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Author: bgroo

Published on

DATE:
April 30, 2026

TO:
All School Administrators 

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers,  Health and Wellness

SUBJECT:
FREE Mental Health Education for Parents and Caregivers

Jordan District has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to provide ongoing mental health education for parents and caregivers. This collaboration offers FREE access to live, virtual educational sessions covering various topics. Please share the following resources with your school community: 

  • A calendar for May’s Mental Health Series sessions is attached. Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. Previously recorded seminars can be accessed through a comprehensive library of sessions and resources for each topic. You can access the library of recorded sessions at any time by visiting this site: https://parentguidance.org/mhsindex. 
  • Included in the mental health series is a "Watch Together Series" to highlight for families. While the Mental Health Series is designed for parents, these “Watch Together” events are for the whole family, especially teens and young adults. In this series, each month, you'll meet a new animated character facing real challenges that teens and young adults experience. Together, you and your family can watch their story and learn how to start meaningful conversations at home.
    • May Event: Abuse Survivor - Emily 

Together, teens and parents will watch an animated story about Emily. Emily is living in an abusive home and stays silent to protect her mom. This session explores the fear, guilt, and shame that often accompany abuse—and how healing begins when someone feels safe enough to speak. Families will learn how to recognize subtle signs of abuse or trauma, how to create trust with teens who may be hiding pain. In this interactive session, parents and teens will see the difference between “fixing” and “listening,” and how to identify safe adults who can help.

Wednesday, May 13th at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm MST  REGISTER NOW

Please share the attached flyers/resources with your school communities. Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

DATE:
April 30, 2026

TO:
Building Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Sharon Jensen, Consultant, Student Support Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT:
Save the Date: Summer 2026 Discipline Training for New Admin

Student Services is happy to provide the following training for administrators new to Jordan School District and for administrative interns:

Date Time Location Intended Audience Topic
Tuesday, July 28 8 AM – 12 PM ASB Presentation Room New Administrators & Administrative Interns Sharon Jensen:

  • Investigations
  • Searches
  • District Hearings

Caleb Olson

  • Skyward Logging

Administrators new to Jordan School District and administrative interns will be invited by Student Services.

Please Note: This training is NOT a regularly scheduled work day for administrative interns. Your flexibility in working with your intern to enable them to attend is greatly appreciated.

Current administrators who would like a refresher on discipline practices may attend the training as well. Please contact Caleb Olson via email to register.

Discipline Updates for 2026-27: At present, no training on discipline updates for current administrators is planned. Updates, if needed, will be communicated by JAM or through other means. 

Published on

DATE:
April 30, 2026

TO:
All District Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT:
“Anyone with the Link” Files in Google Drive (April 2026)

Throughout the District’s Google Drive system, there are numerous files that are set to be visible or editable by “anyone with the link.” There are a number of use cases where having publicly accessible files in Drive can be a benefit; however, these files often contain student or employee data that should not be publicly shared. Making this data publicly accessible can result in a data incident or breach.

Changes may be implemented in the future to reduce the possible risks of files shared to “anyone with the link.” At this time, however, all employees are requested to review their own Drive for files that may be shared incorrectly and to either delete the files or make the necessary adjustments to sharing. 

The steps to accomplish this review are below, as well as the text of the directions which will be shared with employees in JEM. Principals are asked to remind faculty of this JEM item and/or to make time available for digital coaches to demonstrate how to search for files. No monitoring or reporting of completion is requested or required at this time.

Steps to Review Sharing:

  1. Sign in to Google Drive using your jordandistrict.org credentials.
  2. Near the top of the page, look for a button/menu labeled “People”.
  3. Click on this button and select “Anyone with the link.” This will filter files to only those that are publicly shared.
  4. Review the files. Old files that are no longer needed can be deleted. Files that should not be publicly shared should have their settings changed by right-clicking the file and selecting the “Share” item. 

These steps will show publicly shared files in a personal Drive only. Many files, particularly those with student data, are in Shared Drives. These steps will need to be repeated inside a Shared Drive to identify files that need review.

