Board Member
Hometown
Salt Lake City and Cottonwood Heights, Utah
What was your favorite meal or dish that your family would make, and do you still enjoy it today?
Kimchi Jjigae -- it will forever be my favorite!
What was your favorite thing about being a child, and do you try to hold onto that spirit as an adult?
Children are like ambassadors from a better and more magical world. I hold onto the memories I have of that world as best I can, but as an elementary school teacher I also tap back into that magic through my students' brilliance every day in my classroom.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned as a child, and how has it influenced your life today?
When I was a kid, my father, who was a soldier, taught me to not only endure but embrace hard things. Any success I've had in life is rooted in the fact that I love struggle!
What was the most challenging experience you faced as a child, and how did you overcome it?
Constantly moving because my father was in the military. I'm not sure I overcame the challenge, but I did embrace it.
What was your favorite toy or game to play with as a child?
Street Fighter 2
What was your favorite hobby or extracurricular activity as a child, and did you pursue it further later in life?
Baseball. I didn't keep playing as I got older, but I'm loving playing catch in the backyard with my daughter.
What advice would you give to your younger self, based on what you've learned throughout your life so far?
Stretch!
Biography
John Arthur is a National Board Certified Teacher, the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year & National Teacher of the Year Finalist, and the author of The Digital Projects Playbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Empowering Students as Creators. He is also the Co-Director of the Teacher Fellows, a nonprofit dedicated to developing the next generation of Utah teacher leaders, as well as Director of Candidate Recruitment for the Utah National Board Coalition.
John Arthur has been recognized as one of Utah’s Most Valuable Educators by Instructure and the Utah Jazz, a K-12 Hero Award recipient from eSchool News, and the 2024 General Education Teacher of the Year by the Council for Exceptional Children for his work supporting students with disabilities.
