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Month: December 2017

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Elementary principals and assistant principals are invited to attend a training on the new Milestone Surveillance Software.

Each training will be approximately 60-90 minutes and will be held in the Presentation Room at the Auxiliary Services Building on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 9:00 a.m. or Wednesday, December 13, 2017, 2:00 p.m.

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DATE:
December 4, 2017

TO:
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Volunteer Hours

Volunteer reports need to be submitted to Educational Support Services.

Workmans Compensation insurance costs are based on numbers submitted by schools.  It is important that this information be accurate and complete.

PTA figures must be separate from other volunteer hours.

Attached is a copy of the Volunteer Report for the period from August 1, 2017 to November 30, 2017.

 

Please complete this form and return it to

Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Educational Support Services by

December 22, 2017.

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All Journeys weekly assessments (comprehension, vocabulary, decoding, etc.) for grades 1 – 6 have been uploaded to Mastery Connect.  To avoid copyright issues, they have been entered in the same fashion as the math assessments.  Teachers will need to access the test using their Journeys resources and can then enter student scores into Mastery Connect for data collection and analysis.  In order for teachers to find these assessments we have used a common naming convention as follows:

            Lesson #   Test Type-   Journeys (JSD)

            Example:   L5 Vocabulary- Journeys (JSD)

Several teachers have entered Journeys tests previously; some have made changes to the tests.  Teachers can verify the test is one entered by the district by checking that it is “Created By:  Miss Elementary Language Arts Team.” 

Please be certain that teachers who may have entered these assessments on their own are aware the tests must be made ‘Private to District.’  If they have not done so, it is a violation of copyright and I would suggest they go in and make this change OR delete their entry as soon as possible.

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The biannual Literacy Promise Conference is scheduled for March 28 – 30, 2018.  There’s an excellent lineup of presenters, including Doug Fisher.  The featured author keynote is James Dashner (Maze Runner series).  Fliers have been sent to each school with program and registration information.  The Curriculum Department will pay the registration fee for one administrator per school.  Please send registration forms to Amanda Hansen.  Space is limited, so you’ll want to register as soon as possible.  (Registration forms were distributed at Principals' Meeting on 12/5/17)

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On Tuesday an email was sent from USBE Purchasing staff to all principals requesting some information.  Please disregard this request as it has been taken care of at the District level.  As a reminder, USBE staff is supposed to communicate directly with the District for such requests.  Before investing time into fulfilling USBE requests, please inform your Administrator of Schools of the request.

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DATE:
December 1, 2017

TO:
High School and Center-Based School Principals
High School Special Education Team Leaders

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Admin. of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:
Destruction of Special Education Records

School districts are required to keep special education records five years past the student’s twenty-second birthday. In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Jordan School District must notify parents and afford them the opportunity to receive special education records before destruction of those records can occur.

As of December 1, 2017, such notice will have been advertised to parents for students whose birthdates are prior to September, 1991 (i.e., students who are 27 years of age).  Any records for this time period that have not been requested by January 31, 2018 should be submitted for destruction following the procedures identified below:

  1. A list must be submitted to the special education teacher specialist assigned to your school which identifies each student’s name, birthdate and student number for all files to be destroyed.
  2. The special education teacher specialist will review the list and notify the team once it is verified that the records may be submitted for destruction.
  3. NEW PROCEDURE: Follow the Shredding of Confidential Records procedures outlined in the September 8, 2014 memo from Auxiliary Services which reads:

Records to be destroyed will now need to be retained in a secure place at your school. When you have accumulated more than 10 boxes, please contact Columbus Secure Document Solutions at 801-262-1588 to schedule pickup and disposal.

Please remove records from loose leaf binders or hanging file folders. All confidential records must be boxed, taped shut and visibly labeled as CONFIDENTIAL TO BE DESTROYED. Boxes not secured and labeled will not be accepted. Please collect all boxes in one central location. At the scheduled date and time, please have someone available to direct workers where the boxes are for quick and efficient pick up.

Note that special education records may be submitted for destruction at any time after January 31, 2018 as long as the destruction meets the criteria and has been approved by the special education department.

  1. Please remember that the Utah State Records Retention Schedule mandates that student transcripts be retained permanently.

If you have questions, please call the special education teacher specialist assigned to your school.

cc:
Paul Bergera, Auxiliary Services
Susan Sudbury,  Placement Office
Travis Hamblin, Student Services
Sandra Riesgraf, Communications

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, November 30, 2017

TO:
Principals and District Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Changes in the USBE Testing Ethics Policy

On November 2, 2017, the Utah State Board of Education revised and approved the 2017-18 Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy for Utah Educators.  USBE has requested that we distribute this revised policy to educators who will proctor or administer any state-mandated testing during the 2017-18 school year.

The changes to this policy focus primarily on incentives and disincentives for students taking state-mandated tests.  In addition, some clarification was provided on how SAGE test results can and cannot be used (see Summary of Changes: 2017-18 Utah Testing Ethics Policy document attached with this memo).

These changes do not require re-training of personnel.  Principals and district administrators are asked to distribute the USBE policy document and Summary of Changes: 2017-18 Utah Testing Ethics Policy that accompany this memo to faculty and staff responsible for testing before the Winter Break.  It is also recommended that this policy be available when principals train faculty members in preparation for the 2017-18 SAGE administration.

Please refer to Ben Jameson in the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department with any questions or concerns.  He can be reached at 801-567-8243 or ben.jameson@jordandistrict.org