Lock Your Drive!

You wouldn’t leave your front door open when no one was home, or leave a car unlocked in a full parking lot, so why leave your files open and accessible? Across the District, a significant number of files in Google Drive have a sharing status where “anyone with the link” can view or edit. While this might be appropriate for certain situations, any file with student or employee data should only be shared with Jordandistrict.org - or better yet, only with those who have a legitimate need to access the file.

Checking your files is easy! Just do the following:

  1. Sign in to your jordandistrict.org Google Drive using the “waffle” or by opening http://drive.google.com.
  2. Under the “People” menu at the top of the page, select “Anyone with the link” (your menu may be slightly different - that’s okay!).
  3. That’s it! You should see a list of all the files in your personal Drive that are set to be publicly accessible. If you manage or are a member of a Shared Drive, you will need to open the Shared Drive and follow these same steps.

 

Once you have identified the files that are shared publicly, you should go through and ensure that any files containing student or employee data are no longer shared publicly. You can do this by right-clicking on a file and selecting the “Share” menu.

BONUS TIP! You may have files that are set to be publicly shared that are located all throughout your Drive. If these files need to be kept publicly accessible, consider making a folder in your Drive called “Public Files” and moving the files here. To add another layer of monitoring, you can add an indicator to the file name, such as “[PUBLIC]”, to make sure you remember these files are public and should not contain student or employee data.

 

 

Published on

DATE:
April 30, 2026

TO:
Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

SUBJECT:
2025-26: Entering Attendance in Skyward for the Last Six (6) Days of the School Year

PRINCIPALS: Please ensure attendance staff receive this memo, as many do not receive the JAM directly.

Daily attendance for students will be taken up to the very end of the school year. Attendance notices will go home to families which will report accurate information as students attend school through the end of the school year.  The “same as” attendance dates utility in Skyward may be applied after the last notice is sent home to parents on the last day of school.  

  • Elementary School attendance calls go out at 10:30 am (PM Kindergarten at 1:45 pm Mon-Thu and 12:45 pm Fri) – The “same as” days may be applied any time after 10:30 am on the last day of school and must be completed by 5:00 pm on the last day of school.   
  • Secondary School attendance notices go out at 6:00 pm and “same as” day utilities must be completed by Monday, June 8 at 3:00 pm.  

Please refer to the following documentation from Information Systems on running the attendance utility and related reports:

Published on

DATE:
April 30, 2026

TO:
Building Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT:
2026-27 Save the Date: Back-to-School Attendance/Registrar Training

Elementary administrative assistants, secondary attendance secretaries, and secondary registrars are invited to “save the date” for a Back-to-School Attendance/Registrar Training:

When: Friday, August 7, 2026
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: ASB Auditorium

The training will contain information and updates for the 2026-27 school year. The agenda will be communicated out later this summer.

Due to space limitations, we would ask that only the elementary administrative assistant, head secondary attendance secretary, and secondary registrar for each school attend. 

Staff may sign up at the link below to attend. Sign up is not required to attend, but those who sign up will receive a reminder later in the summer with the planned agenda.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HNhaMz0go1O6oEOcD29StwNG08SBcoKiEtQAqM-isUQ/edit?usp=sharing 

Published on

TO:
Elementary Administrators

FROM:
JAESP

Please submit questions to be discussed by JAESP committee and Cabinet by the first Tuesday of each month. You may submit concerns or questions using the Google Form below OR you may send items to be discussed directly to Megan Cox at Rose Creek, Garett York at Southland, Jessica Stowe at Bastian or Ronna Hoffman at Oak Leaf.

Google Form Link

All items will be discussed anonymously as we work to provide clarification and solutions to concerns of elementary administrators.

Notes of the discussions will be published on a Google Doc titled "JAESP Committee Notes 2025-26" which will be shared with Elementary Administrators.

