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**Permission forms (see below) must be collected from the nominated families and input into the Thanksgiving’s Heroes website https://thanksgivingsheroes.wufoo.com/forms/sn0xagc0mosa2b/

 NO LATER THAN 12-NOON, FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13TH, 2020

Dear Jordan School Liaisons,

Once again, Jordan School District & Jordan Education Foundation are facilitating Thanksgiving’s Heroes’ efforts to provide full Thanksgiving meals, a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, etc. for families to prepare during Thanksgiving week.

We are asking for your help to identify those families at your school who would likely need help this Thanksgiving Season.  Due to limited funding this year, Thanksgiving’s Heroes may not be able to provide a dinner for every family in need.  Meals will be provided as resources are available – first come, first serve basis.

  1. Please print and give each family a hard copy permission form to fill out and sign. The district requests that there is a signed permission slip from each family receiving a meal.
  2. Please enter the information of the nominated families electronically HERE.

Thank you for your help with this event!

Please contact Thanksgiving’s Heroes 801-901-0663 if there are any changes in plans on delivery day.

DATE:   
Thursday, October 29, 2020

TO:   
Elementary School Principals
Middle School Principals

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

SUBJECT:    
Research Project


The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title:     “Poverty and Education”

Applicant:     Yuliya Lynch, Monash University

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

Thank you for your assistance.

Attention Administrators,

The deadline for employees to complete the Crucial Policy review is fast approaching. As of today, 79% of administrators, 83% of licensed employees and 79% of ESP employees have completed the required Crucial Policies review, which includes the new required Title IX and Human Trafficking training. However, only 34% of miscellaneous employees have completed the Crucial Policy Review. The Crucial Policy review is required of all employees, with the exception of minor sweepers/student assistants. The Crucial Policies Review is accessed in Skyward Employee Access.

Administrators and Administrative Assistants may access the Crucial Policy Review Report for their location by following the instructions below:

Website link:  https://is.jordan.k12.ut.usOpens in a new window

Click: Documentation
Click: Human Resources
Click: Crucial Policy Review Report Instructions

Please run your report and notify each employee of this requirement. The HR Department is tasked with monitoring these reports for compliance and will be contacting principals as needed. If any employee listed in this report is no longer employed, please email your HR feeder assistant.

Employees needing assistance in accessing Skyward Employee Access are directed to contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

Regards,

Human Resources

DATE:  
October 29, 2020

TO:  
Department Directors/Administrators

FROM:   
HR Administrators

SUBJECT:     
FTE Audit Report 2020-21


Electronic FTE Audit Process:

  • November 2, 2020 – HR will share with directors and department administrative assistants the FTE Audit Report via Google Sheets. Please review the report with your administrative assistant. The report will include verification of faculty/staff, FTE, title and budget code(s). Please refer to the “Instructions” sheet in the document for assistance in completing the audit.
  • November 9, 2020 – DUE DATE for the FTE Audit Report to be completed for HR to process. Check the “yellow” box on the front page to indicate audit completion.
  • THE BEST NEWS OF ALL – All corrections made on the FTE Audit Report will be made by HR upon return. Change forms will not be required; however, new hires not listed on the report will require the submission of a hire sheet to HR.

Please feel free to share any feedback regarding this process with an HR administrator. We will consider all suggestions and work to improve this process for future use.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Principals:

We have scheduled two separate training sessions on the operation of the school’s security camera and software. The training will include the use of the software, saving of camera footage and the transferring of that footage to the appropriate device. We receive many requests for help in this area.

The training will be held on November 10, 2020.

Session 1:  9:00-10:00 am
Session 2:  1:00-2:00 pm

Both sessions will be held at the Auxiliary Service Building in the Auditorium, enter at Entrance A. It is recommended that at least one administrator per building attend one of the sessions and if possible send one hall monitor to each session.

Masks are required. Social Distancing will be maintained.

DATE:    
October 17, 2020

TO:  
All Schools

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

SUBJECT:   
School-Year 2020 – 2021 PPE Budgets


The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) budgets have been uploaded to Skyward. The amounts received are $500 per qualifying teacher FTE and $10 per in class student at the school location.

The qualifying teacher includes all teachers coded to the 131 object regardless of what program they are out of. This means BTS, CTE, K-3 Reading, Special Education, Title 1, and any other program that has employees coded to 131, have been included in total FTE count.

You should be able to run a skyward report with the account 32 E XXX 9932 4510 612 to see the budgeted amount.

Please call or email Derek with any questions you have.

Ex - 88275
E-Mail – derek.anderson2@jordandistrict.org

We are excited to offer our Utah Skyward Conference virtually this year!

