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Elementary Principals are invited to attend a presentation on standards-based grading by Dr. Tim Westerberg, author of the book Charting a Course to Standards-Based Grading.

An elementary report card committee consisting of principals, parents, and teachers will begin the process of revising the elementary report cards. To begin this process, Dr. Westerberg will present an overview of current research regarding grading practices for committee members.

Date:    February 5
Time:   8:30a.m. – 12:00p.m.
Place:   ASB Auditorium

January 7, 2018 Toner and Ink Supplies

A new contract for toner and ink supplies will be posted on the Purchasing’s website under Vendors subcategory District Contracts.

This is an approved vendor list contract and it is the responsibility of the school or department to review pricing from all vendors before making your decision.

JSD users must adhere to the following:
Review the approved vendor list
Must obtain a minimum of two (2) quotes
Must purchase from the lowest responsive quote

Be sure to specify OEM or Remanufactured toner when getting quotes.  Copy and fax machines must only use OEM and Ink cartridges must only use OEM.  Price quoted must include shipping

Deliveries should be made within two to three (2-3) business days from all vendors.  If remanufactured cartridges leak in the printer, the vendor should respond within two to three (2-3) business days after a call has been placed.  The vendor should have a qualified technician clean the printer at no cost to the District.

All current open purchase orders for toner and ink will be closed by Accounting on January 21, 2018.

DATE:       
January 10, 2018

TO:  
Principals
Resource Team Leaders

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

SUBJECT:  
Projected Caseload Process for 2018-19 Resource Allocations


Based on Administrative recommendations, the hiring window has been moved up to meet the increasing demands caused by teacher shortages, particularly in specific job categories. The Staffing 2.0 allocations are scheduled to be released by mid-February. To address this advanced timeline, the Special Education Department will be making resource staffing allocations differently than in the past. This method should make the workload on special education teachers and team leaders much easier. Please read through this information carefully because it is a new process. If you have any questions, please contact your assigned teacher specialist.

Caseload Information

  • No mid-year SCRAM report will be required. Please continue to send in SCRAM changes as they occur throughout the year. You will still be completing an End-of-Year SCRAM report.
  • Your December 1 SCRAM report will be used as the baseline for next year’s caseload estimate.
  • A 3-year average of incoming students to your school has been calculated to provide an estimate of incoming students in the youngest grade at your school. This number was added to your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • The number of students leaving your school in the exiting grade has been calculated. This number was subtracted from your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • Finally, we’ve maintained a trend line (for some schools since the 2002-03 SY) that shows estimated caseload versus actual caseloads on Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 SCRAM. We will use this trend line to make adjustments to estimates as needed.
  • All allocations will be conservative and may be re-evaluated at the end of this school year or after the Oct. 1 2018 count has been finalized.

Timeline

  • Initial allocations of certified special education FTE will be provided to the Human Resources Department in time for your 2.0 FTE Allocation.
  • Each Principal will receive a letter outlining their estimated caseload numbers for 2018-19 and the projected resource FTE allocation for 2018-19.
  • We will only be sending the allocation letter to each school’s principal.

Requests for Resource Instructional Assistants

In April, we will send a packet of information to each Resource and Support Class team to request instructional assistants for 2018-19. This will include a regular resource assistant allocation and the information needed to request Critical Needs Instructional Assistants. This timeline should allow your teams to have a better idea of which students with additional staffing needs will be attending your school for 2018-19.

DATE:
January 18, 2018

TO:
Principals
Special Education Staff

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist-Special Education
Courtney Titus, Program Specialist-Special Education

SUBJECT: 
Extended School Year (ESY) Qualification Procedures and Timelines


Please see attached memo for guidelines.

School nurses work hard behind the scenes to ensure the health and safety of the students in our schools. Do you love your school nurse? If you recognize the critical role your school nurse plays in your school, please complete the attached application (to the extent that you are able). Send it and at least two of the required letters to Nancy Ward in Educational Support. The other requirements will be completed for you. Many thanks!

DATE: 
January 9, 2018

TO:  
School Psychologists/School Psychology Interns

FROM:   
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT: 
January School Psychologists’ Meeting


A school psychologists’ meeting has been scheduled for Friday, January 19, 2018, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Auxiliary Services Building Auditorium. Verne C. Larsen, Regional Prevention Director with the Division of Substance Abuse Mental Health, will provide us with a presentation titled Unleashing the Power of Prevention.

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

cc:
Principals

DIBELS data review sessions have been scheduled by feeder system following each assessment window. We will assist in running reports, reviewing data, and planning next steps for instruction. Please put the following dates on your calendar. Be careful to note date change from previous memo for WJ & CH feeders.

 

DIBELS parent letters for MOY are attached.  Gaylene Miller will send spreadsheets to Principals when testing is complete. The testing window closes on January 31 and letters must be sent home with ALL first, second and third grade students on or before February 15. Please do not send this letter home with Kindergarten students, as the reporting law does not apply to them. The parent letter from mCLASShome.com is appropriate to share with all parents. Please contact Becky Gerber with any questions.

 

Dear Principals:

Just wanted to send out a reminder to register for the Math Tournament before the deadline - January 23 - if your school is interested in participating. You should have received the paperwork with a previous email, but if you need it again, please email daybreakmathtournament@gmail.com to request them.

I have the following schools registered so far -

Daybreak
Jordan Ridge
Riverton
Hayden Peak
North Star
Heartland
Westland
Southland
Midas Creek
Silver Crest
Eastlake
Foothills
Providence Hall
Ascent Academies
Bastian
Mountain West
Welby
Blackridge

Thanks,
Katherine Harbaugh

Beginning January 2018, the “District/School Related Activity or Request for Third Party Reimbursement Form” will be significantly modified as follows.

  • Requests for District/School Related Activities will no longer be required or submitted. Absences entered into AESOP and Skyward must include notes to indicate details of the District/School Related Activity.  These reports will be reviewed monthly by both the HR Substitute Office and Payroll Department.  The administrative assistant or person responsible for substitutes at your location will be contacted if insufficient information is submitted or discrepancies exist.
  • A NEW “Request for Third Party Reimbursement Form” was created and is required when any outside agency will be reimbursing the District for the cost of a substitute. (See attached)

 

NEW HR Websites:                      

http://workatjordan.org/

(replaces hr.jordandistrict.org)

http://workatjordan.org/adminonly/

(replaces hr.jordandistrict.org/AdminOnly)

http://workatjordan.org/hrconnections/     

(replaces hr.jordandistrict.org/secretaryconnections)

 

For your convenience, please bookmark these new websites.

Please be aware of the increasing popularity of vaping among our youth.  A new device is showing up in classrooms called JUUL, an e-cigarette that can be concealed easily because it looks like a USB flash drive and has cartridges that are available in many kid-friendly flavors.  JUUL now has the highest market share (in tracked channels), surpassing Reynolds’ Vuse as the most popular e-cigarette product.  Here are some recent news articles about JUUL and youth:

·         “A mango-scented flash-drive-looking device lets kids smoke in class,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 12, 2017:  http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2017/12/12/JUUL-vaporizer-nicotine-flash-drive-small-concealable-e-cigarette/stories/201712120151

·         “Teenagers Embrace JUUL, Saying It's Discreet Enough To Vape In Class,” NPR, December 4, 2017: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/12/04/568273801/teenagers-embrace-juul-saying-its-discreet-enough-to-vape-in-class

·         “Juul e-cigs: The controversial vaping device popular on school campuses,” USA Today, October 31, 2017: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/10/31/juul-e-cigs-controversial-vaping-device-popular-school-campuses/818325001/