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Author: communications

Published on

DATE:  
June 8, 2020

TO: 
High School Principals and Head Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
C. Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT:  
2020-21 High School Summer Office Help

Each high school in Jordan School District will be allocated $4,000 to assist in covering summer office hours for the 2020-21 school year. Please note that benefits must be deducted from this amount. Benefits are calculated at 8.45% to include FICA, Medicare, and Industrial Insurance.  If you choose to use a full-time school employee that qualifies for retirement benefits, an additional 23.69% (Tier I-before July 1, 2011) or 20.02% (Tier II-after June 30, 2011) must be added to the total cost.

This money may be used for time worked from June 1 through August 31, 2020. Employees are to use True Time when working these hours. True Time hours should be submitted weekly. Please email a list of names of all employees who will be working these hours to Keelee Leulaui in payroll at keelee.leulaui@jordandistrict.org and she will add the pay-code ‘TSMRO - Summer Office Hours’ for them to use in True Time. No money will be carried over from the summer hour allocation. All time worked for your summer office hours will be coded as 10 E LOC 8707 2436 154 and should be recorded each month for Brad Sorensen’s approval on your school’s allocation form.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Cari Minnesota at cari.minnesota@jordandistrict.org, Ph: 801-567-8173 or
Marilyn Smith at marilyn.smith@jordandistrict.org, Ph: 801-567-8166.

Thank you.

Published on

Information regarding summer operating hours for schools and district offices, beginning Monday, June 8, 2020, is listed below. Regular office hours will resume at all locations on August 3, 2020.

Schools:

  • The office should be open 5 days per week, at least 5 hours per day, except holidays.
  • Time when the building is closed for lunch does not count toward the 5 hours.
  • Employees should still work the same number of contract hours.
  • Employees can work from home with permission from their principal or Cabinet supervisor.
  • Face masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing are encouraged.
  • If the front office staff is not at the school, please place a sign on the school door indicating a telephone number that can be called to reach someone who can unlock the door. If no one is going to be in the building on a particular day, please inform your Administrator of Schools in advance and post a sign on the school door and a notice on the school’s website and social media accounts indicating the next time the office will be open.

Auxiliary Services Building:

  • Staff will be working and the building will be open from 7:30-3:30.

District Office Building:

  • Staff will be working from 8:00-4:30.
  • The building will be accessible starting at 7:30 a.m.

 

Published on

The following guidelines and associated forms have been approved by Cabinet and the SL County Health Department in order for programs to move forward this summer. It is the responsibility of each local school administration to oversee that each sport or activity group is following the approved guidelines during the summer of 2020.

Published on

Due to the Covid-19 Outbreak, many educators who requested authorization for a background check were unable to get fingerprinted before the expiration date on the form. The form normally expires after 60 days. The Utah State Board of Education has a contingency in place to allow educators to use these authorization forms, regardless of the expiration date. There is no need for the educator to get a new form.

Published on

DATE:
June 1, 2020

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Administrator of Schools
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Consultant of Planning and Enrollment
Scott Festin, Consultant of Planning and Enrollment

SUBJECT:
Student Enrollment for May 2020

Please see document below.

Published on

DATE:  
May 29, 2020

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: 
Updated Extended Year for Special Educator Stipends 2019-20

The USBE has set up new guidelines for documenting and reporting Extended Year Stipend Days. A specific group of special educators were allowed to work up to 4 additional days for the 2019-20 school year. Please read the attached memo carefully and follow the instructions to submit and be paid for the remaining additional days you are eligible to work for the current school year.

Published on

Dear Principals:

Instructional Coaching questions are now available as part of the District Approved Interview Questions found on Admin Only under HR Resources - HR Resource Hiring Licensed

When interviewing an instructional coach for your school you may use additional District approved questions as part of the interview.

When hiring, please indicate the questions asked on the interview form using the designated letter and number.

If you have any questions, please call Wyatt Bentley (801)567-8215 or Kim Gibson (801)-567-8216.

https://employment.jordandistrict.org/hr-resource-hiring-licensed/

Published on

DATE:  
May 11, 2020

TO: 
All Secondary Principals and All Secondary Counselors

FROM:   
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools, High School Level
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools, Middle School Level
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Shelley Nordick, Administrator, Curriculum and Staff Development
Stacee Worthen, Secondary Counselor Specialist

SUBJECT:    
2020-2021 Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) Calendar

CSCP dates are planned in advance so that individual counseling teams will include them in their school and CSCP calendars. Please see memo below with the scheduled dates.