The conference has been scheduled over two weeks, November 2nd-6th and November 9th-13th. The first week is dedicated to Skyward presenters and the second week is focused on state-specific sessions, along with presentations from vendors and other districts that use Skyward from across the country. There will be morning and afternoon sessions offered each day, in order to give everyone the opportunity to attend. For example: Monday morning will have Finance sessions and Monday afternoon will have Student sessions. On Tuesday, the morning sessions are Student and the afternoon sessions are Finance.

Here is a link to the Skyward Virtual User Group. On this site, you can browse the sessions that are offered, as well as download the agendas (also attached to this email), and register for sessions. You can filter the sessions by date, product (SMS - which is the Skyward system we currently use in JSD, and Qmlativ - which we currently do not use), and Skyward area, i.e. Food Service, Student Management, Human Resources, and Special Education. **Important Note** All times listed for the sessions are Central Standard Time.

To register for sessions on this site, you will need to select "Register for SMS 2.0" in order to view the session for the Skyward system we currently use. If the button "Register for SMS 2.0" is not available, that session is not offered for our current Skyward system. Once you select the option to register, you will be prompted to select your state and school district, then enter your login credentials for Skyward (credentials for both Student Management and Finance will work). Select "Confirm". You will be taken to a new screen where you need to enter your first name, last name and email address, then select "Register". You will receive a confirmation email after you register for each session. You will also receive an email one business day prior to the session you registered for that will include instructions on how to attend the virtual session.

During the virtual sessions you will have the opportunity to ask questions via chat or Q&A periods throughout the sessions. However, if you have a problem that will take a bit longer to resolve, we suggest that you call our help desk to get further assistance. If you find that you are not able to attend something that you really wanted to see, Skyward will be recording every session and will post links to each session along with any presenter notes and handouts.

As always, we hope you get the best out of this virtual conference and are able to see new things, learn new tips and tricks, get some of your questions answered, and see some of the new possibilities in Skyward. If you have any questions about attending the conference, please feel free to reach out to me, Steffany Ellsworth, (steffany.ellsworth@jordandistrict.org) or x88240.

Thank you!

DATE:   
Thursday, October 22, 2020

TO: 
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:   
WIDA ACCESS 2.0 Test Administration Training for Schools


Please see memo below regarding the mandatory training to be provided and who should attend.

DATE:
October 15, 2020

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director Student Services
Caleb Olson, Consultant of Planning and Enrollment
Scott Festin, Consultant of Planning and Enrollment
Steven Harwood, Support Services & Programming Manager

SUBJECT:
Fall Enrollment as of October 1, 2020 - REVISED


Please see memo and report below.

Screening tools for literacy are assessments that can be administered quickly and give “yes” or “no” answers to let teachers know if a student is reading on grade level or not. If a screener indicates a student is reading below level, a diagnostic assessment should be given. The diagnostic assessment is crucial to identify missing skills and help teachers determine what instruction the student needs for continued progress. The district has several options for screening tools listed below.

Screening Option 1:  RI (formerly SRI)
The Teaching and Learning department has paid for licenses for all students in grades 4-6. The IT department is currently working to upload the system for all schools.

Screening Option2:  Acadience MClass (Amplify)
This is the same system used by students in grades K-3.  If schools choose to use this system, they need to contact the company directly and pay for the student licenses they wish to purchase. The district does not cover the cost of this screener. To contact Acadience MClass, go to the homepage where you log in to see your Acadience data for lower grades and click on the service tab, then follow the prompts.

Screening Option 3:  Acadiencelearning.net
This is a system similar to Acadience MClass (Amplify), but does not contain as many reporting features. In the past, the district was able to cover the cost of this system for schools, but due to some system changes, the district will not be able to cover the cost of this system this year. If schools choose to purchase this system, they need to contact the company directly at:
E-mail: info@acadiencelearning.org
Toll-Free: 888-943-1240
Phone: 541-431-6931

PLEASE NOTE: Progress monitoring should assess the skill(s) that have been identified through the diagnostic assessment. Using a screener alone to progress monitor will not be sufficient because screeners do not give specific information into individual skill mastery or mastery of standards. Diagnostic tools can be found on the Elementary Literacy website.

Elementary Assessment and Intervention Plan

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Elementary Literacy Assessment Plan

 

Protected article: Diagnostics

Dear Administrators,

A populated copy of your Compliance and Assurances Report will be sent to you by the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school. Due dates are Dec. 17 and April 15. A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. The document is current as of Nov., 2020. As new EL students enroll in your school, you will need to add those students to the report. You can check your monthly language proficiency report to determine who the new students are.

2.  There will be virtual administrative workshop times where the ELS team will be available to offer support in report completion. Please bring a list of ESL endorsed teachers at your school.  We will be looking up student information with you.

