recent legislation that’s being proposed by our state legislators. We know that our legislature cares deeply about education and wants to ensure that we have the best system possible.
  - We also want to make sure that our voices are heard and that we try to maintain local control of our schools so that we can have the best situations possible for our students in Provo, so continue watching for my weekly videocasts in your email every Monday. These videocasts provide one place for you to learn about important things happening across the district.

Welcome, everybody. We’re back here at Edgemont Elementary with Janessa, who is a fifth grade teacher here at Edgemont. She’s still in her first year. How are things going?

Janessa Castaneda: Things have been going pretty good, kind of getting back in the routine of everything and figuring out, but it’s been fun going into new content and getting ready for testing coming up.

Wendy Dau: Testing. Here we go. Tell us a little bit about what it’s like to come back from winter break when kids have been gone for so long.

Janessa Castaneda: So, it’s time! It’s like we started again. I’m like, okay, we’re back to square one in August. And so just refreshing things with them and going over expectations, but it’s been pretty good.

They’re getting back into the groove of things, which has been very nice for me and them.

Wendy Dau: Kids actually do love boundaries, even though sometimes they would think that they don’t, but they actually do. What are you most looking forward to as you move into this next part of the school year?

Janessa Castaneda: Oh, that’s a good question.

Most looking forward to– I think seeing them grow as people and just like find their special interests, like we’re doing things with science right now and some kid told me I’m going to be a scientist and study this one day. And so that was totally unexpected. I was like, yeah,

you totally can study this.

And so seeing their passions grow with what we’re learning and just like seeing how they mature, and like figuring out, like, oh, I can do this on my own, like I’m capable. And so seeing them grow that way has been something I’m really looking forward to continuing seeing.

Wendy Dau: What have been some of the challenges that you’ve had and who have been key people that have helped you through those challenges?

Janessa Castaneda: Some challenges I’ve had were some behaviors that I never saw coming in college. And they tell you about the key ones, but the ones that sneak in, you’re like, Oh, I’ve never even considered that this could be an issue. And so just like navigating that and saying, okay, this is happening. What am I going to do?

But talking to my teammates has been phenomenal. I’m like, guys, this is happening. I need help. And they’re always happy to sit down and help me or other issues have arisen. My admin has been very helpful. I stop by and I’m like, do you have a second to talk? And so just them having that availability to talk and be like, okay, here’s our game plan.

This is what we’re going to do has been so phenomenally helpful. And like figuring out how to like answer parent emails has been fabulous with them. They’ve been a great support that way.

Wendy Dau: Yes, parent emails, those are sometimes tricky, right? And how to make sure that we’re communicating– we want to communicate and connect with our parents, but sometimes when we’re doing it quickly, it doesn’t always come across the right way.

So it takes that skill set to develop that. Tell us a little bit about maybe a fun thing that’s happened with your students that you’re surprised about, like you kind of thought that that was going to happen, but now as you’re actually experiencing it, you’re like, Oh my gosh, this is why I decided to do this job.

Janessa Castaneda: The first thing that came to mind is we just did a unit on poetry, and personally, not the biggest fan. Still love it, but it’s, it’s okay. But I was like, okay, we’re doing poetry. And so I was like, okay, they’ll like it. I’ll make it fun. And they totally jumped into it. They like embodied the roles while acting and they made props for it.

And just seeing how they have jumped in with it and used their creativity to build upon what they’re learning and helping their peers like, Oh, look, if you use prop this way, you can leave stage that way. And so them working together and just seeing how they build upon what I give them and just using their creativity to soar has been phenomenal.

Wendy Dau: Isn’t it funny how sometimes the things that we don’t necessarily like to teach the most– and they’re like, no, this is the best ever. And you’re like, okay, I guess I got to get excited about that because they are excited about it. Tell us a little bit about how it’s been to be at Edgemont Elementary in particular, the supports that are here.

You’ve talked about your grade level team. Who are those people that you go to? Is there a coach? Do you have people outside too that are great supports for you in your first year of teaching?

Janessa Castaneda: Yeah, so here at Edgemont, I know the community is very involved, so I have parents always saying, I can help you out if you need this, or just let me know, I’ll come by anytime, so the parents are very involved, which is phenomenal to see that.

I do have a learning coach here, she’s been great, she answers my questions, again helping me word emails to make sure I want to say my point in a way that everybody understands well, and so she’s been great, and other teachers have been great outside of this. So in my cohorts, I went to BYU. A lot of them are still around here.

So like, guys, like you teach fifth grade, how are you teaching this? Or how are you making exciting? Or have you ever encountered this before? And it’s been great just to connect to my old classmates and get insights from people from other schools saying, Oh, our school is doing this. Why don’t you try this out too?

And so figuring out within Provo, like how to keep the kids happy and learning.