Published on

DATE:    
May 29, 2020

TO:  
All Elementary, Middle, and Traditional High School Principals

FROM:  
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Derek Anderson, Director of Accounting, Budgets, and Audits

SUBJECT:  
July Budget Transfer Request

If you would like to transfer budget between your postage, supply, textbook, technology supply and equipment budgets, please complete the following, sign and return to Derek by June 19, 2020. If Derek does not receive this back from you by June 19, 2020, Derek will assume no transfer is requested. This transfer will be posted to the beginning supply budgets in FY20-21. The next opportunity to make such a transfer is January 2021.

Published on

At the Tuesday May 26th Board of Education meeting, the Board directed a 5% reduction to certain budgets.

These reductions will be applied to school supply, tech supplies, media, postage and textbook budgets and will be implemented for the 2020-21 school year.

This means a total reduction per student for elementary, middle, and high schools of $4.03, $5.50, and $6.38 respectfully. The revised allocations for 2020-21 are as follows:

_______________________Elementary      Middle            High
Supply                              $40.78             $43.26             $50.31

Tech Supplies                 $10.00             $10.00             $10.00

Media                               $9.74               $11.08             $13.90

Library Media                 $1.23               $1.23                $1.23

Postage                           $1.49               $4.46               $10.81

Textbooks                       $13.32             $34.36             $34.85

Please contact your Administrator of Schools with any questions or concerns.

Published on

DATE:  
May 28, 2020

TO: 
Applicable School Principals and Administrative Assistants (Financial and Membership)
All Area Administrators of Schools and Administrative Assistants
Caleb Olson, Planning and Enrollment
Steven Harwood, Support Services and Programming Manager

FROM:    
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting and Audits
Jason Mott, Accountant/Internal Auditor

SUBJECT: 
External Audit Visits

Please see attached memo.

 

Published on

On Tuesday, May 26, the Board approved two calendar adjustments.

  • Blackridge Elementary will move to a traditional calendar for the 2020-21 school year and will remain on a traditional calendar moving forward.
  • South Jordan Elementary will remain on a year-round calendar with a delayed start for the 2020-21 school year. This calendar is attached and is also available on the Planning & Enrollment website (http://planning.org). A decision on the calendar for South Jordan Elementary after the 2020-21 has not yet been made.

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, May 28, 2020

TO:  
All Principals

FROM:    
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
2020 WIDA Dashboards

Tableau dashboards containing the 2020 WIDA Access 2.0 results for second language learners are now available in your Tableau Viewer account.  School administrators may access these dashboards here:

https://10az.online.tableau.com/ - /site/benstableau/workbooks/1626641/views
Explore > WIDA Access 2.0 Analysis > 1-WIDA Access Results, 2017-2020

https://10az.online.tableau.com/ - /site/benstableau/projects/126785
Explore > WIDA Access 2.0 Analysis > [Your School] 2020 WIDA Student Results > 2020 WIDA – Student List

There are three dashboards that school administrators should peruse:

2020 WIDA Composite and Reporting Category Proficiency:
This dashboard will allow school administrators to compare their school’s proficiency levels and progress with that of other demographically similar schools within the district.

WIDA School Report:
This dashboard will go into more detail on the number of students who participated in the test, students reaching proficiency, proficiency levels for composite and reporting category scores, and scale score progress to proficiency all from 2017 to 2020.

2020 WIDA – Student List:
This dashboard comes equipped with multiple filters allowing you to drill down to individual student data.  This list will be useful as you begin making plans for remediation and support of second language learners for the 2020-21 school year.

For the 15 elementary and middle schools who administered the WIDA themselves, there are also dashboards containing a comparison of scores between those who, because they administered the test themselves, were able to spread the testing out into smaller time slots to prevent test exhaustion and the other schools where district testers administered the test all in one sitting, as has been done in years past.

Please contact Ben Jameson if you have questions about these dashboards or if you would like to discuss these data further.

Published on

Greetings Utah Educators and Leaders!

I hope you are all well and enjoying the fleeting last weeks of the “New Now” school year.  It has been absolutely marvelous to see all of the amazing work that Utah educators are doing to support their students and communities.  Every time I get out of the house for a drive as a break from isolation, I am blissfully berated by beautiful signs, posters, and balloons supporting both students and teachers.  It is a bright spot in my day and makes me smile as I reflect on the monumental work you are all doing.

