Author: npage

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Nathan Foster, Specialist, Health & PE

Principals,

It is mandatory for all Health and 4th-grade teachers to complete the Botvin Life Skills training. Please share this information with the applicable teachers at your school. See the attached document for upcoming training opportunities and requirements for this curriculum. Our new Health & PE Teacher Specialist, Nathan Foster (nate.foster@jordandistrict.org) will be emailing a list of employees that need to complete the training.

Botvin Lifeskills Information and Upcoming Trainings

TO:
Building Administrators
Kindergarten Teachers
Instructional Coaches

FROM:
Michelle Lovell, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

As we move into the school year, we want to remind schools that the district has a kindergarten goal to have all students know all of their letter names and sounds by the end of the first quarter. We are asking teachers to input their data into Mastery Connect as a benchmark by November 7th. Meeting this goal will set students up for being able to meet the end of year goal of 20 Whole Words Read in Acadience Reading. Whole Words Read is an indication that students can blend closed syllable words proficiently. Acadience Reading is an indicator of risk and research shows that when students end the year as highly proficient (blue) they have a 90-99% chance of achieving subsequent early literacy benchmarks. If students end the year at benchmark (green) they have a 70-85% chance of meeting subsequent early literacy benchmarks.

DATE: 
Thursday, August 14, 2025

TO:     
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
BOY Acadience Reading and Math Testing Reminders

The beginning-of-year Acadience Reading and Math testing window opens on the third day of school and closes on Tuesday, September 30th. As we prepare for Acadience testing, there are a few friendly reminders that help the district testing teams be as efficient as possible while they are at your school testing students:

• When possible, it is best to schedule Acadience testing in media centers where the space is large enough to mitigate the noise that comes from 10-11 testers/students all talking at once. Other areas, such as classrooms, kivas, or stages in the multicultural room/cafeteria can be very noisy. Excessive noise can make it hard for testers to hear student responses and be very distracting to students, which may affect the accuracy of their test.
• Your school’s Acadience testing dates were communicated to you last spring. We recommend refraining from scheduling assemblies, field trips, or other events that may impact testing for the day.
• Please avoid scheduling kindergarten and first grade classes back-to-back, when possible. They take longer because assessment assistants are administering both the reading and math measures. Staggering them between second and third grade classes helps the team stay on time.
• Generally, assessment assistants will work to stick to the established testing schedule for the day. However, there may be times where they will need to accelerate their pacing. Please encourage your teachers to be flexible. They need to be prepared to come a little early or late to their allotted time.
• Be sure to have an adult runner available who knows the school and can quickly get the next class to come to the testing area, distribute student cards, and help the testing run as efficiently as possible. If schools don’t have a runner available, a parent who knows where teacher classrooms are is a viable option. If there is no runner, one of our assessment assistants has to do it, which means she is testing less students.

Please contact Ben Jameson or Janice Sperry in Assessment, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns about these reminders.

BOY Acadience Testing Reminders

TO:
Elementary Principals

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

Principals,

Student manuals, center kits, and manipulative kits should have arrived at your school. We’ve noticed that some schools have received extra materials, while others may be missing items.

To help us resolve this, please open the attached document, locate your school’s tab, and record any materials that are missing or extra by Agust 29, 2025. Please note: yardsticks will be shipped separately and do not need to be included on the form.

Thank you! Our goal is to ensure every school has the resources you need for a successful year.

LINK to Material Needs

TO:
Administrators

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

Administrators,

Teachers that chose to participate in the optional 3rd Planning Day as part of our Open Up Math Training series have until the August 22, 2025 to submit the form to receive their stipend.

Teachers will follow the directions provided in the attached Day 3 Planning Evidence Form and then upload the attached form into a Day 3 Stipend Google Form. The due date and forms were shared with teachers as well.

Day 3 Planning Day Evidence Form