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Published on

DATE:
October 15, 2026

TO:
All Administrators and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources

SUBJECT:
Administrative Assignments

The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignments effective Oct. 20, 2026:

  • Katie Mintiloglitis, Assistant Principal at Rivers Edge School, transferred as Consultant to the Special Education department.
  • Becky West, Behavior Specialist in Granite School District, appointed Assistant Principal at Rivers Edge School.
  • Keith Klein, teacher at Jordan Ridge Elementary, appointed Assistant Principal at Bluffdale Elementary, replacing Veronica Holyoke, who has resigned.
  • Polla Slade, Intern Assistant Principal at Foothills Elementary, transferred as Intern Assistant Principal at Aspen Elementary.
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TO:
Assistant Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

The September Assistant Principal meetings will be held on the following dates:

  • Tuesday, November 10 | 8:00–12:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, November 17 | 8:00–12:00 p.m.

Both meetings will be held in person at the Jordan Learning Center. All assistant principals and intern assistant principals are invited to attend. Beverage service will be available beginning at 7:30 a.m. each day.

As a reminder, you only need to attend one of the two sessions, as the same information will be presented at both meetings.

Please sign up for the session you plan to attend.

If you have any questions, please contact Shannel Hooper at 801-567-8204 (ext. 88204).

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TO:
School Principals
District Administrators

FROM:
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools
Meredith McPhail, Administrator of Schools
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools

The Principal Meeting will be held in person at the Jordan Learning Center (JLC), located at 3706 W. 9800 S., South Jordan.

Beverage service will be available beginning at 7:30 a.m., and lunch will be provided.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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TO:
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

We have a few spots open for Spanish for Office Staff. Our goal is to provide tools and resources for office staff so that you can sharpen the Spanish skills, whether this is your first time being exposed to Spanish or you learned in high school, we encourage all office staff who have students that speak Spanish to take this 5 week course from our DLI educators. Please sign up here. 

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TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language and Culture Services

Language & Culture Services wants to provide you with one place to find the information to support the language and culture in your school. In this newsletter you will find:

  • We had an excellent turn out at our annual Multilingual Family Night! We celebrated multilingualism with great food, student performances, and by celebrating our MLs that tested proficient on WIDA last year! Thank you to our JSD employees that attended, Foothills Elementary DLI students, our other student speakers and performers, and all of you that support our Multilingual Learners!
  • Strategy Highlight - ELLevation has a catalog of high-quality strategies that can be implemented into Tier 1 instruction. Each strategy also provides scaffolding suggestions for Multilingual Learners. You can find the Strategy Catalog by logging into ellevationeducation.com, then use the “Strategies” tab, and go to “Browse Catalog.”
    This month we’d like to highlight the following strategy: Vocabulary Rating - Benefits for Multilingual Learners Develop Academic Language with Weighted Words: Increased exposure to and meaningful practice with vocabulary words and phrases will support a deeper understanding of language at all levels. How To: Identify a list of vocabulary to focus on during the lesson and have students self-assess their vocabulary knowledge. Best used for: Hook/Intro of a lesson, as an Assessment
  • Announcements - Reminder: ELLevation Tasks are due! Exit Letters: Any remaining letters left in “Not Started” should be printed & sent home. Exit Interviews: Interviews need to be conducted with parents/guardians of students that tested proficient last Spring. Quarter 1 Monitoring: Forms are due Oct. 16. For support, please reach out to your school’s ELD Lead, Admin over MLs, or Language Teacher Specialist!

  • Culture & Diversity - Hispanic Heritage Month: Sept. 15 - Oct.15 | Recognize the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Hispanic Heritage Month Information Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Nov. 1 -2  | a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated to honor, remember, and welcome back the spirits of deceased family and friends. Day of the Dead Resources.

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DATE: 
Thursday, October 15, 2026

TO:  
School Administrators of TSI/ATSI/CSI Designated Schools

FROM: 
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:   
TSI/ATSI/CSI Workshops

School improvement planning workshops for schools designated for targeted support and improvement (TSI), additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI), and comprehensive support and improvement (CSI) will once again be offered during the 2026-27 school year.  During the workshops, schools will update their TSI/ATSI/CSI datasets, celebrate successful initiatives, update their priority problems of practice and root causes, and determine the action steps they need to take as part of their TSI/ATSI/CSI school improvement plans for the rest of this school year.