Wendy Dau: You need this community, right, to make this work for you. What would you say if someone is, say, starting their student teaching right now, or say they’re in their second semester of interning and they’re thinking about, okay, I’m going to get ready to start interviewing for a job.

What is your advice to people who are going to start interviewing for a job and looking for a place to work? What would you tell people? Like, what are the things they should be looking for in a school that they want to work in?

Janessa Castaneda: I would say, well, first off, if they’re nearing their end and like trying to figure out what to do, get as involved as you can.

I know you’re like, okay, I’m easing up now. I can go, you know– stay involved as much as you can. Because that experience will benefit you so much still. And going into interviews, I think being yourself is so important. I mean, we need teachers, but also a school needs to be a right fit for you and vice versa.

You need to be a right fit for them. And so being yourself and showing your personality, I think is so helpful. And I think that’s really helpful because then they can say, Oh, I think they’ll go really good with these people or I can tell they’re really excited about this. And so just having your best foot forward, being excited, showing the different things that we care about.

If you are interested in a school, maybe research it and say, what are the school’s values? Why would I choose this school over another school? So I think intimately knowing what the school values, what are some of the programs they have? Are you interested in those programs? Would you be interested in helping those out?

Just really getting to know the school and the people that you work with before you’re interviewing will be really important.

Wendy Dau: That’s really great advice. Think about a teacher that you really admire right now and tell us a little bit about what qualities that teacher has that maybe has been teaching for a while and how you hope to develop some of those qualities as you continue.

Janessa Castaneda: Someone that I thought of is Dina Driggs here. She’s been here quite a while, but she is so good. I think she’s fabulous at setting boundaries and having high expectations, but also high love. The kids adore her and they know, like, Oh, we have to do this. We have to do it right. It’s for Mrs. Driggs. But then also like she gives them such great support and she’s always so happy to help also her peers, her other teachers.

She goes, Oh, you guys got this. Like we can do this. We all got this together. And so I think just having high expectations and high love is something that I learned from people around me. And I love that. And I want to continue to embody that.

Wendy Dau: I love that. High expectations and high love. We sometimes hear the high expectations, high support, but I love the high expectations, high love.

That’s awesome. Well, we have an awesome teacher survival kit since you’ve already survived your half year here. And we want to keep wishing you well as you keep going through your school year. I mean, it’s pretty freaking amazing, so I wish I could take credit for it, but we had our administrative assistant do it.

She’s amazing. So there’s some really great goodies, some gift cards and things in there. So we just– we’re so grateful to have you here in Provo. Any last things you want to share?

Janessa Castaneda: Provo’s the best. Come work in Provo. That’s it.

温迪-道That's awesome.

So we’re here back at Edgemont Elementary and Kindergarten. So tell me how your year is going so far.

Cecilia Amezquita: It’s going great. I feel like I’m learning so much about being a good teacher and my students are just learning more and more every day. I’m seeing their progress and it just feels really good.

Wendy Dau: Tell us about something that– where maybe it’s a single student or maybe a group of students– where you’ve really been able to see that progress.

What has it been in? What were they able to do at the beginning of the year? And what are they able to do now that you’re just like, Oh my gosh, this is so amazing.

Cecilia Amezquita: Yes, so I can remember that was having difficulties with math lessons, and because it seemed hard to her, she would just give up and not try to do her work sometimes.

And so I remember just talking to her about the importance of just trying her best, even if she was a little confused or if she didn’t get the right answer, we talked about the importance of just trying her best. And we worked with her mom for her to get some more practice at home, and during lessons I would pull her and a couple other students to have smaller groups so we can give them more attention.

And she just took a math quiz today and she got all of them right. And yes, I’m just really proud of her and her progress and she is doing so much better in math. And she told me she really enjoys addition and subtraction so it’s– it’s great to hear.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. This is why we do what we do, right? It’s those stories like that. And I love how you’re also working with the parent and the parent is so willing to be like, what can I do to help my child? That’s awesome.

What was it like coming back from winter break when kids have a few weeks off? Do they need to reset? Did they come back and get back into their routines? What’s that like?

Cecilia Amezquita: Yeah, so it was interesting. I thought that they were really going to miss home because they were at home for a couple of weeks. I thought that they were going to come and not be in a great mood, but it was the opposite. They came back really happy to see each other and to see me, and to get back into learning.

When we started our writing lessons and our math lessons again, I just saw that like everything was connecting more for them in their minds. Like everything made more sense now as far as writing and math, like it was just easier for them. And so that was a great surprise to see them learning so quickly and for the things that we learned before the break to have made even more sense to them now after having a little break.

Wendy Dau: What has been maybe something that’s been a really pleasant surprise that has taken place that you didn’t expect to happen as the year has progressed?