Published on

TO:  
All Administrators

FROM:
Jordan School District Cabinet Members

The Administrative Leadership Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4, 2026, and Thursday, August 6, 2026, at West Hills Middle School. All administrators should plan to attend on both days.

Published on

DATE: 
April 16, 2026

 TO: 
Jordan District Administrators, Directors

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:
Time Schedule for the Last Day of School

Please review this memo carefully for your school dismissal time, and convey this information to your students and parents.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Jane Olsen, HR Administrator

ANNOUNCEMENT: SUMMER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Educators and Paraprofessionals of Jordan School District,
We are excited to announce a series of summer professional development opportunities provided by the University of Utah, specifically tailored for educators and paraprofessionals. These workshops and courses are designed to address popular and highly requested topics across the state, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of our educational community.

What to Expect:
● Low Cost, High Impact: These opportunities are budget-friendly while offering significant value to help you enhance your skills.
● Wide Range of Topics: The sessions cover a variety of subjects, ensuring there is something for everyone to deepen their knowledge and expertise.
● Designed for You: Specifically created with educators and paraprofessionals in mind, these opportunities focus on practical applications and current educational trends.

For more detailed information, including session topics and registration details, please visit the University of Utah Professional Development.
We encourage all interested staff to take advantage of these offerings to further your professional journey and contribute to the excellence of our educational community.

Published on

TO:
All Principals
Department Directors
School Administrative Assistants

SUBJECT:
Requests for 2026-2027 Special Calendars – Licensed Only

Your assistance is requested, as the Human Resource Department is preparing special calendars for the 2026-2027 academic year for licensed employees. Special calendars are essential to ensuring appropriate contract pay, time entry, emergency protocols and temporary employee tracking. Employees who meet certain criteria, as listed below, should have a special calendar on file with the Human Resource Department. 

A list of licensed employees at your school/department location who are currently on a special calendar for the 2025-2026 contract year will be emailed to you for review on Monday, April 20, 2026. If needed, please make all appropriate additions, corrections, or other changes by submitting an online Hire/Change form in Skyward to the Human Resource Department. Please follow the additional instructions below.
Criteria for determining if an employee requires a special calendar:

  • 187 Modified/207 Modified-educator who is less than a 1.0 FTE working a schedule that is modified by hours per day or number of days during the week (i.e., .50 FTE working 8 hours every other day, for example)
  • Multiple Location Employees- employees split between two or more locations. 
  • Elementary Job Shares

If you have an employee you would like to review to determine if they may need a special calendar, you may contact the Human Resources Department, HR Assistant Seniors, for assistance. If a list is not included, there are currently no employees on a special calendar at this location.  However, if you anticipate a special calendar for a licensed employee, please follow the instructions below.

Instructions for Special Calendar Requests:

  1. Principals set up a meeting with employee(s) who meet the criteria for a special calendar. Attached is an optional email template that can be modified to fit each employee; however essential information should remain unchanged.
  2. Collaborate with each employee and complete the appropriate calendar for any/all licensed employee(s) on a special calendar found on the HR Connection link.  These calendars are fillable and will self-calculate.
  3. Print the completed calendar, sign and obtain signatures from the employee(s).
  4. Return the original calendar to the Human Resource Department by May 1, 2026 for processing.
  5. If a licensed employee will not continue on a special calendar, an online change form must be completed at the school/department and submitted to the Human Resource Department in Skyward.

Important Reminders:

    • Special Calendars may only be changed twice per contract year.  Revisions must be pre-approved and signed by the principal/director.
    • Special calendars must be followed as outlined.  If a calendared day is missed, the appropriate allocated leave time must be entered in Skyward for that day. (The calendar has a calculator to assist with time entry.)
    • Trade days are problematic and require a change to the employee’s special calendar, written approval by the supervisor, and notification to an HR Administrator, prior to taking leave or modifying their calendar.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.  Failure to follow these procedures may cause an employee to be paid incorrectly. Any questions about this procedure or completing a special calendar should be directed to Julie Sharp, HR Senior Asst Elementary, at (801) 567-8230 or Lisa Garner, HR Senior Asst Secondary, at (801) 567-8226.

