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Author: npage

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The mileage reimbursement rate is based upon the IRS rate. Effective January 1, 2024, the reimbursement rate is $0.67 per mile. Please use the attached form when submitting for mileage reimbursement. All 2023 mileage reimbursement requests should be submitted as soon as possible. Click HERE to access the mileage form online.

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DATE:
January 2, 2024

TO:
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
District Enrollment as of January 2, 2024

Please see the attached memo.

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DATE:   
Thursday, January 4, 2024

TO:  
All School Administrators

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

SUBJECT: 
Navigating Parental Exclusion Requests with the WIDA Access

The annual administration of the WIDA Access is mandated by the federal government, which uses this assessment to hold schools accountable for providing an equitable education for multi-language learners. This accountability stems from the 1974 Supreme Court case Lau v. Nichols where a California school district was sued because it was not providing language services to many of its ML students. This Supreme Court case essentially ensures that students’ civil right to an equitable education and the government has chosen to use the WIDA Access as a way to hold school districts accountable for doing so.

The WIDA Access is federally mandated, which means that parents cannot opt their students out of taking the test. Because of the part this assessment plays in a student’s educational rights, parents do not have the power to revoke a student’s civil right to take the WIDA Access. Thus, the state was required to remove the WIDA Access from the parental exclusion form a few years ago.

So, what happens when a parent insists that their child not take the WIDA Access? Basic procedures are outlined below:

  • The school administration should discuss any or all of the attached talking points with the student’s parent.
  • If the parent still insists that their child not participate in the WIDA Access, then the school should document the parent’s refusal. Schools should use their school opt out log already available to school test coordinators to note the parental exclusion.
  • Schools may accept a parental exclusion in writing, but they cannot provide an opt out form to exclude students from the WIDA Access.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns regarding these procedures.

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DATE:   
January 4, 2024

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
Required Fire Drill Within the First 10 School Days

All schools are required to conduct a fire drill within the first 10 days of the school year. This provides a great opportunity to review plans, emergency response/Incident Command assignments, evacuation maps, outside rally locations, communications, and related supplies.

Please take special care to orient new students and staff, individuals with special needs and younger students that may not have been exposed to fire alarms/strobes and emergency response protocols. Please be sure to clearly announce that it is a “drill”.

Please call the Jordan School District 24-hr. Alarm Response 801-567-8865 at least 30 minutes in advance of the drill, so the fire department is not dispatched.

Use the JSD Incident Command System Manual - Fire Action Plan as your drill guideline. Jordan School District Safety Manual

Report the drill and any related meetings using the JSD report form on Google Drive. Link: 2023-24 REPORT EMERGENCY — DRILLS, ACTUAL EVENTS, or MEETINGS

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact Matt Alvernaz the District Safety Coordinator at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8623.

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Please submit all school allocation budget transfer forms to Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org, no later than January 26, 2024.

Budget transfers for this school year cannot be made after January 26. The budget transfer form is attached.

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If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before or after President’s Day for any reason not listed in policy DP335NEG or DP335B, you must submit a request as follows:

How to Request

During the window, the employee must send the request through email. Please include your name, school, position, and the date you are requesting the leave. Requests left on voicemail or over the phone will NOT be accepted.

Licensed employees submit their request to licensedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org 

Education Support Professionals submit their request to classifiedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

The employee will receive an email confirmation within two working days after submitting the request. If the employee does not receive a confirmation email, then Human Resources has NOT received your request and your leave will not be approved.

School Holiday Date of Holiday Critical Days Window
President’s Day February 19, 2024 Feb. 16 and 20, 2024 Jan. 5 – Jan. 15, 2024

Licensed Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2023-2024

ESP Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2023-2024

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, January 4, 2024

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Rebecca Smith, Consultant, Gifted & Talented

SUBJECT:  
6th Grade CogAT Tableau Dashboard Updated with 2023-24 Results

The 2023-24 6th grade CogAT results are now available in Tableau viewer accounts. Elementary school administrators may access the dashboards here. Results are available at both the district and school level. School administrators may also filter the data by student groups (economically disadvantaged, ML, race/ethnicity, and students with a disability). Finally, individual student results are also available here.

Hard copy results and interpretation guides will be sent to schools at a later time.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with questions about these dashboards.

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The Utah State Board of Education Teacher Salary Supplement Program (TSSP) qualifications and application deadlines are available for 2023-2024. The application deadlines are printed below.  Information regarding the TSSP program and qualifications is found at the following Utah State Board of Education (USBE) link:

Application Term Dates
An application term indicates a preference of when and how often the educator would like to receive any bonus. Applicants may select one of the following terms before the respective deadline:

 

Term      # of Payments      Application Available & Accepted   Application Deadline

Trimester               2              Sunday, October 1, 2023 6:00 AM        Wednesday, November 15, 2023 11:59 PM

Semester               1              Sunday, October 1, 2023 6:00 AM        Wednesday, January 31, 2024 11:59 PM

Annual                   1              Sunday, October 1, 2023 6:00 AM        Tuesday, April 30, 2024 11:59 PM

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Principals,

The following information and attached flyer outline a unique pilot with Jordan School District, BYU's School Leadership Program, and the School Leadership Alliance. Please share with those licensed employees you think may be interested in becoming a future school administrator.