Last Thursday, the Utah State Board of Education approved five educator licensing rules/amendments; this also makes me smile!  Thanks to feedback from LEAs, educator preparation programs, and educators, we have made some modifications to the pending licensing structure.  I have linked each of the rules’ draft if you want to look at the precise language.  For your convenience in these busy times, I have provided a shortlist of the changes within each rule.

R277-301 – Educator Licensing

  • Communication Disorders license area now called: Audiologist
  • Associate Educator Licenses, License Areas, or Endorsements are valid for THREE years, with a one-year extension available.
  • Currently licensed educators who apply to add an Associate Educator License Area, do not need to complete the Canvas Pedagogical Modules.
  • Applicants with an educator license from out-of-state and at least one year of teaching may waive the content knowledge (PRAXIS) and pedagogical assessment requirements.
  • LEA-Specific licenses may be granted in special education and preschool special education license areas provided the LEA meets other requirements for LEA-Specific licensure and provides educator special education law training within the first month of employment.
  • Eminence License rules outlined, moved from R277-309.

R277-302 – Educator License Renewal

  • Professional educator licenses may be renewed with 100 points in four categories:  professional learning experiences, educator collaboration opportunities, professional service, and alternate learning opportunities.  Note that teaching experience is no longer an option for points’ accrual.  Please see the rule for more details.  Resources and renewal forms from USBE are forthcoming.
  • LEAs are required to provide a minimum of 20 points/hours of professional learning to educators each year.
  • Professionally licensed educators may choose to use the current renewal system (200 points including teaching experience points) until June 30, 2025.

R277-303 – Teacher Preparation Programs

  • An Alternate Pathway to Professional Educator Licensure (APPEL) program may be developed by and individual LEA or a consortium of LEAs.

R277-306 – EPPs for School Psychologists, Audiologists, SLPs, SLTs, and Counselors

  • School Counselor license area requires a master’s degree in school counseling or a master’s degree in a related field and a licensure program.

R277-309 – Appropriate Licensing of Teachers

  • Eminence License rules removed and moved to R277-301.

R277-500 – Licensing Renewal (REPEALED)

As we move into “The Near Future,” services are becoming more available; educator-related services are included!  Specifically, fingerprinting services and testing services are now opening!  Hooray!!!

Some fingerprinting locations have started processing fingerprints on a limited basis.  Please encourage educators who need to complete a background check to call ahead to verify hours and operation precautions, such as wearing a face mask.  If your LEA is doing fingerprinting, please work to establish policies and procedures, including the use of appropriate PPE (gloves, masks, etc.), to keep your employees and those you serve safe.

ETS has announced the Praxis® tests at home solution in response to closures of testing centers. Registration for the first wave of tests begins on May 15 with the first test administration taking place on May 18.  While not all of the content assessments will be offered in the first wave of tests at home, most will be available by June 1st.  ETS’ COVID-19 website has been updated with some key information regarding the at home solution.

As you encourage your educators to meet requirements for licensure, including background checks and testing, the Educator Licensing team is optimistic that these adjustments will help educators become appropriately licensed prior to the upcoming school year.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  I know that many changes to licensing (an already complicated arena) lend itself to more questions.  We are here to help you support teachers!

Thank you for all that you do to support Utah’s students and teachers!  We will charge into “The New Future” together!

Kindest regards,

Malia

 _________________________

Malia Hite, Ed.D.

Educator Licensing Coordinator

Teaching & Learning   |  Utah State Board of Education

Published on

(Change from flyer) A T&L flyer was included on the May 19 Principal Meeting agenda announcing in-person workshops for principals and coaches. Because of many unanswered "COVID yellow phase" questions, the workshops have been rescheduled as virtual workshops. We apologize for any inconvenience. Elementary Administrators (principals and assistant principals), along with the school instructional coaches, are asked to register for one of three virtual sessions of "T&L Review of Programs and Implementation." In this virtual course, participants will review priorities, examine T&L's 5-year implementation plans, preview the JSD Instructional Coaching Institute (ICI), explore ideas and resources for COVID catch-up, and discuss strategies for making the return to school smooth!

Instructional Coaches will be paid from T&L.

Please Register on JPLS -- Course 101585

This virtual course will be held in the Canvas Elementary Principal Faculty Lounge. (More information coming!)

Published on

School Technology Check-in and Cleaning Guidelines:

  1. Make check-in appointments using proper social distancing inside and outside the building.
  2. Collect devices using masks and gloves.
  3. Wipe down devices with disinfectant provided by the custodial department. Do not spray disinfectant directly onto devices.
  4. Store devices for at least a week before reissuing.
  5. Principals should contact their AOS with questions regarding technology fines for damages.