UCCR Educators Scholarship: Peacebuilders of Tomorrow Award Recipient
Congratulations, and thank you for your contributions in promoting peace and leadership in youth!
Cindi Dunford, Granite Park Jr. High
The Pandemic has been a stressful time for many, but especially for teachers that went back into the classroom to teach. Teachers are trying to help students learn to cope.
Cindi Dunford, a math teacher at Granite Park Jr. High in Granite School District, Salt Lake County has implemented a program to help students learn to find resolutions. Cindi works to find the why behind such problems as seeking attention or avoiding work, while giving students the language to label their feelings and the tools to fix their behavior. This is especially important in a school like Granite Park Jr. High where a large number of students are immigrants and refugees. Through her program, she seeks to help student understand cultural differences and how that is part of solving differences.
Cindi is described as passionate about improving learning experiences for others. “Students are tying to communicate to us through their behavior. There are ways we can communicate back… I wanted to have a better approach that’s more respectful to my students and their differences.”