To see a list of TSI/ATSI/CSI designated schools please click here.

The workshops will be held on the following dates and times (to register, click here):

Principals should bring instructional coaches and may consider bringing other leaders such as counselors, special education team leads, ELD leads, etc.

Sign up for your preferred dates here.

For questions about the TSI/ATSI/CSI check-ins, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

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TO:
All School Principals

FROM:
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent

FINAL REMINDER:
The LAND Trust Fall Requirements Form must be completed by October 20, 2026. It can be accessed on the State Land Trust Website and instructions can be found here: Fall Requirement Form Guide. This form includes the following requirements:

• Review your current School LAND Trust Plan, implementation of the Prior Year's Plan, and the Teacher and Student Success Act Plan (TSSA)
• Update Council Membership and complete Principal Assurance
• Update required school website postings
• Verify that SCC members are listed the same on both the school website and the state website

Principals must have all of this completed by the October 20th deadline.

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TO:
All School Principals

FROM:
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Lisa LeStarge, Administrative Assistant

The School LAND Trust team will host a virtual training session for School Community Councils on November 10, from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. It is highly encouraged that principals and SCC chairs attend this training.

Join the session using the link below:
Join the School Community Council Training Zoom Meeting

This training will cover essential topics, including:
• Program implementation: School LAND Trust Program requirements and practices
• Council responsibilities: Roles and expectations for council members
• Plan development: How to develop a School LAND Trust Plan
• Support resources: Guides and tools available to support your council

A recording of the session will be posted afterward for council members to review at their convenience. If you have already completed local training at your school covering these topics, you have fulfilled the annual training requirement and are not required to attend this session.

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DATE:
Thursday, October 15, 2026

TO:
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
2026 BOY Acadience Reading Dashboards in Tableau

2026 beginning-of-year Acadience Reading data and results are available in Tableau.  Administrators may view aggregate student participation, benchmark proficiency, and measure proficiency by school and grade level over time.  In addition, school administrators and instructional coaches may view individual student and teacher data. Demographic filters are also available to help school administrators drill down to the data they wish to see.

These dashboards may be accessed through the Explore menu in Tableau or directly using the links below:

Acadience Reading, 2015-Present

Explore > Assessments > Acadience Reading & Early Literacy > Acadience Reading Analysis, 2015-Present

The Progress Monitoring Fidelity Report in Tableau has also been updated to include the following:

  • Completion rates by school
  • Completion rates by course
  • Completion rates by teacher
  • Completion rates by student

The progress monitoring dashboards contain a link to guidance and recommendations from Teaching & Learning about the frequency at which students should be progress monitored.

Acadience Reading results may be accessed in ALO, including the new Time of Year Report, which can be accessed from the main dashboard page in ALO or by clicking on the kebab menu under the Students tab:

OR

Please contact Ben Jameson or Brooke Anderson in Assessment, Research & Accountability for more information about these dashboards.  For questions about progress monitoring recommendations, please reach out to your school’s district literacy specialist.

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TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amy Lloyd, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

Dear Administrators,

We're excited to invite your teachers to a professional learning session hosted by the elementary math team: Using Open Up Centers in Your Classroom.

When: November 13th (District PD Day), 1:30–3:00 PM
Where: Bingham High Tech Atrium
Registration: Canvas Course

In this engaging, practical session, we'll explore how to make the most of Open Up Math Centers in the classroom, with strategies for:

Organization – smooth routines and center management
Engagement – keeping students active and invested
Fluency – building automaticity with purpose
Deeper learning – extending student thinking

Teachers will walk away with ready-to-use ideas and tools they can apply the very next day.

Because space is limited, we encourage teachers to register early to secure their spot. Please share the link above with your teams.

Thank you for your support in getting this opportunity to your teachers!

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TO:
Elementary Principals and Elementary Assistant Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Todd Theobald, Teaching and Learning

Grade Transmittal Day is Oct. 19, and all elementary teachers are expected to review student evidence and record Quarter 1 proficiency levels in Skyward. Quarter 1 provides an important snapshot of where students are in their learning at this point in the year, even though a formal report card is not generated until Semester 1. Teachers should record a current proficiency level for each strand where they have enough meaningful evidence to make a reasonable determination, using the full-year proficiency scale as the reference point. Please review the JSD Elementary Grade Transmittal Expectations for a quick overview of what to record, why these snapshots matter, and how expectations progress throughout the year.

