Three top teachers in West Jordan were surprised. 

Teachers, administrators, students and parents nominated outstanding teachers and members of the Jordan Education Foundation selected one winner from each Jordan District School and then further honored the top 15 winners, who received additional swag and an awards banquet.

JEF members, joined by district staff, surprised these three teachers in their schools celebrating them as outstanding educators.

Suzanne Thompson

Jordan Hills Elementary fourth-grade teacher

At the end of each school year, Suzanne Thompson’s outgoing students write letters to next year’s incoming fourth grade students, giving them advice and letting them know what to expect during their fourth grade year. It’s one of those multifaceted assignments you’d expect from an outstanding teacher who comes from a family full of teachers. Of course it is a fun project which provides writing practice for students. It also helps the graduating students feel wise and the new students feel special and excited. But most of all, Thompson likes that her students take a moment to really consider and recognize how much they’ve learned throughout the year, because her teaching philosophy focuses on growth.

“We can all learn new things, and sometimes it's hard, and letting them know that it's okay to struggle, it's okay to not know what you're doing and to take a little longer to learn something, as long as you're trying — that's my expectation,” Thompson said.

Thompson was selected as a top educator for her ability to help students recognize the connection to their hard work and their growth. “At the end of the week, I'm like, ‘Remember Monday when we were all confused? Well, how are we doing today? It's easy now but only because you have put in work for the whole week. On Monday, this was not easy. You learned it.’” she said.

Two of Kiersten Downey’s children have had Thompson as their teacher, and she said they left her class prepared in both skills and confidence. “She has made a huge impact on my kids and our family and I am so grateful to her,” Downey said. “I know that teaching can be really hard sometimes and feel really heavy, but I am so glad she chose it because she's making such a difference in our community!”

Fellow fourth grade teacher Heather Forsgren said the difference Thompson makes in other’s lives is because she cares deeply.

“Suzanne is the kind of teacher who cares about each of her students and makes sure that they know it,” Forsgren said. “Having had my own child be taught by her, I can share from experience that she is a teacher whose teaching sticks in kids' brains for years to come, but more than that, the feeling of being valued and ‘seen’ by a teacher like Ms. Thompson is a gift that keeps giving forever.” 

Thompson also helps and cares for the teachers she works with, finding solutions and readily sharing knowledge and resources. Thompson said she learned this from being on the receiving end of a supportive teaching team. “I try to be available to people who have questions — that's what got me through my first couple years,” Thompson said. “I try to check in on them, see how they're doing emotionally as well as the teaching side of it.”

She said it is a vital part of the culture of teaching. “If I didn't have such supportive teachers and administrators to work with, I could not do my job,” Thompson said.

Thompson believes in having a collaborative learning environment. “I think on top of specific skills, like how to spell a word or how to do long division, I think it's really important that we're teaching kids thinking skills and how to work together and how to communicate with each other,” Thompson said. She gives students opportunities to learn together, even mentoring each other. Her classroom is known for being busy and loud, especially when students are encouraging each other.

Thompson is always up for a good Dad-joke and uses humor to keep student stress levels down. She is not afraid to laugh at herself.

“Suzanne makes teaching fun on the good days, and bearable on the not so good days,” Forsgren said. “We have taught together for more than 20 years, but I don't think that I am the only one who could say that this job would be much more difficult without her here.  She is truly part of the heart of Jordan Hills!”

Cynthia Alvarado

Columbia Elementary fifth-grade teacher

Being a teacher has been Cynthia Alvarado’s dream since kindergarten, and now it is a part of her identity and life’s purpose.

“Sometimes I'm sitting in my classroom and I look at my kids, and it’s kind of like an out of body experience,” she said. “I've been wanting to do this my whole life, and I'm here doing it, I'm living my dream.”

She wants her students to dream big, too, and encourages them to work toward them through effort and perseverance.

“I think my favorite part is just seeing students’ growth academically and them realizing it too, and having those ‘a-ha’ moments are the best parts,” Alvarado said. “I was actually reading with a student yesterday, and I got emotional because she's grown so much, and it's so cool to see her putting in the effort and us working together as a team to help her get where she needs to be.”

Fellow fifth grade teacher Kate Rugg said Alvarado is an outstanding teacher because she meets students where they are.

“She has an exceptional ability to explain complex concepts in ways that are engaging, accessible and relevant to her students’ lives,” Rugg said.

The key, Alvarado said, is developing relationships with her students.

“I've learned you have to try to motivate them, and I think that comes with part of having a relationship with them,” she said. “If they have a good relationship with their teacher, and they can trust them, then they'll want to put in the effort to learn, and be engaged during lessons, and want to please their teachers and not disappoint them.”

Rugg said it is also obvious Alvarado loves her students.

“One of Cynthia’s many, many strengths is that she cares fiercely,” she said. “She cares about her job, her students, her fellow teachers and the school community as a whole.” 

Jennifer Heckman

Copper Hills High School ACT prep and math teacher

Jennifer Heckman is tireless in her support of students, staff and community members.

“She is known for going the extra mile,” a colleague said. “Whether answering late-night emails from struggling students or advocating for faculty needs on the Community Council, always ensuring everyone in her orbit is informed, supported and heard.”

In her many leadership positions at both Sunset Ridge Middle and CHHS, and as a member of the School Community Council, Heckman has always advocated for teachers and students, and encouraged a collaborative work environment.

An insatiable problem-solver, she generated the data to save a tutoring program and did all the footwork to get an ACT prep class approved (and then became certified to teach it).

She said students are always the reason for everything she does, and she will always do what’s best for them even if it is uncomfortable for her. This level of care for students is one of the reasons her fellow educators nominated her for the Outstanding Educator of the Year.

“[Her] impact on students is most visible in the way in which she bridges the gap between rigorous academic expectations and deep, radical empathy,” a colleague said. “She notices and fills the often unseen needs in her students’ lives.”

After 17 years in the classroom, Heckman is transitioning to an administrative intern position at Bingham High School this fall, where she hopes to make a broader impact — especially on school culture and the ways stakeholders work together.

“I've seen a shift in the last 10 years in the culture at schools between students, teachers, parents and principal,” she said. “It just doesn't seem like it is clicking together as much as it should be. I just felt like it was time for me to make that next step, to see if I can make a bigger impact for the school and students.”

While she’s excited to make a broader impact in the role, she is not abandoning her CHHS family. Heckman said her math instruction videos will remain on her YouTube channel and she’s invited CHHS teachers and students to contact her if they need anything. She made the same offer when she left her teaching position in Washington to move to Utah and actually followed through.

“I had parents calling me to tutor their kids over the phone, even though I was no longer there,” she said.

Heckman said she wouldn’t turn away anyone who asked her for help.

“If I have that time, why not?” she said. “I want people to succeed. So if I can help that, I'm here for that.”