Skip to content

Author: npage

Published on

Outstanding Education Support Professional Award Applications are now open!

District support staff are among the unsung heroes of the Jordan School District. Each year Jordan District school principals and department heads are invited to nominate one non-teaching/support staff employee for recognition.

All full-time Jordan School District Education Support Professional employees are eligible. Past winners of this award are not eligible for nomination. One nomination per department/school will be considered. Please make sure the Nominee's Department Head or Principal has approved this nomination.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 pm, Monday, April 17, 2023.

Nomination form can be found on the JEF website or by clicking this link: 2023 Outstanding Education Support Professional Nomination Form

Published on

On Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. a million Utahns will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the annual Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.

All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill, or to conduct an earthquake drill sometime in the month of April.  This is an opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and to include proper ways to protect oneself during an earthquake.

Schools can register to participate in the Great Utah ShakeOut, at: www.ShakeOut.org/Utah.  After registering your school, you can also review the “PLAN YOUR DRILL” section at the bottom left of the Webpage.

Please review the Jordan School District Incident Command Manual - Earthquake Action Plan and Standard Operating Guidelines for planning, drilling and responding to an earthquake.  The manual is located in the JSD Incident Command Folder on Google Drive, link: Incident Command Folder.   Bookmark for future reference.

Please plan and prepare to take part in this statewide earthquake drill.  Remember to report your drill and related meetings using the Jordan School District, link: 2022-23 REPORT EMERGENCY - DRILLS, ACTUAL EVENTS, or MEETINGS on Google Drive.  Bookmark for future reporting.

Please contact the JSD Emergency Operations Manager Lance Everill with questions, etc.:    Office 801-567-8623, lance.everill@jordandistrict.org

Published on

The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:

  • Julie Scherzinger, assistant principal at Herriman High appointed CTE consultant in the Career & Technical Education department.
  • Michael Trimmell, principal at Riverside Elementary appointed consultant in the Special Education department.
  • Amanda Edwards, principal at Bastian Elementary appointed principal at Riverside Elementary.
  • Jessica Stowe, assistant principal at Heartland Elementary appointed principal at Bastian Elementary.

Published on

Principals,

All open special education paraprofessional positions that you have will be closed on Friday, March 24, 2023. You will have to reopen them on Monday, April 3, 2023. We need to close the current para positions so that we can post the new job descriptions and pay lane since our new salary schedule goes into effect on April 3, 2023.

Also, Teacher Specialists will be bringing your paraprofessionals’ individual letters and a progression pay chart around to each of you to give to your paraprofessionals. These letters have where each individual was on the past pay scale and where they will be moved to. There is a possibility that a few will not move based on time and experience or that they haven’t yet completed the training. Please feel free to give them to your folks as soon as possible. Hourly employees will see the effect of the increase on the May paycheck. Contracted employees will see the change on their April paycheck. 

 

Please let us know if you have questions.

 

Thanks,

 Kim Lloyd
Special Education Director
Jordan School District

Published on

Every student deserves to be taught by an accomplished teacher. National Board Certification was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide. It’s the highest certification a teacher may obtain in addition to being the most respected one.

Perks for teachers:

  • Jordan District will pay NBCTs a stipend of $2,400 per year
  • USBE offers grants through TSSP funds to cover costs
  • USBE provides classroom teacher bonus for NBCT: $1,000 for classroom teacher, $2,000 for Title 1 classroom teachers.
  • USBE Educator Incentive Programs
  • NBPTS Support

Teachers who have gone through the Board certification process say that it is the most valuable and transformative professional development they have ever received. The opportunity to connect professional learning with classroom practice brings to life a teacher’s experience, helping them reflect on individual student learning needs.

Contact Amy Wood with questions: amy.wood@jordandistrict.org

Published on

Click below to complete the end-of-year Digital Teaching & Learning Survey from USBE. This survey will help us determine technology needs for the 2023-2024 school year. The survey is due by 4/28/23.

USBE Survey Link

Published on

The Leading School Summit will include administrators from across the state who are looking to strengthen the impact of digital learning and PCBL in their schools. This is a FREE conference, so sign up today!

Click HERE for more information and to register.

Published on

As you plan your April 21st, PD day, let Language and Culture services help you in filling in areas of conversation you need for your ML learners and climate and culture of your school. We have 3 different PD's to chose from. Your school can select all three or just one. You can have grade levels join together or individually. We hope we can be a resource for you and your school. Please RSVP by clicking HERE

Published on

Dear Principals,

We recently met with the State LAND Trust office to review findings from a recent audit review. Overall the district is doing very well and the report was complimentary of the great work you are doing with your School Community Councils and LAND Trust budgets. They also shared some recommendations based on best practices for you to consider implementing as you complete your 2023-24 LAND Trust Plans.