AG/bb

Published on

TO:
High School Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Nate Foster, Health & PE Teacher Specialist

Grant funds for Student CPR training will expire at the conclusion of the 25/26 school year. Funding from the state for CPR training will no longer be provided.

CPR Training will still be required as codified in code 53G-10-408 and USBE Rule as R277-465 to provide this instruction to students. LEAs are required to provide CPR instruction to all students consistent with the Health Education Core Standards and as required in Subsection 53G-10-408(5).

Health students do not need to be CPR certified, but are required to receive CPR training as outlined below.

An LEA shall provide hands-on CPR instruction using the following ratios as closely as possible: a student to instructor ratio of no greater than 15:1; and a mannequin to student ratio no greater than 1:6.

Moving forward, there are options for JSD principals and health teachers to choose from to meet the criteria at your school:
1) Provide training from a licensed and CPR Certified Teacher within your school
*2) Schedule JATC-S to deliver this instruction (Contact Sean Garrett. Sean.Garrett@jordandistrict.org)
*3) Contract with the local EMS for a certified instructor to train students
*4) Contract with a third party who specializes in CPR/AED instruction to provide the
Instruction (See attached)

*Options 2-4 would require Principals to build these funds into their budgets for the 26/27 school year.

Published on

DATE:
April 16, 2026

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
Kindergarten Teachers

FROM:
Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Meredith Doleac, Administrator of Schools
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT:
Additional Preparation Days for Kindergarten Teachers

The Jordan School District Board of Education has approved up to 3 additional preparation days per session taught for each kindergarten teacher. Teachers will receive a stipend of $500 per day worked up to the maximum allowed. These days may be used any time before the start of the 2026-2027 school year to meet with parents and students and make preparations for a child’s entry into kindergarten.

Principals should meet with kindergarten teachers to inform them that the preparation days are available and make a plan for how best to utilize the time.

Please complete the Kindergarten Prep Days Stipend timesheet that will be shared with you, or can be found in your Quick Links, print a hard copy with teacher and administrator signatures, and send it in District mail to Shannel Hooper by Friday, August 28, 2026, for payment on the September paycheck. Each principal will need to submit a group timesheet for the days worked.

cc: Cabinet
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll

Published on

DATE:
April 16, 2026

TO:
Elementary Principals
Head Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools
Meredith Doleac, Administrator of Schools
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT:
Elementary Administrative Assistants Trade Days and Summer Hours

Elementary administrative assistants are calendared to work 206 days in a school year, including 5 days in which students and teachers are not in the building. These days generally occur on the Friday after parent-teacher conferences (2) and on grade transmittal days (3). The PTC days can already be traded for the Friday compensation day if the administrative assistant works both evenings of the PTC. They are also allowed to be paid for up to 10 additional optional days during the summer months, which are not included in their 206-day contract. These days are intended to provide additional pay for them to keep up with work, such as student enrollments, over the summer.

Beginning immediately, greater flexibility may be provided to Elementary administrative assistants by:
● Trading up to 5 non-student/teacher work days during the school year to work in the summer months, and/or
● Converting up to 5 optional summer days into pool hours for office assistants to work additional hours from July 2026 to June 2027.

Option 1
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to trade up to 5 contracted days (three grade transmittal and two PTC compensation days) to use as additional work days the following summer. This could provide up to 15 additional work days in the summer.

Option 2
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to convert up to (5) five of their optional summer days into additional pool hours for their office assistants to work July 2026 - June 2027. For every full day that is not used as an additional day by the administrative assistant, 10 hours will be added to the pool hours to be used by the office assistants to work from July 2026 to
June 2027.

Option 3
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to do a combination of options 1 and 2, not to exceed 5 trade days in the school year and not to exceed 5 converted pool hour days to use for office assistants.