Dear Administrators,

The ELS department would like to continue to support our students who are distance learning and provide an opportunity for them to get a free student desk and chair from the warehouse surplus. Supplies are limited and should be reserved for students participating in distant learning. Please have your secretaries, parent liaisons, ELD leads and anyone else who works with our online students reach out to get a school total. Once you have a total, send the request over to Steven Oldham over at the warehouse. Steve can have the desk delivered to your school or patrons can pick up a desk from the warehouse at the ASB. Know that supplies are limited and on a first come first serve basis.

DATE: 
October 13, 2020

TO:   
Secondary School Principals
Secondary School Financial Secretaries

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

SUBJECT:   
Quarterly School Financial Report for July, August, and September 2020


Each school is asked to report the quarter end account balance and transaction detail with the Apple Volume Purchase Program and return with your bank reconciliation. If your school has no Apple account, please so indicate and return.

Please include the account balance with Apple on the reconciliation sign off form and print a report or screen shot(s) of the balances and quarterly transactions from Apple’s website. If you need assistance, please contact your Curriculum Technology Specialist – Bonnie, Deanna, Nancy, Ross, and Beth.

Please photocopy the selected elements and send to Accounting by Friday, October 30, 2020.

Please include:

  • The signed attached memo to Accounting
  • A copy of your July, August, and September 2020 Reconciliation Worksheets
  • A copy of your July, August, and September 2020 Bank Statements
  • A copy of your July, August, and September 2020 Skyward Balance Sheets
  • A copy of your July, August, and September 2020 Outstanding Check Reports
  • Screen shot(s) of your September 30, 2020 Apple Volume Purchase Program transaction history and balance, if applicable.

If you have questions or need assistance, please call Jason Mott at (801)567-8388.

Thank you.

Cc:
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools

 

 

We are fast approaching our December 1 SCRAM count deadline. Special Education Resource and Cluster Team Leaders will soon receive a SCRAM report via Move-It of all students who are currently receiving services through your school’s special education program(s). All team members and service providers need to verify each student on this list as either correct, changed, exited/moved, and/or incomplete. Please check that the names, entry dates, scram school, service patterns, weekly minutes and providers are correct for each student on the printout. If a correction needs to be made, a new scram document should be submitted.

All Corrections and SCRAM reports are Due:
By 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 9, 2020

Special education funding and, therefore, school staffing/assistant allocations, etc. are contingent upon the accuracy of this data. Your timely and accurate response is critical! Thank you for all your efforts to get us the correct information in a very short time period. See memo below for more information.

Beginning of the Year Interims are due October 31, 2020. Remember that this includes the following: self-evaluation, 3 required goals (UETS goal, JPAS goal, Stakeholder & Student Growth goal), and administrator approval with date. Interims for all educators (teachers, teacher specialists, psychologists, secondary counselors, etc.) will be found on JPLS.

DATE:    
Thursday, October 15, 2020

TO:   
All Principals
All District Department Heads and Directors

FROM:  
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems

SUBJECT:
Student Data Privacy Updates and Reminders


Principals are asked to read and then communicate the following information to their faculty.

We cannot buy or use websites, apps, or software without checking into how they collect, manage, and use student data. If we do, we run the risk of breaking state and federal laws. Because of this, we are asking that all purchases related to website subscriptions, apps, or software go through Purchasing. This includes purchases made with teacher money and p-cards.

We cannot let children under 13 use websites or apps that collect their data without parent notification. This can be done in disclosure documents, emails to parents or other means of communication. Some websites, software, and apps do not allow children under 13 to use their services even with parent permission. These are prohibited by the district for grades K-7. Some websites, software, and apps do not allow children under 18 to use their services. These are prohibited by the district for all students.

Current processes for purchasing websites, apps, and software: 2020-2021

  • The school submits the requisition for the purchase of an app or program to Purchasing.
  • Website, app, or software is vetted for student data privacy.
  • Purchasing will send the district’s data privacy agreement (DPA) to the vendor to sign if needed.
  • Once the vendor signs the DPA, the purchasing process is completed.
  • If a vendor chooses not to sign or does not respond, the purchase of the app or program is halted and Information Systems is asked to block the website or application. There are currently two apps that have been blocked because of student data privacy reasons:
    • Quizlet
    • Beano

At a later date, Evaluation, Research & Accountability will be contacting digital teaching and learning coaches at each building in order to train them on vetting apps and programs. In addition, together with Teaching & Learning, we are working to develop an interactive website where schools and teachers may go to see what apps and programs have been approved and denied.

Please email the district student data privacy managers if you have any questions.
Holly L. Allen: holly.allen@jordandistrict.org
Steven Harwood: steven.harwood@jordandistrict.org