JSD Elementary Grade Transmittal Expectations
Grade Transmittal Day provides teachers with dedicated time to review student evidence, reconcile proficiency levels, and ensure that Skyward accurately reflects each student’s current learning. The goal is not to create a perfect or final judgment of student performance. The goal is to provide an accurate snapshot of where each student is at that point in time.

What should teachers do?
For each subject area, review the overall strand proficiency level in Skyward and ask: “Based on the evidence I have right now, what is the best description of this student’s current proficiency?”

The proficiency level recorded should reflect the student’s current performance in relation to the full grade-level standard and proficiency scale, even if every portion of the standard has not yet been taught.

Teachers should enter a proficiency level whenever they have enough meaningful evidence to make a reasonable determination. This does not require perfect or exhaustive evidence. If the evidence available provides a reasonable picture of where the student currently is, that information should be recorded.

A blank should generally indicate that there is not yet enough evidence to make a reasonable determination.

Why does this matter?
Quarterly proficiency levels create a record of student learning over time.

Even though elementary report cards are only generated at the end of Semester 1 and Semester 2, Quarter 1 and Quarter 3 scores still provide valuable snapshots. These records can:

  • Help document student growth across the year,
  • Provide useful information if a student transfers to another school or district,
  • Support communication with parents and future teachers, and
  • Ensure that reported proficiency levels accurately reflect what students currently know and can do.

Ideally, the information entered in Skyward should not be a surprise to families. Teachers should be communicating student progress early, often, and consistently throughout the year.

What should be recorded at each checkpoint?
Quarter 1 - Snapshot - Record current proficiency levels for the strands where you have meaningful evidence. Students are still early in the learning process, so Level 1 and Level 2 scores may be entirely appropriate.

Semester 1 - Semester Picture - Review and reconcile the Semester 1 proficiency level for each strand that has been meaningfully measured. In English Language Arts, students should have a proficiency level for all three strands: Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening.

Some areas in other subjects may still be blank if they have not yet been sufficiently measured.

Quarter 3 - Updated Snapshot - Update proficiency levels based on the evidence collected since Semester 1. The picture of student learning should continue to become more complete as the year progresses.

Semester 2 - Complete Picture - By the end of the year, the full grade-level core should have been taught, and teachers should generally have a proficiency level recorded for every strand.

There may be rare circumstances where an exception is appropriate. In those cases, teachers should work with their administrator.

One important reminder
A proficiency level is not based on whether a student is “on track for this time of year.” It is based on the full-year proficiency scale.

For example, if a student has successfully learned everything that has been taught so far but their current evidence places them at Level 2 on the full standard, Level 2 is the accurate proficiency level to report.

The purpose of Grade Transmittal Day is simple:

Review the evidence → Reconcile the overall proficiency level → Document where the student is right now.

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TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Buddy Alger, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, School Psychology Administrator

A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for
Friday, October 30, 2026 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Please bring your laptops to this meeting. Buddy Alger and Jeff Morris will provide us with training on Ken Ginsburg’s Reaching Teens materials. Julia Connelly, Ph.D., Director of Spectropolis, will provide us with a presentation on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).

Part-time Staff: I would appreciate it if you could adjust your schedules in order to attend this meeting.

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TO:
All School Principals

FROM:
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent

Principals, please personally invite your School Community Council chair to attend this important meeting with the Jordan District Board Members.

On behalf of the Jordan School District Board of Education, we invite you to the upcoming Jordan Parent Advisory Committee (JPAC) meeting.

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Time: 6:30–8:00 pm
Location: Jordan Learning Center, 3706 W. 9800 S., South Jordan.
(The Learning Center is located directly across the street from Elk Ridge Middle School)

Your insights and participation are very important to us. If you are unable to attend, please ensure another parent representative from your School Community Council attends in your place.

We look forward to a productive meeting and to seeing you there!

 

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TO:
All Employees

FROM:
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent

The 6th annual Health and Wellness Day is back again, will be bigger than ever, and will be here before we know it! Employees can look forward to connecting with colleagues and prioritizing their well-being through a variety of wellness offers across the District. Mark your calendar because you won’t want to miss this!

