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September 17 is National Constitution Day and each school is encouraged to do something to celebrate or highlight the Constitution.  This could be individual teachers doing something in their class, or as the entire school together.   Because Sept. 17 is a Sunday, this could be celebrated on Friday or Monday.
On the social studies website, there are some good resources that might be used, socialstudies.jordandistrict.org/resources/ and also secondary social studies dept. chairs have received additional information.
Thanks for making this a notable day for your students!

State required semi-annual school bus evacuations have been scheduled for this fall.  This applies to those students that ride the bus daily to and from school.

The evacuations will be conducted during the week of:

Monday, September 18, 2017 thru Friday, September 22, 2017

Your school’s regular bus driver will perform this evacuation as they drop your students off in the morning one of the days during that week.  This procedure takes place at your school and is located in your normal bus drop off/pick up zone.

This evacuation requires all professional school bus drivers that transport students, to perform evacuation procedures in case of an emergency.  This can either be a rear, side, front door or combination evacuation.  The students will then, under the driver’s direction and supervision, evacuate and meet in a safe place approximately 100 feet away from the bus.

Your assistance is welcome but not mandatory to complete this required evacuation drill quickly, safely and effectively.

Thank you for all you do to help us safely transport your students.

DATE: 
August 29, 2017

TO:    
All Principals,  Jordan School District

FROM:   
Administrators of Schools
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Educational Support Services

SUBJECT: 
CPR/First Aid Certification


Jordan School District requires that at least 3 employees in each building be certified in CPR and First Aid. Most certifications are valid for 2 years. It is also recommended that employees who will have direct responsibility for student health and safety be CPR/First Aid certified. This may include front office staff, playground aides, hall monitors, P.E. teachers, etc. It is also recommended that you keep a list of current CPR/First Aid certified staff members by all main phone lines where calls for emergency help may originate. A template is attached.

CPR, First Aid, and AED training and certification is now available to district employees in an online format through the National Safety Council (NSC). The attached memo will outline the steps necessary to complete the online portion of the course. The cost of the course is $19.95 and should be paid by the employee at the time of registration. Schools may provide reimbursement for the course, if funds are available, by following appropriate pre-approval and reimbursement procedures.

Once the online course is completed, employees may sign up to complete their certification by attending a 2 hour skills check session with our district nurses. To sign up for a skill check, you will need to register with JPLS under CPR/First Aid/AED skill check. All skill checks must be completed within 45 days of sign-up for the online course. The dates and times for the skill check sessions are listed on the attached flyer.

Please complete the attached CPR/First Aid certification form and return it to the Educational Support Services office by November 15, 2017.

Administrators:​

Please remember that all JSD schools are required to conduct a fire drill within the first 10 days of the start of school, and then again within the first 10 days after winter recess.  Emergency drills are reported electronically and information compiled on the Compliance Report for our Administrators of Schools and the Risk Management Coordinator.  Attached are instructions, including the link to the report form and also a review of the process and list of other emergency drills requirements.

The report can also be accessed in the shared Google Drive file:  ASB - Website Doc and Forms, Safety/Security, Reports/Forms/Documents.

Below is the link to the Report of Emergency Drills:

https://goo.gl/forms/NAEiaB69QE5B9p712

For questions, please don't hesitate to contact Peggy Margetts at 801-567-8753 or at peggy.margetts@jordandistrict.org.

Please be reminded that each school, along with the School Community Council, must provide digital citizenship and internet safety training.

Please see attachment for information regarding the rules and regulations.

 

A $500 stipend is available to all elementary schools to support and promote gifted and talented instruction and/or gifted and talented special programs. Principals can submit application through April 1, 2018. See attached document for more details and application. For further information contact Rebecca Smith at 801-567-8368.

DATE:
September 4, 2017

TO:  
Elementary DLI Administrators

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum & Staff Development
Michele Daly, DLI Content Administrator

SUBJECT: 
Substitutes for DLI Parent/Teacher Conferences


The District will pay for fall parent/teacher conference substitutes for 1st-6th grade level DLI target language and English partner teachers. The school will then be responsible for paying for the spring parent/teacher conference substitutes for each grade level.

DATE:
August 31, 2017

TO:
District Administration

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services

SUBJECT:
1st Day Enrollment vs. the Estimate
Traditional Schools


See attached memo.

DATE:
August 24, 2017

TO:  
All Principals

FROM:  
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
Upcoming Changes to UTIPS


USBE has been working to update the UTIPS system to be aligned with the Utah Core.  The item bank for English language arts is 100% updated and aligned with the core, the math item bank is 75% completed, and the science item bank will be updated later this fall.