  • Be specific in which area(s) you are targeting for each of your goals.
    • State a measurable goal. Measurable goals need to include a number; such as raise scores 3%.
  • When a goal involves paying for an employee in a specific subject area, the budget must pay for an employee within the subject the goal addresses.
    • For example, if your plan includes hiring someone to help address a math goal, the LAND Trust budget must pay a math teacher or math assistant. It can be the lowest paid math teacher in your building, but it cannot pay for someone outside of the math area.
  • If your goal is school-wide and you will be paying for a teacher, you can use your budget to pay for the least expensive teacher, but you must tie that teacher into the goal. 
    • For example, if you have a new PE teacher and want to pay them because they would cost less, you need to tie that teaching position into your goal and explain how they will support that specific goal.
  • Mini-Grants – If your plan includes Mini Grants for teachers, your plan must include who is receiving the money and how it will support the goal. Consider the following two options:
    • Have the teachers pre-apply (now) and then include the specific awarded mini grants into your plan.
    • (Or) Once the mini grants come in and you have approved them, you will need to amend your plan to explain which grants were awarded and how they support that goal. The amendment must be approved by your AOS and the Board of Education.
  • A main concern raised in the audit was regarding carryover amounts. To address these concerns please include a backup plan in case you are not able to purchase the equipment/supplies or hire the assistants/teachers you have put into your plan. 
    • In order to not have to do an amendment, use the “Funding Changes” portion of the plan. 
    • Consider putting language like, “If we are not able to hire (or purchase) as planned for goal #, we will… (insert plan here) to reach our goal”.
  • Confirm that your 2023-24 plan does not show a carryover of more than 10% before you submit. It also may not show a negative balance.
  • NEW FOR THIS YEAR! Districts are required to distribute their own signature pages. Signatures may be collected on paper or digitally and copies should be provided to LEA leadership prior to approving the School LAND Trust Plans. Send your signature pages to Nadine Page. A template is provided below. You can either use the hard copy and have SCC members sign at your meeting or make a copy of this Google Doc to use electronically.
  • In an effort to not have more than 10% carryover, please review your current budget to be certain you are on track to spend your budget as intended.
    • If you are on track to have a carryover of more than 10%, contact Nadine or your AOS to determine ways to spend and/or move money in a way that supports your plan.

Published on

DATE: 
March 9, 2023

TO:  
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
Wellness Accelerator Event

You and your staff are invited to a Wellness Accelerator Event at JATC South Auditorium on April 14th, from 1:30-3:30.

The 2023 Wellness Accelerator is an opportunity to learn from passionate educators like you. There will be a variety of topics covered through brief, prepared table-top discussions from educators around Jordan District on strategies for student and staff wellness. Participants should plan on walking away with practical ways to enhance wellness for yourself and others!

Who should attend? You! Jordan School District administrators, school leaders, and staff committed to SEL/wellness initiatives (substitutes can be provided upon request) are invited to attend.

Review the attached flyer and share with those that would benefit from attending.

Please contact McKinley Withers (mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org) for additional information and questions.

Published on

We are excited to announce our in-person, Jordan School District Special Education Transition Fair for 2023 and would love for you to join us! There will be over twenty community resources attending to help answer any post-secondary questions for our students and families.

The Transition Fair will be held on Monday, April 10, 2023 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services building (7905 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, UT 84088).

We hope that you will be able to attend! For questions please contact Ashley Calhoun Transition Specialist at 801-567-8208 or ashley.calhoun@jordandistrict.org,

Published on

Criminals are getting more and more creative and bold and are finding new ways to try to steal freight from our schools.

One of our schools had an incident recently after receiving several boxes through UPS from Apple Computers. The boxes legitimately belonged to the school, and all shipping labels had the school name on them. An unidentified woman came in shortly after the delivery claiming she was instructed by the freight company to pick up her items from the school. She had a printout of tracking numbers that matched the computers! Long story short, the school did not give her their computers even after she threatened to get the police involved. If this ever happens at one of your schools or locations, yes, call the police!

Please watch for this or similar situations to happen at your location. The picture below is what the fraudster tried to provide to the school as “proof” the boxes were hers. Note that she is not showing the “entire email”, and there is no reference to Apple or UPS with a legitimate looking email address.

If in doubt, please contact Purchasing, as we may have additional shipping or tracking information from the vendors or can help you obtain it to verify that a shipment belongs to your school or department and not a person coming in off the street. We also recommend locking unopened freight in a room until it can be opened or distributed, and not in easy reach of those coming into the building.

Stay aware and stay safe! Please contact Purchasing if you need assistance or have questions on receiving freight or if you need help legitimizing claims such as this.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, March 16, 2023

TO:
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Acadience Math Tableau Dashboards Updated with MOY Results

The 2023 MOY Acadience Math 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 for both composite scores and measure scores. Composite proficiency and growth are also available. School administrators may also filter the data by student groups (economically disadvantaged, ML, race/ethnicity, and students with a disability). Finally, individual student and teacher data are available for BOY and MOY.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with questions about these dashboards or the Acadience Math assessment.

Published on

The Literacy Matters Newsletter has the latest literary updates. Be sure to read this edition to stay connected with literacy. This newsletter includes:

  • 2023 Updated District ELA Daily Time Allotments - Check out the updated English Language Arts Daily Time Allotments for each grade level. The total ELA time has not changed, but we've clarified our recommendations for how much time should be spent on specific ELA areas of instruction. Find them on our website under Standards - K-6 Information or on specific grade level pages.
  • Fluency Routine - Blast Decodable Passage 5-Day Routine - We've created a 5-day fluency routine for first graders! There are detailed lesson plans for each Blast decodable passage. Available on our Elementary Literacy website under programs - Really Great Reading - Blast Fluency Routine. Lesson plans coming soon for 2nd grade HD Word decodable texts too.
  • Oral Reading Fluency Development Plan - For any grade level and any kind of text, try this easy Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) from Timothy Rasinski.