Aug. 2023 | Vol. 10 Iss. 08
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By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com
D
uring the last 17 years, there have been changes in procedure, paperwork and even in the special education program, but at South Jordan Elementary, there has been a constant factor — the endless support of teacher Kelli Sundell. “We focus on what they can do,” Sundell said about her students who are in an academic communication classroom. “If they can’t do math, we try doing it with a calculator. If they aren’t able to do it with a calculator, we try other things. We can use a lot of combinations of tools and accommodations to help them be successful, not tell them they can’t do something.” Sundell is known around her school and Jordan School District for being a champion for students with disabilities. Her former principal, Ken Westwood, remembers her advocacy when they worked together. “Kelli Sundell works with a group of highly impacted kids with significant challenges, but she treats them like real people and expected big things; the results for kids were always very high,” he said. “And she was always behind them, a solid advocate. She’d say, ‘These kids are capable, they will do this, and they will succeed’ — and they did. There was no taking ‘no’ for an answer with Kelli.” Now, those shoes will need to be filled by another teacher who wants to make a difference. Sundell is retiring after 17 years in the classroom. Her path began as an American Sign Language interpreter for the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind, where she would attend mainstream classes with an assigned student for a couple
South Jordan Elementary special education teacher Kelli Sundell got a surprise visit from some of her former students shortly before her retirement. (Julie Slama/City Journals)
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