Teachers and students come to school bringing a wide range of backgrounds, languages, abilities, and temperaments. Get things off to the best start by asking them to respect their differences and make the most of their similarities. By sharing information on their lives and dreams, students and teachers can build community in the classroom that will support literacy instruction throughout the school year.

UEN Homeroom continues along with our Back to School series as Utah prepares for the return of teachers and students to our buildings. This week we connect with Moe Hickey, CEO of Voices for Utah Children. Our conversation focuses on the fiver key areas of healthy development for kids: health, school readiness, safety, economic stability, and diversity. We also learn what Voices is doing to advocate for Utah students with the state legislature and local school districts.

In our Back to School series, UEN Homeroom visits with Shanna Bingham, a Kindergarten teacher from the Granite School District. During our conversation we talk about the issues surrounding returning to school and look back at remote learning from last year. Topics in the podcast include: how to build relationships with students and parents, the need to connect with students using video and more, how to move your in-person curriculum online, and many more. Mrs. Bingham is described as "Mary Poppins if she taught Kindergarten" - listen to this interview and you'll fall in love with her positive outlook on education.

UEN Teacher Tips is a weekly series from the UEN Professional Development team. Every Tuesday, we'll share a new tip, how-to video and classroom resource. When life is busy and time is short, we hope these tips lead to bright ideas, just in time! This week's tip is "Helpful Tools For When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed" by Matt Winters.

UEN Teacher Tips is a weekly series from the UEN Professional Development team. Every Tuesday, we'll share a new tip, how-to video and classroom resource. When life is busy and time is short, we hope these tips lead to bright ideas, just in time! This week's tip is "Tips For Building a Supportive Classroom Culture" by Nicole Johnson.