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TO:
Middle & High Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Chris Richards Khong, Associate Administrator of Teaching and Learning


As announced to the AP community, the AP Program is accelerating the transition to digital testing to ensure the continued security of AP Exams. All schools must administer these 28 AP Exams digitally. Late-testing exams in these subjects, if offered by the school, are also in digital format.

For the full list of exams going digital, hybrid, and staying paper-pencil, please visit the main announcement page link listed on the resource page attached to this JAM message.

Overview webinars will be held on Thursday, September 12th and Monday, September 15th, 2024. Registration information for webinars is located on the resource page attached to this JAM message.

Action required: Please make certain your AP Coordinator and AP teachers have this exam information and the resources attached to this JAM message.

 

 

DATE:     
August 8, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Jordan School District Nurses

SUBJECT:    
Immunization Policy and Guidelines, Skyward and USIIS Inservice


Jordan School District Nurses will be conducting this inservice on:

Friday, September 20, 2024
9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
ASB (Auxiliary Services Building), PDC Room 102

This inservice is open to all office staff and administrators. It is not required that you attend; however, if you are involved with student registration, this inservice will be of benefit to you since immunization status is an important part of the registration process.

Class size is limited. Please contact your school nurse if you are planning to attend. See attached nurse assignment list for 2024-25.

DATE:
August 8, 2024

TO:  
All Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:    
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Jordan District Nurses

SUBJECT: 
Medication Administration Training


Utah State Law and District Policy requires that all school personnel delegated to administer medication to students in schools must complete Medication Administration Training.

New employees who will be giving medication are required to attend the live training on Friday, September 13, 2024. Prior to this meeting, they need to view the online training, click on this link Jordan Nursing Services click on Medications, and then Medication Inservice (use a browser other than Firefox).

Employees who have attended this training and have a certificate of completion will not be required to attend this meeting. However, they will be required to recertify by viewing the online training video and completing the corresponding test available on the district website.
(see above)

Please identify staff members that should receive medication administration training. This may include head administrative assistants, office assistants, cluster teachers or aides, counseling center personnel, and the principal if appropriate. Please inform all personnel that have the potential to administer medication to students at school of their responsibilities in this matter.

Medication Administration Training
Friday, September 13, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
District Office Room 129 

Class size is limited. Please contact your school nurse if you are planning to attend. See attached nurse assignment list. Thank you for your responsiveness and support.

DATE:
August 8, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services

SUBJECT:
Panorama Student Feedback Surveys


The student feedback survey conducted within Panorama is to assist schools in providing accurate student and school-wide interventions when needed as well as to inform schools regarding student perception regarding their wellness. These surveys may not be a part of any grade and are never required and always optional for parents/students to take.

53#-9-203 requires prior written consent when a student registers for surveys related to an early warning system. This consent will be included in both the online and printed registration process. Please refer to the “Parental Consent for Surveys” JAM (June 2024) for more information. Only those students whose parents have opted in may take the survey.

The Panorama student feedback survey windows for the 2024-25 school year are as follows (please share with your survey coordinator and other relevant staff):

Fall Winter Spring
Aug. 30-Sept. 20, 2024 Jan. 22-Feb. 21, 2025 April 18-May 16, 2025

Survey information, questions, results, and survey window dates can be found here.

Information and instructions for administering the student feedback surveys may be accessed here.

DATE:   
July 1, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Special Education Teachers (Preschool and School-Age) Speech-Language Pathologists

FROM: 
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:   
Extended Year Special Educator Stipends 2024-25


The legislation allows a specific group of special educators to work up to 5 additional days for a $200/day stipend (plus applicable benefits). The Bill applies to Special Education Teachers (Preschool and School- Age) and Speech-Language Pathologists only (Speech-Language Technicians are not included). The number of days and stipend amount are based upon the educators assigned FTE equivalent. Please note that eligible staff will only be allowed to work these days two weeks before the first contract day of the 2024-25 school year and two weeks after the last contract day of the 2024-25 school year, not during vacation periods (e.g., holiday recess, Spring Break, etc.). Please see attached memo for more information.

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Kurt Prusse, Director of Central Warehouse
Brandon Sax, Warehouse Coordinator


The Central Warehouse is disposing of all its expired hand sanitizer. If any school has expired hand sanitizer, whether it originally came from the warehouse or if you purchased it during the Covid-19 era, the Central Warehouse will dispose of it for you.

After August 7 we will no longer be accepting old hand sanitizer and schools will have to dispose of the rest on their own. We need a final count so we can get quotes from hazardous waste disposal companies that can remove this for us. We are compiling a list of schools so we can coordinate pickup before August 7. Please call Lisa Costanza at x88899 or email her, lisa.costanza@jordandistrict.org, if you have sanitizer you would like picked up.

We would greatly appreciate your cooperation in this effort. If you have any questions please let us know.