Tracking
For Option 1 - Administrative assistants will have an option in the Skyward Time Off System to log the grade transmittal day as a “Trade Time - Days” with the reason code “Trade Time Day Taken Off” for building principals to approve. When they work the day in the summer, they will need to log it in the Skyward Time Off System as a “Trade Time - Days” with the reason code “Trade Time Day Worked”. This information will also need to be documented on the Pool Hours spreadsheet.

For Option 2 - A Google form will be available in the checkout materials to declare the number of optional days that will be converted to pool hours for the upcoming school year. These hours will then be documented and tracked in the Pool Hours spreadsheet by the district AOS administrative assistants.

A Google form will be distributed as part of Principal Checkout. Building principals will need to approve these converted days on the Google form and submit it as part of the checkout process.

cc: Cabinet
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll

Published on

DATE:
April 10, 2026

TO:
Administrators of Schools
Elementary and Secondary Principals

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Katie Bastian, Director of Nutrition Services

SUBJECT:
Student Meal Deficit School Responsibilities

District approved procedural guidelines for meal deficit collection can be found on the Nutrition Services website under the online payments tab.

Reminder: Funds that have been donated to the school for the purpose of paying off student meal debt cannot be used to pay off a student account and then have that account sent to collections. The purpose of specific Nutrition Services donated funds are to help families that are in the deficit. The school can use any other school funds to pay off student accounts so they can then be sent to collections.

If schools would like to send any student accounts to collections before the end of the school year, Principals must submit all Skyward Deficit Tracking documentation to our Meal Deficit Liaison by Friday, May 22nd. This will allow time for the collections process.

Per approved guidelines:
-Students transferring within the district with a deficit meal account balance of any dollar amount, must be paid at the time of transfer and is the responsibility of the school the student is leaving.

-Inactive students, graduating students or students moving up grade levels to another school (i.e., 6th to 7th, 9th to 10th and seniors) with uncollectable meal deficits, of any dollar amount, are the responsibility of the school and must be paid by the principal at the end of the current school year.

-All staff meal deficits must be paid by the end of the year. If a balance remains, it is the responsibility of the school and paid by the principal.

Published on

TO:
Administrators and Teachers

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Kaye Rizzuto, Social Studies Consultant

Theme: Celebrating the Declaration’s 250th in the Classroom
Location: Utah Valley University, Orem
In collaboration with: BYU–Public School Partnership
Dates:
• Secondary: June 8, 2026
• Elementary: June 9, 2026
• 3rd & 5th Grade Follow-Up: June 10, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Teachers Receive:
• 0.5 hours USBE credit
• $100 honorarium
• Resource materials
• Lunch & snacks
• Mileage reimbursement (for those 20+ miles from UVU)

To Register:
Scan the QR code on the attached flyer, or for more information contact Michelle Smith at SmithMi@uvu.edu.
This event is an excellent opportunity to gain resources, network, and enrich your classroom with engaging civics content. Please consider attending.

Published on

TO:
Administrators and Teachers

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Kaye Rizzuto, Social Studies Consultant

American Constitutional Government and Citizenship Standards

The draft standards for the new American Constitutional Government and Citizenship course are now available for public review and comment until April 24th. Please take time to review the proposed standards and provide feedback.

Social Studies Graduation Requirement FAQ
Draft American Constitutional Government and Citizenship Standards

Public Comment Survey:

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, April 16, 2026

TO:  
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
USBE Educator Engagement Survey Results

The window for USBE’s Educator Engagement Survey closed on March 31st. Survey results are now available in Tableau. 1,255 JSD educators responded to the survey this year, which is a 38% response rate (considered a good response rate with an excellent response rate being over 40%).

Educators responded to a variety of multiple-choice and open response questions. Dashboard viewers may view results at the district and school level for the following categories:

  • Survey participation
  • Mentoring
  • Preparation and expectations
  • School leadership
  • Teacher collaboration
  • Professional learning resources
  • Career growth and advancement
  • Job satisfaction

Open responses may be viewed according to school-based permissions.

For questions about the Educator Engagement Survey, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.