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Published on

DATE:
October 15, 2026

TO: 
All Administrators & Threat Assessment Teams

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Buddy Alger, Director of Student Services
Angie Rasmussen, CARE Team Specialist

SUBJECT:  
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Training

CSTAG training consists of two (2) training levels, Level 1 and Level 2. Both levels must be completed by all administrators and threat assessment team members.  CSTAG Level 2 training is for all who have completed the Level 1 training (the web-based training from Navigate360). Level 2 training builds upon your knowledge of threat assessment by providing practical application and implementation of the CSTAG process in your school.

New Administrators and Administrative Interns are encouraged to attend.

Select the link to register for a session of CSTAG Level 2 training.

In-Person CSTAG Level Two Training:
Friday, November 13th (In-Person) 1-3PM
District Office Room 129
Registration Link

Other important CSTAG reminders: If your school wants to train a staff member or threat assessment team member that is not an administrator in CSTAG level 1, please email angie.rassumussen@jordandistrict.org the request with the person’s name, title, and email address. CSTAG Level 1 is web-based through Navigate 360 and costs $100 per person. A request for reimbursement will be sent to the school after the staff member has been added.

To access CSTAG documents and resources use this link: CSTAG Resources

We look forward to learning more about your school's violence prevention initiatives and CSTAG implementation, or assisting you with customized training needs. To schedule a meeting, please contact Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.

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TO:
All School Administrators
All School Admin Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Steffany Ellsworth, Assistant Director, Information Systems

ParentSquare Pointers – New Feature Alert!

New Contact Log for Principals and School Admin

Need to confirm a parent received the message? The Contact Log puts 60 days of  communication history right at your fingertips. Principals and School Admins can easily search  contact history for staff, parent, or student’s – filtering by type, site, and date range to verify  what was sent in seconds.

To find this new feature make sure you are in the Admin tab, located in the upper left-hand corner, then follow these four steps:

  • find Data Assistant
  • click on either Students, Parents, or Staff
  • search and click on the name of the user
  • under Activity in the left sidebar, click Contact Log

If you have any questions please reach out to Information Systems Help Desk, (801) 567-8737  – ext. 88737. Or for Contact Log FAQs from ParentSquare just click here!

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DATE: 
October 8, 2026

TO:  
Principals       
All Special Educators and Related Service Providers

FROM: 
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Brain King, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT: 
Important Deadline--Please Read Immediately
SCRAM Data Due by the end of day Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Updating SCRAM for December 1 Funding Count

For the 2026-27 school year our procedure will be to Submit IEP (SCRAM) electronically through Embrace ONLY.

 Please be sure to Submit IEP (SCRAM) immediately after holding an IEP meeting or Amendments.

NEW PROCESS FOR CHANGES/CORRECTIONS:
Mark/Add changes and/or corrections ON the SCRAM report, sign it, and return to Jen Warkentine at the District Office. Do not Submit IEP (SCRAM) through Embrace for corrections, unless it’s for a NEW student or an Initial Eval.
Jen will verify the changes on the report and contact you if further action needs to be taken.
*Preschool/CDC, please refer to Merrie Allen for procedures.*
If you have any questions. Please contact the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school or Jen Warkentine, jen.warkentine@jordandistrict.org.

 Reminders:

  • Please take note of the date that the report was printed (top right corner) and be aware that if IEP (SCRAM) documents were submitted after the print date, they will not appear on the report, but submitting multiple events is not necessary and slows the entry process.
  • You must click Submit IEP button, to notify Jen Warkentine that there has been a change to the student's service and placement page, or the enrollment tracking.

This report reflects students served during the current school year. Carefully review the following:

Check mark (√ ) in front of the student’s name
Put a check mark in front of each student’s name, if ALL information is correct (the student is currently enrolled and scrammed at your school and receives the same special education/related services and minutes listed on the report). The SCRAM document must match the student’s active IEP.

