Carbon School District Press Release
There was a time not long ago that Jarad Hardy didn’t think he ever would want to be in administration.
But things change with the times and for Hardy, his new assignment as the Principal of Sally Mauro Elementary will be not only a new challenge, but a complete change of scenery from where he had been teaching at Mont Harmon Middle School.
Much like the two presidents, whose paintings and photos he has hanging from the wall to the left of his desk, did when they took office, he will be taking on a lot of new and challenging responsibilities.
“That painting of George Washington hung in my old elementary school in Brigham City for who knows how long,” he said. “When they tore down the school, I was lucky enough to end up with it.”
A product of the Box Elder County school system, Weber State University and Western Governors University, he is also no stranger to education. His mother also taught in the Box Elder system as an elementary teacher and librarian her whole career. His life in the district over the past eight years has been teaching junior high/middle school students socials studies and history, a great love of his. He has also been coaching at the school too, as well as being the athletic director.
He knows elementary school kids will present their own set of challenges, but he is confident in the fact he can do a good job and relate to them.
“The thing is that elementary students really want to be at school,” he said. “They are excited to be here.”
He said that his favorite thing about teaching at Mont Harmon was his relationship with students, and he will miss some of that.
“It was a hard decision to come here because of that,” he stated. But he knows that same thing will take place in Helper as well.
His background before he got into education is interesting, because he could have gone a completely different direction in his profession.
“I worked in a funeral home in northern Utah,” he said. “I did the pickups when people passed away. It may sound like a hard job, and it was at times, but it was also very interesting and people really appreciated what I did when I went to their homes. The job paid the bills while I went to school at Weber and I and my wife Emily actually lived rent free at the home.”
He also graduated from the Utah Police Academy at Weber State as well and then decided rather than be a lawman, he wanted to be a teacher. His plan for Sally Mauro is to just blend in for awhile and see how things go. But he does want the Helper elementary school to be the highest performing school in the district, and he knows it can be done.
“From what I have seen and heard, this is a great faculty,” he said. “I actually start meeting them all tomorrow.”
He plans on being a hands-on principal, dealing with the kids one on one and spending time in classrooms.
“That’s the best place to be,” he said. “Helping kids with projects and watching them learn.”
His love of history will continue to be important too. He even is going to add another photo of a president to his wall.
“I have one of Teddy Roosevelt and I have to get it framed to go along with Washington and Lincoln,” he said. “I really liked what he did because he was very outspoken and blunt about what he wanted to do. He was also the father of conservation in our country.”
It appears that Hardy will also be making some history of his own at Sally Mauro.