Cecilia Amezquita: Just seeing some of my students that were really shy. Or maybe not very comfortable in school now they really enjoy school. They enjoy being in the classroom and they speak their minds, and sometimes they can get a little loud, but I don’t mind too much because it’s just great seeing them come out of their shell.

And I thought it might take longer. I thought maybe most of the year was going to be like that, but I was pleasantly surprised to see them come out of their show like quicker and just to see their personalities because I didn’t really know their personalities when they’re a little bit more shy. But now I get to see what their personalities are really like.

Wendy Dau: That’s always so fun when you get to see that. Who are your go to people in the school that help you when you’re like, I don’t know what to do with this. I don’t know what to do with that behavior. I don’t know– who are the individuals that have really helped you out? Who are your shout outs to?

Cecilia Amezquita: My shout outs would be to my kindergarten team, Mrs. Kane and Mrs. Bolaños. We really do help each other a lot during our PLC meetings every Friday. We talk about students behaviors, and I remember bringing up a couple students to the meeting, like their names, and just asking them, like, do you have any suggestions on how I can help these students? To be more focused or, you know, to do their work or help with their behavior?

And they just gave me so many ideas and I started implementing those, seeing the benefits and the changes after implementing those. Admin checks up on me and our instructional coach checks up on me and they give me ideas too, if I ever bring up any concerns. So everyone’s been a really great class.

Wendy Dau: That’s good! That makes me so happy. What are some other things that you would want to share with, say, a student teacher that’s doing their student teaching right now, or someone that’s getting ready to interview for a job for next year. What advice would you give those individuals as they’re starting to think about where they want to work next year?

Cecilia Amezquita: If they’re thinking about where they want to work, I would say really focus on where they’re doing their practice and their student teaching and figure out if that would be a good spot for them. Or maybe they can look into what kind of school they want to work in, whether it’s a Title I school or not, like Edgemont is a really academically successful school.

And I– I didn’t really know that before applying here, but then I quickly found out and just thought that that was a really great choice at the end of the day, because– like, I do like challenging my students even more, and just having them work on STEM projects, which Edgemont is a STEM school– and so maybe they can just do some more research and just see how they feel in the school that they are in already.

Wendy Dau: Are there individuals that you look up to or that you work with outside of Edgemont that you rely on or friends that you rely on to help keep you upbeat or what kinds of things help you outside of your workplace environment?

Cecilia Amezquita: Yes, I have a great group of friends that we are always doing fun activities over the weekend, sometimes in the evenings, and that helps me to have a really great balance with my personal life and my work life.

You know, my whole life is not work. Like, I have a lot of activities and friends to hang out with. And then my family like my sister is just really proud of me for being a teacher and she loves to hear how my students are doing and how I’m feeling, and she’s a great support, and she’s just really happy to see me doing something that I really love, and something that I can wake up and be excited to do every day.

Wendy Dau: That’s the best. That just makes me so happy. What else would you like us to know as district leaders or even as principals? Like, what things can we do to better support our first year teachers? So now you’ve been doing this for a few months. As we start planning to start hiring and some of these teachers are going to be brand new, what things do we need to be really mindful of to make sure we’re providing an awesome environment for all of you?

Cecilia Amezquita: That’s a great question. I can think of one thing– like I have noticed that we do have curriculum books that we get lessons out of, or workbooks that students can work on, but I still notice myself, like having to reach out to internet sources, or, you know, Teachers Pay Teachers to just get more good worksheets, and more activities.

And so maybe if somehow, like, our schools can find ways to like provide things that they know that go with our curriculum or things that they know that our students will be learning. That way teachers don’t have to spend as much time, or, like, resources– having to find additional resources online . Luckily, my team gives me a lot of worksheets that they know are really beneficial for the concepts that we’re learning.

Wendy Dau: What would you, what do you hope to see between now and the end of the school year?

Cecilia Amezquita: Yeah, I’m really glad that I landed here. And I would do it again, even though it was a lot more stressful, like at the beginning of the school year, just trying to figure out everything for my classroom and for routines and lessons, and it was just a lot to figure out, but I would do it again because, like, this is what I love, and now I’m in a place in the school year where I’m a lot more comfortable, and I don’t stay as late after school.

So everything is kind of falling into place. I feel like I would have told myself to just be more patient with myself, and not feel like I had to have everything figured out so quickly because I was staying pretty late at school trying to figure out everything so quickly, and just giving myself the grace to break up that big thing into smaller steps over more time.

Wendy Dau: You don’t have to be as awesome as you are right out of the gate, but I can tell you’re already awesome. So, it’s so great to see your progress and to hear you talk about your students. Just your eyes light up. It’s pretty exciting. So, thank you.

Thank you 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.

Don’t forget to join us again next week for another new episode of What’s Up With The ‘Sup. Thanks, everybody!