  • If a student being served in special education is not on the SCRAM report, please Submit an IEP (SCRAM) document with the entry date reflecting the date services began for this school year by the end of day Wednesday, November 04, 2026. If they are not on this printout, they are not on record as receiving services at your school.
  • Cross out any students who are no longer receiving services at your school. Fill out the Enrollment tracking, and Submit an IEP (SCRAM) document. An IEP (SCRAM) can be submitted multiple times, so please be sure to click Submit IEP, to notify Jen Warkentine that there is a change to the enrollment. If an exit date is already listed in the SCRAM exit column on the report, nothing else needs to be done. Students who are released from services and are still active at your school will continue to appear on the report until the end of the year with the date they were exited from services.
  • If you are not aware of a student that is listed on the printout (and the student has not been exited from services), you should follow-up with that student who is now in your building. Sometimes teams are not aware of students who have entered their school and should be receiving services. Please Submit an IEP (SCRAM), which either identifies the services the student will receive or which exits the student from services (procedures must be followed for terminating a student from services).
  • If the IEP team has changed a student’s services, the changes must be documented on the Service and Placement page and a new IEP (SCRAM) document must be submitted by clicking Submit IEP. Remember that parents must be involved in any decision to amend IEP services and must receive a copy of the revised IEP.
  • Students classified as Developmentally Delayed (DD) must be re-classified prior to their 9th birthday (regardless of the 3-year re-evaluation due date). Students who maintain a DD classification after their 9th birthday cannot be submitted for funding and will not be counted towards your schools’ numbers for staffing purposes.

Every section of the Service and Placement page must be filled out completely, and IEP (SCRAM) document submitted, or the student’s record cannot be submitted to the State for funding (this includes the student number, school name, eligibility, all services and amount of time per week, start/end dates, environment and regular percent codes, health services, etc.). If information is missing, the record will not be sent to the State for funding counts.

Please make sure to correctly fill out the Assessment Addendum form, with current year and next year participation of the Alternate Assessment by marking PAA in the appropriate boxes, if the student will be taking the DLM/alternative testing as per their IEP. Additionally, students classified as EBD, SLI or SLD should not be marked as DLM/alternative testing, as the state does not consider them to have significant cognitive disability. If they do qualify, they will need to be re-classified.

We recognize that the timeline for submitting this required information is short, but all data must be entered into Skyward by December 1 to make the submission deadline for the Utah State Office of Education.

 If you have questions contact the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school or Jen Warkentine at (801)567-8207. Thank you for your conscientious efforts to complete this critical information. The deadline for returning SCRAM reports and all corrected information and/or new SCRAM information is listed below:

Friday, November 4, 2026

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TO:
Elementary, Middle, and High School Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning

JSD Content Proficiency Scales

Following Jan Hoegh’s presentation to school-level administrators at the Principals Meeting on October 6, we would like to reshare our JSD Content Proficiency Scales.

Together, district teacher teams and Teaching & Learning have developed power standards and corresponding proficiency scales for Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, PE, Health, and Music. These scales serve as exemplars and anchors for grade-level expectations, ensuring Level 3 indicators align precisely with the depth and rigor of the Utah Core Standards.

To access the standards, scales, and integration resources for planning, instruction, assessment, and feedback, enroll in the new JSD Content Proficiency Scales Canvas course.

⚠️ Important Note on Math Standards: The State Board of Education (USBE) is currently reviewing math standards and is expected to release updates soon. Consequently, the development of math power standards and proficiency scales is paused until those official updates are released.

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TO:
JSD Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Curtis Jenson, Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning

We had the chance in this week’s Principal meeting to spend the day with Jan Hoegh talking about how our work over the past year with Proficiency Scales translates into next steps with assessment and reporting. While we do that work, we have the unique chance to participate in a book study with Jan this spring using her book Planning & Teaching in the Standards-Based Classroom.

 The book study will happen during three 75-minute virtual sessions with Jan Hoegh. While dates are still being finalized, they will occur in February, March and April of 2027. We will provide all participants with a copy of the book to use throughout the book study and beyond. All JSD administrators are invited to participate in this optional book study.

Interested? Let us know here and we’ll get you a copy of the book.

We’ll keep you posted on exact dates and times for the book study. We just want it to be on your radar while it’s fresh. It’s unusual to get the chance to talk in this setting with the leading expert in the field while we’re actually doing the things she’s writing about. If you’re interested, let us know and we’ll get the book for you. If the final dates for the book study don’t work for you, at least you have access to the source material.

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