Jordan School District is partnering with the BYU School Leadership Program and the School Leadership Alliance to pilot an administrative endorsement program with courses held during the school day during the 2024-2025 school year. While this day program is open to students from any district, Jordan School District has agreed to allow those who are working as full-time administrative interns and who are also admitted to the BYU program to attend these day courses. BYU will award a generous half-tuition scholarship to any student who attends this accelerated 14-month day program. Courses start May 2024 and will run through June of 2025 so that participants will be job ready by July 2025. Day program students will be invited to attend Deloitte’s Courageous Principals Program in Dallas, Texas, where each participant will work on real problems of practice and receive instruction, support, and coaching from a trained mentor principal, district leadership, and BYU professors. In addition to this day program, BYU will continue to offer a 14-month evening program. Evening students will be invited to attend the UASSP or UAESP Mid-Winter Conference in St. George, Utah. Applications to both the day and evening cohorts are due February 15 with final admissions decisions being made in March. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to join these fantastic cohorts of aspiring school leaders!

Thanks!

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We ask all West Jordan, Copper Hills, and Herriman feeder schools to send the flyer out to their students using Skylert or Peachjar.

Pizza dinner will be served! Space is limited, RSVP HERE to secure your spot!

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The JEF Outstanding Educator Award Application is now open!

Nominations are due January 16, 2024.

Jordan Education Foundation recognizes and honors superior teachers with a track record of improving student achievement, using innovative instructional strategies and making a difference in the lives of their students. These teachers are among a select few highlighted as Outstanding Educators who are making a difference in the classroom. The annual JEF Outstanding Educators Awards publicly honor and recognize educators who raise the bar of their profession.

Guidelines and additional information can be found on the JEF Website here: JEF Outstanding Educator Awards

Published on

DATE:  
December 13, 2023

TO: 
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
Wellness Rep Training - January 19, 2024

The wellness team is excited to announce the in-person Employee Wellness Rep Training for your school or department’s designated Employee Wellness Representative on January 19, 2024 at JATC-S. There will be two sessions for this training:

  • Elementary Reps will meet from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
  • Secondary Reps will meet from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

The Wellness Rep Training will be full of great information that your school’s rep won’t want to miss! Wellness Reps should come ready to share data, plan the rest of the year, discuss Wellness Day, get information on a new grant opportunity, and collaborate with your fellow reps! Lunch will be provided.

Review the attached flyers and share it with your school or department’s representative:

Published on

Admin, please share this information with your teachers.

Many of your teachers are pursuing a STEM endorsement (see our EIP website for a full list of endorsements). USBE WILL REIMBURSE THEM FOR THEIR EDUCATION! This is called the STEM Endorsement Incentive Program (EIP). See the attached flyer and link to our EIP website for more information.

The next round of reimbursement applications is due January 8th, 2024 for teachers who completed STEM courses in Summer/Fall 2023 (courses through December 31, 2023). If you have any questions, please reach out to the content consultant. We would love to talk to you!

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, December 13, 2023

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Teachers

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Amy Kinder, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

SUBJECT:  
Elementary Math Curriculum Reminders

6th-Grade Curriculum Reminder:
We have adopted Illustrative Mathematics housed on the Imagine Learning Platform for the 2024-25 school year. It is the same curriculum content as our current Open Up Resources program, but on a new and improved platform. All 6th-grade teachers will engage in a full-day professional learning experience on the district professional development day, April 12, 2024.

K-5 Curriculum Reminder:
Due to the adoption and implementation of Wit & Wisdom, we have postponed the adoption of a new mathematics curriculum and extended our contract with Math Expressions for the 2024-2025 school year. As part of the extension plan, schools will receive consumable math books for students in grades K-2. A downloadable PDF of instructional materials will be made available for grades 3-5. Students will no longer have access to the digital platform; however, teachers will be provided a digital license and will have access to the digital components of Math Expressions. Because our current contract expires we will adopt a new K-5 mathematics curriculum in the 2025-26 school year.

We hope that spreading these changes over two years will make implementation more manageable for teachers.

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Hello Principals & Schools,

We are delighted to present your school with the latest Get Away Today vacation magazines. These magazines will be delivered to our schools immediately following the winter holiday break. These have been approved for distribution by Jordan Education Foundation and Jordan School District.

Inside you’ll find the best vacation deals and what’s new at the Disneyland® Resort.

Here are a couple of ways your partnership with Get Away Today benefits your school:

  • Vacations = Donations! A portion of each vacation purchased by your students’ families is donated to benefit the children of your district. Get Away Today is so committed to helping children that they’ve donated over $4.5 million to help kids!
  • Get Away Today provides cash and in-kind donations for fundraisers held by your school foundation — again, benefitting the students of your district.
  • Additionally, Get Away Today would like to offer each employee of our district an additional discount as a thank you for our partnership. Please let your employees know to use promocode: SCHOOLS25 for an additional $25 off any 2-night or longer Southern California vacation (must include hotel and at least two tickets) for travel now through December 31, 2024.

Please help in our fundraising efforts by distributing these magazines as soon as possible to your teachers and encourage them to pass them on to the students in their classrooms.

Thanks so much,
Jordan Education Foundation

 

Published on

DATE: 
December 19, 2023

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT: 
January Drill Preparation (Fire)

The first monthly drill preparation will begin on January 3rd at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrations assigned to oversee school safety. All other administrations are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also opened to any staff who may be interested. Use meet.google.com/ntp-szhs-yvn to join.

Information regarding fire response and evacuation protocols can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on page 15 (Evacuate) and page 32 (Fire). We will discuss how to implement and execute the drill. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas amongst the schools.

Published on

DATE: 
December 18, 2023

TO: 
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

FROM:   
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT: 
January School Psychologist Guidance Meeting

A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, January 5, 2024, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Melisa Genaux, M.Ed. will provide us with a presentation that addresses prevention and intervention for severe behavioral issues, such as physical aggression, elopement, noncompliance, and behavior escalation.eloping.

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

cc:
Principals