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager in Information Systems


Missed our ParentSquare training for office staff? No worries! We've got you covered with additional opportunities to jump on board, including online sessions! Check out this sign up sheet for a list of dates offered and join us!

For those of you that have already attended a training session, here is the link to access the slides from that training: ParentSquare Training

DATE:   
Thursday, July 25, 2024

TO:  
High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
ACT Changes and Enhancements


ACT recently announced changes to the ACT test for both national testing as well as the state-mandated 11th grade administration. The official announcement from ACT may be accessed in its entirety here. Following is a summary of the announced changes:

New National ACT Testing Options

The following ACT test enhancements for national testing will be rolled out starting the spring of 2025:

  • The ACT test enhancements are designed to offer more flexibility and choice for states, districts, and students.
  • The test sections of English, math, and reading will remain as the core sections of the ACT test that will result in a college-reportable composite score.
    • Science will be removed from the ACT test. However, students will have the option to take the ACT, the ACT + Science, the ACT + Writing, or the ACT + Science and Writing.
    • Students can choose to take the science and/or writing section, but they will not be included in the ACT composite score. If the science test is taken, it will be used to calculate a STEM score.
  • The test length will be reduced by up to one-third using shorter reading passages on the English and reading sections and fewer question items in all sections (44 fewer questions in all).
    • The new core test (without science) will take about two hours to complete.

State-mandated 11th Grade Administration

The ACT test enhancements for the 11th grade administration will be rolled out beginning in the spring of 2026 (no changes for the 2024-25 11th grade administration of the ACT):

  • The core ACT test sections of English, math, reading, and science will remain.
  • The test length will be reduced by using shorter passages in English and fewer question items in three of the four sections (44 fewer questions in all).
  • The science section will have the same number of items (40), but more time to complete them (45 minutes).
  • New science content has been added that will relate to the three-dimensional standards, thus helping it align better with the Utah SEED standards.
  • Utah will continue testing science on the 11th grade administration until the end of its contract with ACT in 2027.

For questions about these changes, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

DATE:      
Thursday, July 25, 2024

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators
Middle School Administrators
High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:     
Fall 2024 Testing Bulletin


Check out your level specific testing bulletin.

 

DATE: 
Thursday, July 25, 2024

TO:  
Middle and High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
2023-24 AP Results Updated in Tableau


The AP Analysis Dashboard has been updated with 2023-24 AP exam data in Tableau. School administrators may access both district and school dashboards here.

School administrators will be able to view participation rates, pass rates, and a distribution of scores by school, discipline, and assessment from 2014 to 2024. In addition, the dashboard also contains scores by AP teacher and student.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability with any questions about the AP Analysis Dashboard.

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning


The district-wide professional development day is on August 13th, 2024.

All licensed personnel are required to select and attend a keynote speaker in the morning and are required to attend a corresponding session to their assignment in the afternoon.

Please remind your teachers to sign up for a keynote ASAP if they haven’t already.

Please contact your AOS if questions arise about teachers with unique assignments. Administrators who are NOT hosting at a particular location should be in attendance with teachers. Divide your administrative team accordingly.

To register for a morning keynote:

  1. Please choose a speaker and then register for a keynote speaker using this link. Keynote speakers are NOT content specific. The topics and location information for each keynote speaker are included in the registration information.

Review Your Assigned Afternoon Grade Level/Content Area Schedule

  1. Please review the following flyer to see the lineup of presenters at your content area location. The afternoon breakout sessions on August 13th, ARE specific to content area and grade level. You do not need to pre-register for the afternoon breakouts. You will have time to eat lunch and transition to your content location after the morning keynote.

 

DATE: 
July 25, 2024

TO:
All Elementary Principals

FROM:     
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services/Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:   
Utah Symphony Performance at Abravanel Hall for 5th-Grade Students


We are pleased to announce Utah Symphony concerts for the 5th-grade students at Abravanel Hall. The performance dates are February 4 and 5, 2024 at 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. Your school’s date and time are provided on the attached spreadsheet. Please note that there are no assigned seats. School groups will be seated upon arrival.

The Utah Symphony will provide study materials to prepare your students before the performance.

Please have your administrative assistant complete a transportation request on Skyward (your school's date and time are shown on the spreadsheet). The number of teachers (which may also include a parent and two chaperones for each class) should be included in your school’s final count. When entering your busing request, please include the correct group name (e.g. Daybreak, 115 Curr). This will ensure that the Teaching and Learning Department will cover the busing fee.

Transportation requests should be completed as soon as possible. Due to the number of buses needed for the Symphony concerts, there will be a moratorium on other transportation requests for these dates.

DATE:   
July 25, 2024

TO:   
All Elementary Principals

FROM:  
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services/Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT: 
Utah Symphony Performance at Mountain Ridge High School for 4th Grade Students


We are pleased to announce Utah Symphony concerts for your 4th-grade students at Mt. Ridge High School. The performance dates are November 4 and 5, 2024 at 10:15 and 11:35 a.m. Your school’s date and time for attending the performance are provided on the attached spreadsheet. School groups will be seated upon arrival.