Teachers will now need to check their assessments on UTIPS to be sure that they are aligned to the Utah Core as well.  The standards bank in UTIPS will be updated in mid-September and all obsolete standards will be removed from the system.  This will affect any teacher-created assessments that are not aligned to the current core.

We ask that all principals pass this information on to their faculties so that teachers may take the appropriate actions to ensure that they will still have access to their assessments on UTIPS and that those assessments are aligned to and assessing the current Utah Core.

If you have any questions, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

DATE:
August 24, 2017

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
2017 SAGE Data Release on USBE Data Gateway


Beginning August 25, 2017, the 2016-17 SAGE proficiency results will be released on USBE’s Data Gateway for principals, schools, and districts to review.  The URL for the Data Gateway is https://datagateway.schools.utah.gov/.  The login prompt is in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

We ask that principals log into the Data Gateway and review their school’s SAGE results for accuracy as soon after August 25th as possible.  The intent of the review is to address any data errors before the mid-September public release date.  Please report any concerns or inaccuracies to the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department at 801-567-8185.

It is anticipated that USBE will release accountability data and school report cards in mid-September for principals, schools and districts to review.  While the release date is still tentative, schools will have an opportunity to review their accountability data prior to public release.

If you need assistance navigating the Data Gateway or logging in, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

DATE:
August 24, 2017

TO:
Secondary Principals

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Pam Su’a, Consultant, Social Studies

SUBJECT:
U.S. Civics Test and UTIPS


In order to facilitate record keeping more easily and lessen the burdens of social studies teachers, we will be administering the U.S. Civics test required for high school graduation (see Utah Code 53A-13-109.5 and Board Rule R277-700-8) via UTIPS.

The plan for administering the U.S. Civics test is as follows:

  • Students will continue to take the test starting in 8th grade as part of their U.S. History course. Seniors will also be given a chance as needed to pass the test through their required U.S. Government and Citizenship course.
  • Social studies teachers of all grades can give the test.
  • Testing results will be entered in Skyward under Educational Milestones so that counselors can continue to track this graduation requirement. A ‘passed’ indicator will then print on student transcripts.  The Evaluation, Research & Accountability department will facilitate this process.  Individual schools and school personnel will no longer need to input Civics test scores into Skyward.
  • The Civics test will be administered online through UTIPS: https://jordan.utips.org/.
  • Students can take and re-take the test as needed in order to pass under a teacher’s direction or in a school computer lab/testing center.
  • If an IEP team determines a student qualifies for an alternate assessment, the teacher can administer a 10-question oral exam where the student only needs to pass 6 questions correctly, following the same process as we have in the past. In this case, that student’s score will need to be entered into Skyward by the school.
  • On January 1, 2018, all graduating seniors become eligible to take a 10-question version of the test with a 60% passing threshold. This 10-question version of the test will be posted and available on UTIPS by January 1st.

Social studies department chairs have already been trained on this updated process.  Teachers have already received updated UTIPS accounts, with demo accounts, so that they can see what the student sees.  They have also received the instructions and materials to administer the Civics test as needed.

Building principals will be receiving an individual email in the near future from the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department with individual UTIPS usernames and passwords.  This account access for principals will allow for another level of completion tracking for this graduation requirement, at each principal’s discretion.

For more information on the Civics test administration, please visit the district’s assessment website under Assessments tab and US Civics Test: http://assessments.jordandistrict.org/assessments/citizenship-test/.

Please call the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department with any concerns or questions you may have at 801-567-8017.

DATE:
August 23, 2017

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum & Staff Development
Ron Bird, Director of Information Systems
Michael Heaps, Support Services Manager, Information Systems
Mark Sowa, Instructional Technology Consultant

SUBJECT:
Canvas Licenses


Many of you may have heard that Canvas licenses have been purchased by the State for all students in Utah public schools. This is accurate. However, funding has only been committed for the current school year. There is no current plan or guarantee that the State will pay for licenses after this school year.

If you are interested in using Canvas at your school under the current free licensing, please contact Michael Heaps or Steffany Ellsworth in Information Systems (801-567-8140) for more information and instructions on how to begin this process.

You will also want to consider a professional development component to implementation. To discuss this further, please contact your respective Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist.

Urgent Message for Schools

Please remember that it is  illegal to gather citizenship status information per the Office of Civil Rights in both the Department of Education and Department of Justice and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 (Plyler vs.Doe - 457 U.S. 202). Please see the attached document from the Utah State Board of Education.