The Utah Symphony will provide study materials to prepare your students before the performance.

Please have your administrative assistant complete a transportation request on Skyward (your school's date and time are shown on the spreadsheet). The number of teachers (which may also include a parent and two chaperones for each class) should be included in your school’s final count. When entering your busing request, please include the correct group name (e.g. Daybreak, 115 Curr). This will ensure that the Teaching and Learning Department will cover the busing fee.

Transportation requests should be completed as soon as possible. Due to the number of buses that need to be used for the Symphony concerts, there will be a moratorium on other transportation requests for these dates.

TO:
Directors

FROM:
June LeMaster, Administrator Human Resources
Jane Olsen, Recruiting, Licensing & Hiring in Human Resources


Last Chance to reserve a table!

Greetings!

As part of the 2024-2025 New Educator Induction we are offering an opportunity to interact with our anticipated 400 new educators.

During our lunch break on August 9th an optional Meet & Greet will be held at Bingham High. Arrival/setup time would be 11:00 A.M. and departure/take down time would be 1:45 P.M. *Please take note that lunch is only provided for our new educators. *

See the documents below for all of the details.

DATE:   
July 26, 2024

TO:
Secondary Principals
Secondary Media Specialists

FROM:  
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services Consultant

SUBJECT:
Networking Meetings for Secondary Library Media Specialists


To prepare and train secondary library media specialists (teacher-librarians) to effectively provide services to their schools and to build consistency across the District’s library programs, networking meetings have been scheduled for the 2024-25 school year. The participation of your school’s teacher-librarians in these meetings is appreciated.

The meetings will be held on the following dates:

  • September 11, 2024 (Riverton High) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • October 30, 2024 (Viridian Center) 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
  • November 13, 2024 (South Jordan Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • January 8, 2025 (Copper Mountain Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m
  • February 5, 2025 (Oquirrh Hills Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m
  • March 2025 (UELMA Conference, Date TBD)
  • April 16, 2025 (South Hills Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m
  • May 14, 2025 (ASB Auditorium) 8:00-11:00 a.m

Please share this information with your school’s teacher-librarian.

Please contact Norman Emerson (801-567-8364) if further information is needed. Thank you for your continued support of the library media programs in Jordan District.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
June LeMaster, Administrator Human Resources
Jane Olsen, Recruiting, Licensing & Hiring in Human Resources


Administrators, Save the Date! See all of the important information on the two documents below.

DATE:
July 26, 2024

TO: 
Elementary Principals
Elementary Media Assistants

FROM: 
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services Consultant

SUBJECT:  
Quarterly Training Meetings for Elementary Media Assistants


To prepare and train elementary library media assistants to effectively provide services to elementary schools and to build consistency across elementary library programs, training meetings have been scheduled for the 2024-25 school year. The participation of both of your library assistants in these meetings is appreciated and expected. The meetings are to be included in the assistants' weekly allotment of 17 hours. Except for August 21, 2024, they have been scheduled on Fridays.

The meetings will be held as follows:

  • August 21, 2024 - JATC South, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
  • October 18, 2024 - JATC South, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
  • January 24, 2025 - Viridian Event Center 8:30-10:30 a.m.
  • April 25, 2025 - JATC South, JATC South, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Please share this information with your school’s elementary media assistants.

Please contact Norman Emerson at 801-567-8364 if further information is needed. Thank you for your continued support of the library media program in the Jordan School District.

DATE:        
July 25, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Resource Officers

FROM:   
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator

SUBJECT:  
District SRO Training


The annual District School Resource Officer training will be held as shown below and is required for each SRO and at least one administrator. Additional administrators are welcome if desired.

Date: Friday, September 6th
Time: 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Location: ASB Presentation Room

Please contact District School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at (801) 567-8623 if you have any questions.

DATE:  
July 25, 2024

TO: 
Elementary Principals

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Norman Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
BTSALP Funding for 2024-25 School Year


During the 2024 legislative session, the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program funding formula was changed. Instead of allocating up to 80% of BTS Arts educators’ loaded salaries to LEAs, a uniform amount is being provided to districts per teacher. This will negatively impact some schools since they would need to come up with an amount that perhaps would exceed 20% of the loaded salary under the new funding formula.

To prevent most schools from paying unexpected increases for the new school year, the district will subsidize the school’s portion for the 2024-2025 school year and keep the current funding structure of 20% in place as in the past. Moving forward the district will work to equalize funding to offset increasing costs, but an increase in overall BTS expenses is anticipated.

Your school’s financial dashboard has been updated to reflect the BTS FTE allotment you will receive and the percentage your school will be expected to pay this year. Further information will be provided at the principal’s meeting in August.